Good Night, Sleep Tight

Want to sleep better? Here's how to quit hitting the snooze button.

Sleep Better

Surrender to the splendour of a beauty sleep and wake up with a healthy glow.

1. Exercise Regularly

• Regular exercise rewards you with deeper sleep.
• But avoid exercising less than 2 hours before bedtime as this will stimulate you and interfere with sleep.

2. Watch Your Consumption

• Watch when you eat and drink.
• Eat at least 2 hours before bedtime, especially if it's a heavy or spicy meal.
• If you're sensitive to caffeine, refrain from taking it 10 - 12 hours before bedtime.

3. Bedtime Snacks

• Have a warm milk drink or some light crackers if you need a bedtime snack.
• Milk and carbohydrates contain tryptophan, an amino acid that induces sleep.

4. Avoid Alcohol

• Avoid alcohol in the evening.
• It may help you fall asleep but as the effects wears off it can lead to shallow, disturbed sleep.

5. Setting

• Make your bedroom a dream haven.
• Dim the lights, make sure the temperature is not too ward or too cold, block out distracting noise or use 'white noise' generators - objects (eg a fan) that generate constant, low frequency sounds.

6. Fixed Timings

• Fix regular times for sleeping and waking up.
• Having sleep and wake-up times that are too flexible confuses the brain, making it less accustomed to regular bedtime.

7. 'Bed' Room

• Reserve the bedroom for sleep only.
• Don't work or watch TV in bed, let the brain associate your bed with sleep.

8. Be Worry-Free

• Don't take your worries to bed.
• Instead, you may want to set aside some ' worry time' long before bedtime to encourage worry-free sleep.

9. Say No to Naps

• Stay away from long naps, as this may interfere with deep sleep at night.
• 10 - 15 minutes sleep in the day should be sufficient.

10. Don't Try

• Let it go. The harder you try to sleep, the more it may elude you.
• The body can't take too many sleepless nights anyway, and you'll fall asleep naturally eventually.