This is known as practicing proper “sleep hygiene.” Some of these factors are listed below as an addendum to using EasyWakeup to improve the overall quality of your sleep. Note that these recommendations may not work for all people. These tips merely provide a general base that should apply to most people, but in the end, you yourself will know the best methods to help you fall asleep faster and more soundly.

1. Establish a schedule.

A regular schedule will help you sleep better, longer, and faster. Our bodies function on what is known as a “Circadian rhythm,” or human clock. Essentially, your body lives on a 24-hour cycle that can be heavily disrupted if you don’t fall asleep and get up at roughly the same time every night and every morning. This can often be caused by jet lag and by sleeping disorders. This is also why you should not nap too much during the day. Studies suggest that continual disruption of this 24-hour cycle can lead to cardiovascular disease and an increased risk of cancer.

2. Watch what you eat.

Don't eat heavy foods for three hours or so before going to sleep, as digestion and a full stomach can harm sleep quality. However, an empty stomach can cause the same adverse effects. It is fine to have light foods high in tryptophan (a sleep inducer) before going to bed, such as yogurt, milk, turkey or ice cream. Caffeine can hurt your sleep quality up to 8 hours after you drink it. Try not to drink water for about an hour before sleeping, but remember to remain hydrated throughout the day so your body does not wake you up in the middle of the night for a drink.

3. Slow things down before hitting the hay.

Working right up to when you go to bed will not help you fall asleep. It takes some time for your body to remove itself from the stress of the day. We recommend that you not stare at an LCD screen (like this one) or a TV screen for 30 minutes to an hour before you go to sleep. Instead, a period of relaxation, perhaps consisting of some light reading, meditation, or a hot bath, will help get your body in the mindset for sleeping.

4. Don’t do drugs.

Recreational or social drugs, even ones as innocent as caffeine, can seriously influence the quality of your sleep. More serious drugs such as nicotine and alcohol may initially sedate you, but they will often wake you up in the middle of the night and disturb the quality of your sleep. In addition, we need not mention the various health problems that these drugs can induce.

5. Keep the room dark.

The Circadian rhythm that governs your body’s behavior is closely related to the brightness of your environment. If your room is too bright, your body will not associate it with sleep. A dark room helps your sleep and can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep as your body will associate it with nighttime.

6. Exercise regularly.

Exercising on a habitual basis exhausts your body (which is healthy) and sleep helps recover that energy. Without physical exertion, your body may not feel the need to sleep, even if you want to sleep. However, don’t exercise close to bedtime, as the resulting activity inside your body will excite it and prevent you from falling asleep quickly.

7. Change your sleeping position.

The sleeping position that you fall asleep in can affect how well you sleep and how achy you feel in the morning. Some basic guidelines: if you sleep on your side, keep a pillow between your knees to support your hips. If you sleep on your back, rest your feet on a pillow to take pressure off your lower back. If you sleep on your stomach, don’t. It often causes aches in the neck and the lower back and can leave you grumpy in the morning.

Again, these points are a general guide to falling asleep faster and sleeping better and longer, but they may not work for everybody. If you feel you have more serious sleep issues, please see your doctor to find out if you have any sleeping disorders that may be keeping you from a good night’s rest. These tips are meant as a supplement to EasyWakeup to further help your sleep. A video summarizing these points is available here.

Thank you for using EasyWakeup. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us at our site, easywakeup.net. 

Sources: wikihow.com, wikipedia.org, webmd.com, stanford.edu, videojug.com

Compiled by bigminisachin1231