Are you the type of person that takes you a long while to fall asleep? Does your mind wander keeping you from those well deserved and much needed hours of sleep? Following some of the next following tips might just help you get the rest you need and help you perform better the next day!

1. Sensory deprivation!

Make your bedroom as noiseless and as dark as possible. That means, turn off your computer, pull the blinds and do not sleep with a night light. This will not only help you get a better sleep but this affects many levels of functioning from reductions of epinephrine, norepinephrine and stress hormones, to better memory retrieval. It helps, of course, with recovering from mental and physical wounds from the day, and boosts creativity. It helps reduce tension, anger, depression and confusion. There is a reason they say to “sleep on” an important decision!

2. Are you a thinker?

Does pondering the course of your life keep you up at night? Worry, stress, anxiety keep you from getting those precious hours of sleep? Well, going to bed 30-60 minutes before your intended bedtime might reduce the side effects of your troubled mind keeping you up late at night.

3. Make your bedroom your sleep haven.

Do not watch television or movies in bed and do not play video games or make your den in your bedroom. Your brain will start associating your bed with ‘playtime’ making it that much more difficult to fall asleep.

4. Do not sleep during the day if you are having trouble at night!

My teacher, a therapist, once had this man come in saying that he needed help sleeping! That he suffered from extreme insomnia at nights. After a few sessions it was revealed that the man took naps during the day! So, my teacher simply suggested not sleeping during the day. The man came back a week later saying that he could finally fall asleep at night that he never thought that sleeping during the day was connected to sleeping at night. A silly example, but sometimes people do not make the necessary behavioral connections.

5. Avoid drinking a few hours before bedtime.

If this is impossible, drink as little as possible. I’ve had the experience of drinking a lot and getting up to go to the bathroom several times during the night. I felt like I had been hit by a steam roller the next day, having probably spent more time up and getting back to sleep than actually sleeping.

6. Finally, are you restless?

Warm up your blanket or sheet in the dryer for 10 minutes. Even try a microwave heating pad under your blanket. The warmth will relax your muscles, make you feel cozy and give you an all around better sleep.

So add these new nuggets to the 9 Steps to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep already posted on the site and you should be snoozing your way to a good night’s sleep and be chock full of productivity the entire next day.

[Photo Source: JanesDead]