Is the occasional sleepless night turning into a regular rut of tossing and turning? If so, you need to put restful slumber at the top of your to-do list.<\/p>\n
After all, chronic sleep deprivation is a serious health risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cDisturbed sleep doesn\u2019t just affect your quality of life; it also can have serious, long-term health consequences,\u201d says Lisa Shives, M.D., medical director of Northshore Sleep Medicine in Evanston, Ill., and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.<\/p>\n
A string of sleepless nights can put you at risk for car accidents, as well as chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.<\/p>\n
But rest easy \u2013 we have remedies. Here are 10 common sleep stealers \u2013 and how to keep them from robbing your rest:<\/p>\n
1. You don\u2019t shut down.
The dishes are finally done and the kids are in bed. Now\u2019s your chance to surf the Internet before lights-out, right?<\/p>\n
Hands off the keyboard! Laptops are one of the biggest sleep saboteurs.<\/p>\n
The computer\u2019s light triggers the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a tiny receptor in the brain that regulates circadian, or body, rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle.<\/p>\n
Exposing eyes to the light can make the receptor think it\u2019s time to get up, Shives says.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Shut down the laptop 1-2 hours before bedtime. Same goes for texting, which means getting sleep-deprived teens to turn off phones long before bedtime.<\/p>\n
2. Your bedroom is your office.
Consider this: Sleep studies show that people slumber better in test rooms than at home. That\u2019s because most people do more than snooze in bed. They\u2019re also busy working, snacking and watching TV. Such activities can add to disturbed sleep.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Reserve the bedroom for two things only: sleep and sex, says David Schulman, M.D., director of the Emory Sleep Disorders Laboratory in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
A sleep-inducing bedroom is quiet, dark, cool and free of stimulating distractions.<\/p>\n
3. Your mind is churning with worries.
Your husband was laid off and you\u2019re fretting over whether you\u2019ll be able make the mortgage this month. You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n
More than 30% of 1,000 Americans polled in a 2009 National Sleep Foundation study reported that worry about the economy had disturbed their sleep at least a few nights a week. And 12% said they stressed about money almost every night.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important not to stress over not sleeping too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more you think and worry about sleep, the less likely you are to have a good night,\u201d Shives says.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: To decrease stress, avoid watching news and violent TV shows before bed.<\/p>\n
Besides, TV isn\u2019t really relaxing, says Sandra Horowitz, M.D., the regional medical director of Boston’s Sleep Health Center and a clinical instructor at Harvard University’s Division of Sleep Medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s geared to keep you [watching] it.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t stop thinking about work, a relationship gone sour or tomorrow\u2019s tasks, distract yourself with music, an audio book or soothing sounds from a white-noise machine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have noise in the room, it leads to relaxation, because part of your brain pays attention to the [sound] in a good way,\u201d Shives says.<\/p>\n
Meditation and mind\/body relaxation techniques can also combat stress. Before you fall sleep, focus on your breathing or picture yourself in a beautiful spot \u2013 a favorite beach or spot in the woods. Then, mentally working your way from head to toe, relax your body one part at a time.<\/p>\n
4. You end the evening with a nightcap.
True, a scotch just before you head to bed is relaxing and will help you fall asleep. But in the long run, it adds to your sleep issues. That initial drowsiness doesn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou metabolize the alcohol and that sedating effect wears off, generally in four hours,\u201d Shives says. \u201cYou then wake up \u2013 more awake than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why? Alcohol disrupts production of serotonin and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that regulate sleep stages, especially later in the night.<\/p>\n
Alcohol also can make snoring louder and exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that disrupts breathing, says Gregg D. Jacobs, M.D., an insomnia specialist at the University of Massachusetts’ Sleep Disorders Center and author of Say Goodnight to Insomnia (Holt Paperbacks).<\/p>\n
And never drink if you\u2019re taking a sleeping pill. Popping one after a few glasses of wine, for example, can lead to blackouts, memory loss and erratic behavior.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: A healthier option: a cup of milk, chamomile tea or another warm, non-caffeinated liquid.<\/p>\n
Why do hot liquids make you drowsy? It first raises the body\u2019s core temperature, which then drops rapidly, Shives says. A cool body helps you sleep better.<\/p>\n
Plus, the ritual of heating a drink and pouring it into a favorite cup makes your eyelids feel heavy, says Donnica Moore, M.D., president of the Sapphire Women’s Health Group and a consultant for the National Sleep Foundation.<\/p>\n
