Sleep Better With Healthy Sleep Habits
How you spend your day (and night) affects how well you sleep—for better or worse. If a good night’s sleep eludes you, try practicing some of these healthy sleep habits:
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Keep a consistent bedtime routine: Find routines that relax you, such as bathing or reading, and do them each night before bed. Relaxing routines help your mind unwind and prepare your body for sleep. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every night (plus or minus 30 minutes) can also help your body learn to sleep better.
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Create a comfortable sleep environment: Your bedroom’s atmosphere can impact your sleep quality. To ensure an environment ideal for sleeping:
- Aim for the right temperature, neither too cool nor too warm. In general, a room that feels a bit on the cool side (around 65 degrees F) is best for sleeping.
- Turn off the lights. Darkness can help you sleep. Turn off overhead and other lights as well as the TV and other electronics, if applicable.
- Put pets outside your bedroom at night, if they disrupt your sleep.
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Exercise regularly: Physical activity can improve sleep quality, but you may want to schedule exercise for earlier in the day. Physical exertion causes your body to release endorphins. These brain chemicals boost your mood, but you may find that they keep you awake if you exercise too late in the evening. Experiment with when you exercise to determine if it affects how well you sleep.
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Watch your beverage intake: Caffeine and alcohol can both disrupt your sleep, so avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages before bed. If you find yourself waking up multiple times at night to use the bathroom, try drinking less fluid overall in the hours before you go to sleep.
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Use your bed primarily for sleeping: The more you sleep in your bed, the more your body associates your bed with sleep. Try to avoid watching TV or reading in bed. If you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something else until you are tired.
Experience the Blessing Difference: Our Sleep Center
If modifying your behaviors and bedroom environment has not resolved your sleep problems, notify your doctor. The Blessing Sleep Center provides comprehensive testing such as sleep studies to diagnose and treat a range of sleep disorders.
Patients choose the Blessing Sleep Center because of our:
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Care that focuses on you: We are an accredited Sleep Center from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. We provide a wide range of diagnostic testing to measure the quantity and quality of your sleep, so we can get you the personalized care you need. Learn more about the Blessing Sleep Center.
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Quick access to care: Our facility’s size allows us to perform more nighttime studies than others in the area, so our patients experience shorter wait times when scheduling a sleep study. We also offer an on-site sleep specialist for prompt follow-up care, which means less time awaiting test results.
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In-depth education: We emphasize patient education and provide you with comprehensive follow-up support as a key part of our treatment recommendations.
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Expert staff: Our board-certified sleep specialists boast additional training in pulmonary or neurology and can offer you expert diagnosis and treatment for a range of conditions. We also work with ear, nose and throat (ENT) physicians and psychiatrists, as appropriate, ensuring you receive comprehensive care. Learn more about our Pulmonology and Ear, Nose and Throat programs.
Contact Us
To schedule an appointment or refer a patient, call (217) 277-5390.