1. Turn down the thermostat
Sixty-five degrees is the optimal temperature for sleeping, according to the National Sleep Foundation. That’s because, throughout the day, your circadian clock alters your body temperature right along with your energy levels. And when your clock says it’s time for bed, you experience a rapid decrease in your core body temperature. In fact, from the beginning to middle of the night, your temperature drops about 3 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing you to enter the deepest stages of sleep. Keeping your room cool facilitates this process, while temperatures higher than the low- to mid-70s are known to impede the brain’s ability to switch to sleep mode.
2. Exercise as early in the day as you can
Research suggests that regular exercise improves sleep quality and duration. And while the effects are generally seen sooner in people with sub-clinical sleep problems, after four months of regular exercise, a gym membership can prove as (or even more) beneficial than most sleep medications even for those with serious cases of insomnia. Apart from reducing stress and anxiety, regular exercise increases the amount of time you spend in deep sleep. And while studies are at odds over the best time of day to exercise, if you find evening workouts interfering with your sleep quality, it’s best to make sure you give yourself at least three hours after leaving the gym before you hop into bed. Exercise temporarily raises levels of hormones and neurotransmitters that can leave some people feeling amped up for hours.
3. Skip the nightcap
By acting on your brain’s GABA receptors, that glass of wine may help you fall asleep. But, unlike sleep meds, which also work on GABA, alcohol targets sub-receptors that are more related to sedation than actually sleepiness. So even though alcohol may help you fall asleep, it won’t help you stay asleep. If you like to have a little relaxer after work or with dinner, just make sure that you wrap things up three to four hours before going to bed. That will give your body plenty of time to metabolize any alcohol from your system so that it doesn’t interfere with your brain patterns during sleep. Also, that should give you enough time for any diuretic effects to take hold before you try to go to sleep.
4. Nix even the occasional cigarette
While we hope you know smoking isn’t a healthy activity, most women would be surprised to hear that it affects your sleep patterns—and for the worse. While nicotine in itself is a stimulant, potentially triggering insomnia and mid-slumber awakenings, people who currently smoke are also 2.5 times more likely to suffer from sleep apnea, a condition in which you temporarily stop breathing during sleep. That’s because smoking triggers inflammation in the nose, throat and bronchiole tube that can cause both swelling and excess mucous production, essentially blocking your airways.
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