10 Ways to Sabotage your Sleep

Light Try not to spend a lot of time on the computer before bed, because the light from the monitor can send signals to the brain that its still time to be awake. Dont leave your TV on, either. The light from the screen can be annoying and keep you up at night.

Working in Bed Need to finish that presentation for work? Try not to put the finishing touches on it in bed. Doing work in bed can cause you to associate your room with stress, so try to keep the office in an actual office, and leave your bed to be a place of rest.

Staying in Bed

If youre just laying there with your eyes wide open, don't stay there vainly trying to sleep. Instead, get out of bed and engage in an activity. Read some kind of book or magazine, and when your eyes start to droop, go back to bed and try again.

Lack of Bedtime Routine Give yourself a schedule at night, like taking a shower, watching a few minutes of TV, and then bedtime. Make sure your routine is relaxingno yelling at the dog or paying bills. Do it every night so your body gets into a rhythm.

Exercise Exercising before bed is a great way to get yourself good and tired. Just a few sit ups and a couple of jumping jacks will do the trick. Try not to go into heavy work-out mode, because it could disrupt your sleep.

Caffeine Drinking a diet coke or a cappuccino and munching on chocolate right before bed shouldnt be part of your nightly routine. Avoid any caffeinated beverages or snacks for three to four hours before bed.

Long Naps Had a long day at the office? It may be tempting, but try not to take long naps during the day. Taking long naps will make it harder to fall asleep at night.

Irregular Sleep Schedule After a long week, its nice to let loose on the weekends. But straying too far from your regular sleep schedule will confuse your body. Even on the weekend, try to stick as closely as possible to your regular sleep routine.