Sleep Tips
Try to go to bed and get up in the morning around the same time each day, including weekends. If you maintain a schedule, this will help to maintain a sleep-wake cycle and may better help you fall asleep when the time comes.

Try not to eat or drink large amounts before bed, as eating before bed time can cause heartburn in the middle of the night, and too much liquid can cause you to wake up and have to go to the bathroom.

Avoid caffeine consumption or smoking in the evening. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, and they will help keep you awake. If you are a smoker, and you experience withdrawal symptoms in the middle of the night, remember that smoking in bed is dangerous!

Try to avoid alcohol before sleeping. Though alcohol is a depressant, it will actually disrupt your sleep cycle.

Although you may feel refreshed by taking a nap during the day, try to avoid this, as it will steal time from your night-time sleep. If you feel you have to take a nap, limit it to thirty minutes or so in the middle of the afternoon.

If you work nights, when you sleep during the day keep your window coverings closed. Sunlight works to adjust your body's internal clock, and it may interrupt your sleep otherwise.

If you exercise regularly, do not exercise less than three hours before your regular bedtime. While physical activity may be a good idea to wear you out, exercise too soon before bedtime may actually help to keep you awake.

As bedtime draws near, avoid bright light. If you have dimmer switches in your house, use them to lower lighting levels.

Try to avoid watching TV or reading to help you get to sleep. If you feel you must watch TV, make sure you are not watching the news, which may cause stress or anxiety, or anything that may be too stimulating, such as an action-adventure movie. The same goes for reading - make sure your reading material will not overstimulate you. If you are a reader, make sure that you use a lower-wattage light bulb.

You may wish to turn your alarm clock in a direction so that it does not face you. If you wake up in the middle of the night, looking at the clock can cause anxiety, and you may also find that it is not worth the effort to turn the clock around and look at it.

There is such a thing as a perfect pillow. The way your head rests throughout the night is important to the health of your neck and back (spine). There are pillows specially made for back, belly, side sleeper; extra firm to soft pillows; wide range of thread counts; and therapeutic foam pillows. The list goes on. Don't be hesitant to invest in a more pricey pillow than what your used to, because it is money-well-spent in the long run. If you wake up in the morning with a headache or have a general feeling of unrest, it may be time to find that perfect pillow.

Remember that waking up is just as important as your sleep! Hitting the snooze button repeatedly may let you sleep in a few minutes more, but the sleep you'll get will not be as restful as it should be. Plan on either setting your alarm clock for the time you actually want to get up or get up the moment the alarm goes off instead. You may also wish to place your alarm clock across the room so that you physically have to get out of bed to turn it off. By the time you've turned off the alarm, you may realize that there's no sense in going back to bed!

If you are having a hard time going to sleep, some simple yoga poses could help you relax.