Kathy’s Home & Garden Tips – Your Best Sleep

It can be for various reasons, but we all can have trouble sleeping. Many of us only experience this on occasion, but a lot of people battle this nightly. They wake up groggy, and most days keep the caffeine going to get through the day. There are some things to do to combat this, many you will know about, but you do not do them. However, adequate sleep is essential to your overall health, and these are worth a try.

We are basically grown-up children, but we need to remember something from childhood when it comes to sleeping: We need to be on a sleep schedule. It is optimal to go to sleep at the same general time every night and strive to get at least seven hours. Of course, no one can do that seven days a week, but it is best not to have too much difference in sleep time.

Some people find a sleep mask helpful, especially if you need to sleep before it is fully dark. Living in the city, just the ambient light from nearby streetlights can be too much.  I would invest in a well made one if you think it would help. The ones available in drug stores are poorly made and often end up falling off. 

A white noise machine is one of the greatest things to help with getting quality sleep. At first, I thought that any kind of noise would never make me fall asleep, but it really does. There are endless variations of sound that you can mix or simply leave the white noise. There are free apps like the White Noise app or the one I use, Relax Melodies. I combine thunderstorms and surf sounds. This effectively drowns out the city noise. 

Another tough thing to do to help achieve quality sleep is putting down our devices an hour before bed. The screen’s blue light suppresses melatonin production, which is not good.  At least setup night mode on your device. You can do any time you want, but I just do sunrise and sunset. It tones down the brightness, and when I see it change to night, I think it is sleep time soon!

The best sleeping temperature is 60-65 degrees. Many of you are probably saying, “What?!” However, it is better to sleep in light sweats and socks in a cooler room than boxers or frilly sleep shirts in a warm room. Electric blankets are great too. They are so much better than the ones from years ago. 

A few cocktails before bed have been thought of as relaxing, but even two drinks can have you waking up groggy. You do not get good REM sleep, and it can interrupt your circadian rhythms. 

After a crazy hectic day, it can be cathartic to journal before bed. Not to spew out all the negative from the day, but to write about the good things that happened and what you are grateful for.

So, try these things to help you sleep better. One or more should help you wake up ready to take on the day. 

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO