Actionable Tips For Better Sleep
Posted On: January 19th, 2012

One way that teens begin to practice their independence is by staying up late. After all, they may not yet be able to drive and they may still have a curfew but what they eat and when they sleep are activities within their control.

The challenge of this new found experimentation is that it can impact their overall health. You can help yourself and your teens by knowing that sleep hygiene matters. Here are some helpful tips from Dr. Mary Fristad and The American Sleep Association. With some of my own observations thrown in:).

Maintain a regular sleep routine

Go to bed at the same time. Even if you alter your patterns on weekends, make five nights a week one schedule and two nights a week another, but do not have a different sleep pattern every night. Wake up at the same time. Ideally, your schedule will remain the same (+/- 20 minutes) every night of the week.

Avoid naps if possible

• Naps decrease the ‘Sleep Debt’ that is so necessary for easy sleep onset.
  Each of us needs a certain amount of sleep per 24-hour period. We need that amount, and we don’t need more than that.
• Keep a sleep log noticing when you fall asleep, how long it takes you, how long you sleep and what helps you fall asleep, stay asleep and gently wake up in the morning.
• When we take naps, it decreases the amount of sleep that we need the next night – which may cause sleep fragmentation and difficulty initiating sleep, and may lead to insomnia.

Here is a printable sleep log:

Don’t stay in bed awake for more than 10-15 minutes

If you find your mind racing, or worrying about not being able to sleep during the middle of the night, get out of bed, and sit in a chair in the dark. Do your mind racing in the chair until you are sleepy, then return to bed. No TV or internet during these periods! That will just stimulate you more than desired.

If you try reading or listening to music and it does not calm your mind, consider cleaning or organizing, when you can’t fall asleep, the motor activity fatigues you, helps your brain calm down and helps you back to sleep.

Don’t watch TV, keep your phone on all night next to you or work on the computer when you cannot sleep, these are alerting activities.

Do not drink caffeine inappropriately

The effects of caffeine may last for several hours after ingestion. Caffeine can fragment sleep, and cause difficulty initiating sleep. If you drink caffeine, use it only before noon.
Remember that soda and tea contain caffeine as well.

Avoid inappropriate substances that interfere with sleep

Cigarettes, alcohol, and over-the-counter medications may cause fragmented sleep.

Exercise regularly

Exercise before 2 pm every day. Exercise promotes continuous sleep.
Avoid rigorous exercise before bedtime. Rigorous exercise circulates endorphins into the body which may cause difficulty initiating sleep.

Have a quiet, comfortable bedroom

Set your bedroom thermostat at a comfortable temperature. Generally, a little cooler is better than a little warmer.
Turn off the TV and other extraneous noise that may disrupt sleep. Background ‘white noise’ like a fan is OK.
If your pets awaken you, keep them outside the bedroom.
Your bedroom should be dark. Turn off bright lights.

If you are a ‘clock watcher’ at night, hide the clock.

Have a comfortable consistent pre-bedtime routine

45 minutes before it is time to sleep, dim the lights, turn off the TV or electronic and allow your natural melatonin to rise so that your body knows that it is time to sleep.

For your pre-sleep routine consider a series of consistent habits like reading, taking warm baths, listening to soft music and the like. When you have a consistent habit in a specific order your body learns when it is time to sleep.

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