Set your alarm and then get those glaring red numbers out of sight.
Recipes What to Eat If You Want to Go to Sleep Faster 11. “This placement provides the body the needed relief from the activity of the door, which calms the amygdala - the fight-or-flight mechanism of the brain.” “Move your bed a comfortable distance from the bedroom door where you can still see who or what is coming through, but so you’re not in the direct path,” says Beth Steflik, Feng Shui consultant and teacher. It’s not only about the quality of your mattress, but how it’s arranged in your bedroom, that’s important for sleep success. Plus, dust mites, fungi, dirt and oils build up over time on your pillows, and that can exacerbate your allergies. “While people spend hundreds - if not thousands - on a mattress, most people consider pillows an afterthought,” says Fishberg, who points out that old and poor-quality pillows can cause neck pain as they lose support. When buying a new mattress, keep this in mind: “You have to spend at least 30 days with a new bed in order for you to get used to that bed and for that bed to conform to you and break in a little bit, so to speak,” says Cushner.Īs far as pillows go, look for ones with high-quality fill that can be washed or cleaned, says Michelle, Fishberg, co-founder of Slumbr, a sleep wellness company. Let’s say you weigh over 200 pounds, for example Cushner says you’re going to want to choose a mattress with a higher density support foam or one that has lower-gaged coils that will push you back and hold you up. When buying a new mattress (which Cushner says you should replace around every seven to eight years), take your height, weight, body type and sleep position preference into consideration.
“Ultimately, what it comes down to is how supportive a mattress is,” says Keith Cushner, general manager of Tuck, the largest collection of aggregated data on sleep surfaces on the web. What you sleep on matters - and mattresses aren’t one size fits all. A 2010 study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that older insomniacs who drank two eight-ounce glasses of tart cherry juice a day slept for 85 minutes more than those who downed a placebo drink. “Tart cherry juice increases your melatonin levels,” says Samantha Cassetty, RD, a New York City-based nutritionist. Sip on Tart Cherry JuiceĬraving a drink? Pour yourself a glass of tart cherry juice instead of wine. “Alcohol depresses the nervous system, so a nightcap may help some people fall asleep,” says Morton Tavel, MD, clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and author of “Health Tips, Myths and Tricks: A Physician’s Advice.” “But this effect disappears after a few hours and may lead to waking up throughout the night.” 8.
But having one too close to bedtime could do more harm than good. Let’s be honest: Sometimes, a cocktail is necessary at the end of a long day. Participants who drank four cups of coffee a day actually slept 26 minutes less than those who imbibed less often. Decongestants (often found in cold remedies) have a potent stimulating effect, so they should be avoided for up to 12 hours before bed, says Buchfuhrer. If you’re all stuffed up, proceed with caution before popping a pill to ease the sniffles. And Blackburn points out that soda, chocolate and certain teas also contain caffeine, meaning they can rev up your body, too. He advises having your last cup of Joe at least six hours before bedtime. Caffeine is a stimulant that prevents your body from initiating sleep, says Buchfuhrer. Participants in the SleepScore Lab survey who drank four cups of coffee a day actually slept 26 minutes less than those who imbibed less than that. In fact, a 2011 study published in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity found that participants who got 150 hours of moderate to intense exercise slept better. “Regular exercise in the morning or early afternoon can help augment nighttime sleep quality because physical activity is a stress-releaser and prepares us for a restful night of sleep,” says Shanon Makekau, MD, medical director of the Kaiser Permanente sleep lab in Hawaii. Hitting the gym early in the day can make hitting the sheets later on a whole lot easier. SLEEP SMARTER 14 Smart Products to Help You Fall Asleep Faster 4.
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