The Dos and Don’ts of a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is kind of a waste of time. Think of all the stuff you could do if you didn’t have to lie helplessly in the dark for eight hours every night. Apparently though, your body makes good use of the time: sleep is one of the most reparative things you can do, whether that means healing sore muscles or fighting off an illness. In short: a bad night of sleep makes for a rotten day, and bad sleeping habits make for poor overall health. Here are some nocturnal do’s and don’ts.

DO:

1. Drink tea before you go to sleep. Herbs are a great solution to many minor problems, so it should be no surprise that they’re helpful in inducing peaceful sleep. Make a tisane using loose leaf herbs: either calming chamomile or valerian, which is sometimes taken in capsule form for insomnia. Try a blend, like Allegro’s Peaceful Slumber organic wellness tea. (Obviously avoid caffeine, or drinking too much fluid of any kind.)
2. Create a nighttime ritual. This can be as simple as doing the same few things every night in an effort to signal to your body that it’s time to slow down. Do some nighttime yoga or gentle stretches, take a warm bath, or catch up on light reading before you hit the hay.
3. Once you’re in bed, try a guided meditation or listen to some whale songs. Calming sounds/voices can help take your mind off your problems and create a peaceful, worry-free atmosphere.
4. Keep regular sleep hours. Try to aim for the same eight hours of sleep, night after night. All I can say is good luck with that.
5. Create the right conditions for a welcoming sleep environment: keep your bed for sleeping only (as opposed to using it to work on your laptop or sort through bills), make sure the bedroom is dark and cool (apparently in the 60–67^oF range), and keep your mattress and bedspreads clean (free of allergens that might cause nocturnal sneezing).

DON’Ts:

1. Don’t spend time on bright screens directly before sleep. Apparently “blue” light (the kind that emanates from, say, an iPhone) suppresses secretion of melatonin and throws your circadian rhythms out of whack.
2. As noted above, a little yoga can go a long way in helping your body wind down at night. But vigorous exercise will have the opposite effect, so don’t take a run right before you go to bed.
3. This should be obvious, but don’t eat a huge meal or drink a ton of fluid right before bed.  Also, don’t drink alcohol at night (no judgment if you have to ignore this one).
4. You know yourself. If scary movies wind you up, don’t watch It Follows right before bed. Don’t get on Facebook if seeing photos of your high school friends’ drooling progeny makes you question all your life decisions. Or if your friends put up stupid stuff that always leads to long-winded political post wars. If you’re sensitive, maybe don’t read the news right before bed. Only bad things happen and you’ll just lie awake wondering why humanity hasn’t entirely destroyed itself. (If you must look at something, look at cute animals.)
5. This is the hardest one by far: Throw out your clock (or just don’t look at it). I unplugged my bedside clock long ago; now it just sits there as kind of a weird artifact of a pre-cellphone past (or I’m just too lazy to throw stuff out. Whatever). Anyway, the point is, don’t look at the time. You’re just going to cry when you realize you have to be up for work in 45 minutes.