Establishing a Bedtime Routine for a Good Night's Sleep

Getting a good night's rest is definitely under emphasized in a lot of circles. In the modern day and age it is all about productivity, and getting as much crammed into one day as possible. Most entertainment activities go on at night, and there are plenty of interesting television programs on to keep a person up all night. This, coupled with the modern commitments of life  work, children, home and relationship, are bound to leave hardly any time for sleep! Unfortunately people do not realize how important it is to be well-rested and to maintain a healthy sleep pattern.

A number of studies have shown that someone who is sleep-deprived will have the same limitations as someone who is legally drunk! Being tired lowers productivity, makes you sluggish, lazy and irritable. Being sleep-deprived will affect your overall performance in your daily life, including your attitude towards emotional and physical hurdles. It can even affect your health.

The bottom line is that it is not comfortable or enjoyable to be going about your day feeling exhausted, and there are many ways to prevent yourself from feeling this. Obviously getting enough sleep in the first place is key, but sometimes it can be hard falling asleep in the first place! We are going to take a look at a simple way of assuring you a good night's sleep& establishing a good bedtime routine.

Your body works on rhythms and cycles, so it picks up and responds well to consistency and routine. The first and most important thing to do is to establish a set time to go to bed each night. You can do this by calculating how many hours of sleep you will be getting in relation to the time you have to wake up in the morning. Sleep experts say that you should get an average of seven to eight hours sleep each night. So, for example, if you need to wake up at 6AM, you should go to bed at 10PM. This would give you a decent eight hours sleep. The major "but" in this is that you will actually be having a restful sleep, all which must be preceded by your bedtime routine.

Your bedtime routine need not be long, but it is imperative that it stays the same every night, as much as is possible. Whatever routine you decide on will be the unconscious way of your mind telling your body it is time to go to sleep. Depending on what you prefer, there are a wide range of short bedtime routines you can indulge in. You could have a warm, soothing non-caffeinated nightcap, brush your teeth, have a bath, read a few chapters of a book  whatever you are comfortable with.

It is also crucial that you limit your night-time stimulation, especially as you draw nearer to your bedtime. Watching TV can be very stimulating, so ensure that you switch the TV off at least half an hour before you are going to retire to bed. Computers can also be over-stimulating. For a healthy sleep routine a TV in the bedroom is a definite no-no! The bedroom should be only for sleep and sex.

The important thing is to stick to this routine, to teach your brain its sleep signals. You would need to persist for about two weeks before seeing any difference. At first, it may take you longer to fall asleep at your new bedtime, but once your body gets used to its new routine and new bedtime, you will fall off to sleep more and more rapidly.

About The Author These tips are a good starting point to getting a good night's sleep. If you find that you are still always tired, check out our site http://www.stopconstantfatigue.org more for information on how to stop feeling tired and get the good night's rest you deserve.