5 tips for better sleep

LINCOLN, Neb. — Sleep deficiency is a public health problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Sleep affects every moment of our daily lives, from how we think and remember to how our bodies thrive or deteriorate,” said Susan Harris, Nebraska Extension educator, during a podcast hosted by AgriSafe. “It determines how we deal with stress, make choices related to safety and function as human beings.

“While most health education tends to focus on nutrition and activity, sleep is arguably the single most important factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and lack of it causes a significantly reduced quality of life.”

When you make sleep a top priority, it can improve your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, Harris said.

She referenced “30 Tips and Tricks for Better Sleep” as a guideline for ideas.

“It’s almost like an armor of helpful tips, helpful things, routines that you can do,” she said.

Here are five of the 30 tips for better sleep:

1. Get up at the same time every day and try to keep your sleep schedule as regular as possible.

2. Create mental triggers before bedtime like we do for children: have a warm bath, read a book, eat a light snack, put on pajamas, or create a to-do list for the next day so your head is clear of those things.

3. Wear non-restrictive clothing or none at all. Anything that tangles around you when turning over in bed, pushes against your bladder, or creates too much heat must go.

4. Set nighttime temperature at 60 to 68 degrees. Bodies must cool down for good sleep. Vasodilation, or blood vessels dilating, carries heat to the skin in waking hours and then skin will cool down, signaling the brain that it is time to sleep.

5. Focus on sleep position — spine aligned, arms and legs not bent much and no leg-stacking. Sleeping on your back is best unless you have sleep apnea. The left side is next best for digestion and waste elimination; keep spine aligned and arms not kinked.

Read “30 Tips and Tricks for Better Sleep” at go.unl.edu/sleeptips.