Is a good night's sleep the first thing you sacrifice when life gets too full and busy? If so, this is your wake-up call: You're not just sabotaging your next day's performance (news to none of us), but you're actually harming your health.
"Sleep deprivation is a serious medical risk, but few people are aware of that," says Joyce Walsleben, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine. You have to pay as much attention to your sleep as you do to eating a nutritious diet.
* Thinking Too MuchWhen fretful, get up and go to another part of the house (but leave the lights off). "Your anxious thoughts will usually stop right away. Then you can go back to bed and fall asleep," Carney says. This well-studied strategy, called stimulus control, also prevents you from associating your bed with anxiety. Another tip: Set aside time early in the evening to problem solve. Write down your pressing concerns, along with a possible solution for each, a few hours before retiring.
* You Sleep inEven if you've been up late, don't sleep in more than an hour longer than usual, Epstein says. To make up for lost slumber, take an afternoon catnap (no more than 30 minutes, though, because an extended daytime snooze can keep you awake at night).
* Hormonal Change
A hot bath a couple hours before turning in and, if you're often awakened by cramps, an over-the-counter pain reliever at bedtime may be all you need to counter premenstrual insomnia. For a stubborn case, ask your physician whether a short-acting sleep medication, taken two or three nights a month, would make sense. During perimenopause, stay on a consistent sleep-wake schedule, exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes a day, and avoid caffeine after lunch and alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime (a cocktail helps you nod off, but its rebound effect will wake you up, Epstein says). For hot flashes and night sweats, try sleeping in a cool room and wearing light clothing (several companies make pajamas that wick away moisture).
* Your stomach growlsHauri suggests saving some of your calories for a high-protein bedtime snack, such as a small serving of cheese or a hard-boiled egg. Protein produces greater satiety than carbohydrates and fat.
* Your bedroom is a messGrab a basket, toss in any unfinished work bills, spreadsheets, that half-done scrapbook and promptly remove it. "When you eliminate the stuff in your bedroom that isn't related to sleep, your brain starts to associate the room only with sleep and intimacy," says Lawrence Epstein, MD, medical director of Sleep Health Centers in Boston and coauthor of The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep. Also keep your computer in another room, or at least place it in a cabinet that can be closed. You'll be shutting the door on stress and late-night screen gazing, which has been proven to hinder sleep, according to a Japanese study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The monitor's bright display may inhibit your production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for telling the body it's time for bed.