How to Participate in National Better Sleep Month

According to the information found on web sites listing special days of recognition for the month of May, this month has been designated as "Better Sleep" month. With so many of us in need of more sleep and of better quality sleep, we should all commit to making the changes necessary to improve our sleep habits.

Things You'll Need

• a good mattress
• good pillows
• comfortable setting
• commitment to a sleep routine
• dedication to personal care

Instructions

1. The amount of sleep a person needs in order to feel refreshed and alert varies from person to person. However, surveys show that the majority of us are not getting the amount of good quality sleep that our bodies need. Many of us have reasons such as having too much to do, not enough daytime hours, or too much on our minds to fall into a deep sleep mode for a sufficient amount of time each night. Therefore, we need to schedule sleep time into our daily plans.

2. Let your body tell you how much sleep you need then make whatever adjustments you need to in your routine to make certain you give yourself the opportunity to acquire that amount of sleep.

3. 

   Once you arrange your schedule so that you have a sufficient amount of time to sleep, it is important that you be able to fall asleep quickly and enjoy an uninterrupted night of sleep. There are numerous ways to help you accomplish this goal.

   Invest in a good mattress and pillows. You need to be comfortable to sleep well.

   If noise is an issue, you can turn on a fan to block disturbing sounds.

   Make your bedroom as conducive to sleep as possible. Don't use a section of your bedroom as an office.

   Sleep in a room that is as dark as you are comfortable with.

   It's difficult to sleep in a room that is too hot or too cold so adjust the temperature to a comfortable temperature for sleeping.

4. Exercise in the early part of the day.

   Eat a light dinner and limit your consumption of liquids a couple of hours prior to going to bed.

5. Try putting your brain to rest before you go to bed. Spend a few minutes sitting with your eyes closed and think about absolutely nothing. This is much harder than it would appear to be. You may want to focus on an object such as a piece of pink quartz or a sea shell, or something very soothing and simple in order to put all other thoughts out of your mind.

6. Take time during the month of May to establish a better sleep pattern for yourself. Sufficient sleep is necessary for good health and for mental alertness. It also tends to help you maintain a better disposition, increase your level of patience, and basically just helps you have a better attitude throughout the day.