Sleep

• Get into or stay in bed only when you are tired.
• Forcing yourself to stay in bed or fighting with your body to fall asleep may only make things worse.
• Get out of bed if you are not asleep after 15 minutes.
• Go into another room and do something quiet, such as reading or listening to music.
• Go back to bed when you start feeling sleepy.
• Reclaim your bed for sleep.
• Do not do other activities.
• Avoid reading, eating, or watching TV in bed.
• Try not to watch the clock.
• Watching the time pass and worrying about how much time you have left to sleep may make it more difficult to fall asleep.
• Turn your clock toward the wall so you can’t focus on the time.
• Avoid stimulating activities before going to bed.
• For example, do not watch action movies or get into conversations or projects that may upset or excite you.
• Although exercise can help you sleep better, avoid exercising in the hour or two before you intend to go to sleep.
• Avoid screen time, especially blue light, in the hour before you intend to go to sleep.

To help you start and stick with a sleep routine, try to:

• Follow a schedule, even on weekends.
• Go to bed at the same time each night, even if you don't feel tired yet, so your body gets used to a regular sleep pattern.
• Get up at the same time every morning even if you didn't sleep well the night before.
• Use an alarm clock to help you wake up.
• Avoid napping a lot during the day.
• While you may need to nap a little during the day, napping for more than 30 to 60 minutes may disrupt your nighttime sleep pattern.
• Although it may be difficult to change your napping habits, consider whether your daytime naps are making it harder for you to feel completely rested.

Set up your bedroom to help you sleep. Be sure that your bedroom is:

• At a comfortable temperature.
• Temperatures that are too hot or too cold may disrupt your sleep.
• Dark.
• Use shades or drapes to keep out the light.
• Try sleeping with an eye mask.
• Quiet.
• Noise, even at low levels, may disturb your sleep.
• To help block out sounds that may keep you awake, you may want to consider ear plugs or using fans, which generate white noise.
• Comfortable to you.
• If needed, adjust the padding thickness on your mattress to your liking.
• If you have pain or soreness, consider adjusting or changing your pillows or mattress to better support those areas.
• Free of pets.
• Consider keeping pets off the bed because they may wake you up or keep you awake when they move or make noise.

Some research suggests that lowering your body temperature near bedtime may tell your body it is time to go to sleep.

You may want to:

• Take a bath or shower before bedtime.
• Your body temperature will drop naturally after you bath.
• Avoid exercise too close to bedtime.
• Physical activity raises your body temperature and may keep you awake if done within 2 hours of going to bed.

You may find it helpful to:

• Avoid eating a heavy meal or drinking too much before bedtime.
• A high protein snack at bedtime is recommended
• But too much food or liquid may make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep.
• Limiting fluids before bedtime may cut down on how often you need to go to the bathroom during the night.
• Avoid caffeine for 4 to 6 hours before bedtime.
• The caffeine in coffee, chocolate, some soft drinks, teas (including some green teas), diet medicines, and some pain medicines may keep you from sleeping well.
• If you take herbal supplements, check to see whether they are known to interfere with sleep.
• Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
• Although alcohol may help you fall asleep, it may also increase the number of times you wake up or need to go to the bathroom during the night
• Do not smoke near bedtime or during the night.
• Nicotine is a stimulant that can cause shallow sleeping and sleeplessness.
• For this and other reasons, you may want to strongly consider quitting smoking.

To mentally prepare yourself for sleep, try to:

• Do something that is calming to you.
• Listen to music, read a magazine, or try using a relaxation technique, such as meditation.
• Do not perform these activities in bed, as part of good sleep hygiene
• Write down your thoughts in a "worry book."
• Set aside time the next day to think about the problem you wrote down and how to solve it.
• Problems that cause worry at night often seem smaller in the daytime.

MYTH: "I will sleep whenever I get a chance."

FACT: Going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day helps your body learn a pattern of sleep.

• You may feel that you have too much to do to set enough time aside to sleep each night.
• This may mean you are overdoing it and need more sleep than you are currently getting.

MYTH: "I'll be tired the next day if I change my sleep habits."

FACT: It's true that when you change your sleep pattern, you may be a bit more tired at first.

• Changing old habits and learning how to get a good, restful night's sleep doesn't happen immediately.
• Give yourself a few weeks to get used to the new pattern and for your body to adjust.
• Pace yourself to keep symptoms from flaring up.
• Flare-ups, or periods when your symptoms are more intense, may interfere with sleep.
• Keep track of your progress.
• It may take up to several weeks to notice improvements in your sleeping habits.

Make sure YOU get enough sleep

• Caring for someone who is living with pain can be stressful, which can make it hard for you to sleep, too.
• If the person you care for is your spouse or partner, the impact of their pain may make it hard to sleep in the same room.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developed an app for insomnia