Surefire Ways to Get a Great Night's Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? According to an Institute of Medicine study, about 50 million Americans are not. Yet adequate rest is as vital to health and peak performance as exercise and good nutrition. And it can be so e-zzz:

Go to bed and get up at the same times every day — even on days off.

Why: You’ll help regulate your body’s internal clock to get the 7-8 hours sleep most adults require.

Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. Try a warm bath, light reading or listening to pleasant music. Fact: Listening to classical or New Age music at bedtime has been shown to help insomnia sufferers fall asleep. Possible reason: The music matches body rhythms and slows the heart rate.

Skip stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine from late afternoon on. And don’t use alcohol to induce sleep. As its sedative effect wears off, alcohol can trigger wakefulness. Don’t rely on sleeping pills. They can disrupt your sleep/wake cycle if you depend on them too much.

Squeeze in daytime fitness. In one recent study, regular exercisers not only slept almost an hour longer than non-exercisers; they also fell asleep in half the time.

Get help if your sleep has been disturbed often during the past month, or if sleep problems interfere with your ability to function normally during the day.

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