5. You like a toasty room.
The weather outside is frightful, but your bedroom is delightful and warm. Watch out \u2013 you may be in for a long night of disturbed sleep.<\/p>\n
Insomnia is associated with higher core-body temperatures, according to a 2008 Australian study.<\/p>\n
A lower room temperature helps your brain cool the body while you\u2019re asleep, in a sense shutting down your engines, Schulman says.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Lower the thermostat to 60\u02da-65\u02dabefore you sleep.<\/p>\n
Taking a hot bath or shower 2-4 hours before bed can help too, because it raises, then cools, body temperature \u2013 just like a hot non-caffeinated beverage will, Shives says.<\/p>\n
6. You\u2019re eating late, heavy meals.
A hearty steak dinner, complete with a thick piece of chocolate cake is a great way to end a day. But hold off on the foodfest.<\/p>\n
Digesting a heavy meal stimulates your gastric system when the body should be relaxing, disrupting your night\u2019s sleep, Shives says.<\/p>\n
Plus, eating too close to bedtime can cause heartburn, or acid reflux, a condition in which the stomach’s digestive acids flow back into the esophagus.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t go to bed on an empty stomach. Hunger trumps sleep when it comes to your body\u2019s basic drives.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Eat dinner at least 2-3 hours before bedtime, so your body is done with most of its digesting.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re hungry, eat a light snack at least an hour before you go to sleep. Stick to cheese and other proteins, like a small piece of turkey, because they contain a naturally occurring amino acid called tryptophan, which is just the ticket for slumber.<\/p>\n
And avoid that slice of cake. \u201cChocolate has caffeine,\u201d Horowitz says.<\/p>\n
7. You love that late-afternoon latte.
Coffee, your morning wake-up buddy, can turn you on at night \u2013 especially if you love the bottomless cup. Beware of the afternoon pick-me-up too: Energy drinks like Red Bull or Jolt sometimes contain twice the amount of caffeine in a cup of java, Horowitz says. Too much adds to the effects of sleep deprivation and keeps us revved when our bodies crave rest.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Limit your coffee to 1-2 cups before noon and avoid caffeinated energy drinks.<\/p>\n
8. Your bedtime varies each night.
One night you\u2019re out past midnight, the next tucked in by 9. You may be catching up on lost sleep, but it\u2019s a surefire recipe for insomnia. Varying sleep and waking times throws off your internal clock, making it harder to doze off.<\/p>\n
Plus, you can\u2019t count on sleeping in on the weekends to catch up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who sleep in disrupt their biological clock,\u201d Horowitz says. \u201cIt\u2019s as if you\u2019re traveling several time zones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Set regular sleep and wakeup times.<\/p>\n
But if you can\u2019t stick to a habitual bedtime, at least wake up at the same time every day.<\/p>\n
A consistent wakeup schedule is more important, because it plays a greater role in setting your internal clock, Horowitz says.<\/p>\n
9. You\u2019re counting too many sheep.
If you can\u2019t sleep, don\u2019t fight it lying down, Jacobs says. Watching the minutes tick by and worrying about sleep will only make it harder to nod off.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: Jacobs\u2019 rule: Don\u2019t stay in bed tossing and turning for more than 30 minutes. Get up, leave the bedroom and do something else in another part of the house.<\/p>\n
Why? Getting out of bed for a while \u201callows the brain to relax [so] you then fall to sleep more quickly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
When you return to bed, turn the face of your alarm clock away so you won\u2019t be tempted to check it and start stressing again about your sleep deprivation, Horowitz suggests.<\/p>\n
10. Your nose is stuffy.
Can\u2019t smell the spring flowers because you\u2019re stuffed up from allergies? They\u2019re probably keeping you from sleeping, too, because you can\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n
Rest easy: In many cases, at-home remedies can help you sleep through the night.<\/p>\n
A non-medicated saline nasal spray or a hot shower before bedtime can open nasal passages, Horowitz says. And if you suffer from sinus problems, invest in a humidifier to keep the air in your bedroom moist, she advises.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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Sleep is something you used to do \u2013 before kids, long to-do lists and a snoring hubby. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":398886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-440714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\n