Have you ever woken up feeling like you didn’t have a wink of sleep last night? We’ve all been there before–probably numerous times throughout our lifetime. Our sleep habits have a significant impact on how well we sleep every night. If you are able to maintain a regular schedule while also avoiding behavior that promotes sleep disruption, you can:

  • Minimize insomnia
  • Allow an adequate amount of sleep
  • Reduce sleep-related headaches

Ready to take charge of your sleep patterns in order to help you wake up feeling refreshed? Let’s take a look at a few tips that will help you create a healthy sleep regimen:

If you’re tired, go to bed. When it comes to sleep, go to be when you are tired and not any earlier. If you attempt to go to bed before you are tired you will promote lying awake in bed, which can teach the brain to be awake in bed. And when you wake up refreshed, get up. Don’t linger in bed for long.

The bedroom is for sleeping. It is important to use the bedroom only for sleeping and sexual activity. This means you should avoid reading, watching TV, eating and talking on the phone while you are in bed. You should also avoid lying awake thinking in bed. Do your problem solving elsewhere. And when you go to sleep, cover your clock or place it somewhere you cannot see it. Looking at the clock when you can’t fall asleep or have awakened and can’t get back to sleep will only worsen the problem.

Exercise daily. Regular daily exercise may help to deepen your sleep. By exercising too close to bedtime, you may disturb sleep. Try to finish exercising at least 3 hours before bedtime or in the morning before you start your day.

Say no  alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol might help some people fall asleep at the start of the night, but that sleep will become fragmented, which means you won’t feel well rested. Occasional social use of alcohol in moderate amounts is fine for most people, but regular use or large quantities of drinking may be a significant problem for sleep. Additionally, tobacco of any kind disrupts sleep, so avoid it at all costs.

Visit Craniofacial Pain & Dental Sleep Center of Georgia to learn more about proper  sleep habits and available treatment for combating sleep apnea.