Today's Small Change: Get to bed on time tonight.

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Monday March 03, 2008Welcome to today's edition of Healthy Living with

Ellie Krieger.

Today's Small Change: Get to bed on time tonight.

Early to Bed Less-than-stellar-quality sleep is a common complaint — 7 in 10

people say they experience frequent sleep problems. Yet there are a variety of

ways to improve your sleep. Going to bed and getting up at the same time each

day will help set your body clock. Today I want you to decide what time you're

going to go to sleep — and follow through with it. To ensure that you stick to

your bedtime, it's important not to schedule stimulating activities right up

until your last waking moment. For example, most of us spend the last hour

before bed watching TV several nights a week. While certain programs may be

relaxing, catching up on financial news or watching a violent drama may make you

more prone to tossing and turning. Likewise, a heavy meal late at night is

likely to affect your sleep because your body will be busy digesting it. So do

yourself a favor and cut back on TV and large meals before bed. Instead, create

a wind-down routine to help yourself relax and

be ready for a restful night's sleep when the time comes. Your bedtime

routine might mean taking a warm bath or curling up with a favorite book for a

few minutes. There's some truth to a warm bath helping to produce restful sleep

— your body temperature drops after the bath, which makes you feel relaxed and

sleepy. If you're hungry, a light snack is fine; milk or a carbohydrate snack

will help relax you. A bedtime ritual need not be anything extravagant — just

come up with a routine that will tell your body it's time to get ready for

sleep. Stick to your bedtime, and set your alarm (if you use one) for the same

time every morning — you'll sleep better in the long run.

If there's no fun in it,

something's wrong with

all you're doing.

~N.V. Peale