*In the evening, eat bananas, dates, figs, milk, nut butter, tuna, turkey, whole grain crackers, or yoghurt. These foods are high in tryptophan, which helps promote sleep. Eating a grapefruit half at bedtime also helps.
*Do not eat alrge meals within two hours of bedtime.
*Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the four to six hours before bedtime. A small amount can help induce sleep initially, but invariable disrupts deeper sleep cycles later. While smoking may seem to have a calming effect, nicotine is actually a neurostimulant and can cause sleep problems.
*Avoid bacon, cheese, chocolate, eggplant, ham, potatoes, sauerkraut, sugar, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, and wine close to bedtime. These foods contain tyramine, which increases the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant.
*Avoid taking nasal decongestants and other cold medications late in the day. While many ingredients in these preparations are known to cause drowsiness, they can have the opposite effect on some people and act as a stimulant.
*Establish a set of habits and follow them consistently to establish a healthy sleep cycle. Among them (ed. I break SO MANY of these. <_<):
- Go to bed only when you are sleepy.
- Do not stay in the bed if you are not sleepy. Get up and move to another room and read, watch television, or do something quietly until you really are sleepy.
- Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex – not for reading, working, eating, or watching television.
- Keep a regular sleep-wake cycle. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Sleep in a dark, quiet room with a comfortable temperature.
- Do not nap during the day if this is not a normal thing for you to do. Especially avoid napping after 3:00 PM.
- Exercise regularly in the late afternoon or early evening – but not within two hours of bedtime.
- Take a hot bath (not a shower) an hour or two before bedtime. For further relaxation, put several drops of a soothing essential oil in the bath water.
- Keep the bedroom comfortable and quiet. If too much quiet is the problem, try running a fan or playing a radio softly in the background.
- Learn to put worries out of your mind. If you have occasional trouble getting to sleep, concentrate on pleasant memories and thoughts. Re-create a pleasurable time or event in your life and relive it in your mind. Learning a relaxation technique such as meditation or the use of guided imagery is extremely helpful in getting sleep patterns back to normal for many people.]
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Date: 2009-05-06 02:22 am (UTC)*In the evening, eat bananas, dates, figs, milk, nut butter, tuna, turkey, whole grain crackers, or yoghurt. These foods are high in tryptophan, which helps promote sleep. Eating a grapefruit half at bedtime also helps.
*Do not eat alrge meals within two hours of bedtime.
*Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the four to six hours before bedtime. A small amount can help induce sleep initially, but invariable disrupts deeper sleep cycles later. While smoking may seem to have a calming effect, nicotine is actually a neurostimulant and can cause sleep problems.
*Avoid bacon, cheese, chocolate, eggplant, ham, potatoes, sauerkraut, sugar, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, and wine close to bedtime. These foods contain tyramine, which increases the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant.
*Avoid taking nasal decongestants and other cold medications late in the day. While many ingredients in these preparations are known to cause drowsiness, they can have the opposite effect on some people and act as a stimulant.
*Establish a set of habits and follow them consistently to establish a healthy sleep cycle. Among them (ed. I break SO MANY of these. <_<):
- Go to bed only when you are sleepy.
- Do not stay in the bed if you are not sleepy. Get up and move to another room and read, watch television, or do something quietly until you really are sleepy.
- Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex – not for reading, working, eating, or watching television.
- Keep a regular sleep-wake cycle. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
- Sleep in a dark, quiet room with a comfortable temperature.
- Do not nap during the day if this is not a normal thing for you to do. Especially avoid napping after 3:00 PM.
- Exercise regularly in the late afternoon or early evening – but not within two hours of bedtime.
- Take a hot bath (not a shower) an hour or two before bedtime. For further relaxation, put several drops of a soothing essential oil in the bath water.
- Keep the bedroom comfortable and quiet. If too much quiet is the problem, try running a fan or playing a radio softly in the background.
- Learn to put worries out of your mind. If you have occasional trouble getting to sleep, concentrate on pleasant memories and thoughts. Re-create a pleasurable time or event in your life and relive it in your mind. Learning a relaxation technique such as meditation or the use of guided imagery is extremely helpful in getting sleep patterns back to normal for many people.]