- Make your bedroom a sanctuary
- Have a cup of herbal tea or warm milk before heading into the bedroom
- Mentally prepare for going to bed as you wash your face, brush your teeth
- Complete all your work in another room before going to the bedroom for the night
- Keep your computer, including your laptop and smart phone (instruct loved ones to call on your land-line if they have an emergency)
- Exercise several hours before bedtime (not right before)
- If you cannot sleep, get up out of bed and do something, i.e., read (nothing scary or "self-help" that stirs up emotion) something soothing, knit, do laundry
- Go back to bed and try again (lying in bed when you can't sleep just causes you to focus on not sleeping)
- If noise is keeping you awake (neighborhood noise or your apartment has thin walls) invest in a white noise machine
For more information PubMed Health
