• Keep a regular sleep schedule by going to bed at the same time every night.   Be sure it’s a time when you normally feel tired, so that you don’t toss and turn. Stick to this routine even on weekends when you may want to stay up late.  If you find you need to change your bedtime, do it in small daily increments, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.
• Wake up at the same time every day.  It is preferable to awaken naturally without an alarm, but if you need an alarm clock to wake up on time try an earlier bedtime. Maintain your regular wake up time even on weekends.  If you tend to have very irregular waking times, use an alarm clock to help you get regulated.  It is critical that you avoid an erratic sleep/wake cycle.  The body likes consistency & regularity.
• Make up for lost sleep by taking a nap instead of sleeping late in the morning.  To make up for lost sleep, take an early afternoon nap. Be sure to limit your nap to between 30 minutes & 1 hour. You do not want to sleep so much in the day that you are not tired at bedtime..

• Adequate exercise in the daytime.  In  research subjects over 60 yrs old with severe sleep problems, supervised weight training 3 times weekly created a significant improvement in sleep quality & mood. There are many similar study outcomes.
• Avoid after–dinner drowsiness by getting up and doing something mildly stimulating, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting clothes ready for the next day. Snoozing after dinner may take the edge off your sleep urge  or make you wake up later in the night and have trouble getting back to sleep.
• Create a quiet environment.  Although people react differently to noise, most of us sleep better when the bedroom is quiet.  If you cannot avoid sleep-disturbing noise, try masking it with a fan, recordings of soothing sounds, or white noise.   If masking noise is annoying, buy the earplugs they have at pharmacies.  To be most effective they need to be twisted to be as small as possible, then put in the ear where they will expand to block sound.  The newer earplugs are very effective.
• Keep your room as dark as possible. Even dim lights like those from a TV, computer screen or digital clock can confuse the body clock and disturb sleep.  Use heavy curtains or shades to help block light from windows. If necessary use an eye mask to cover your eyes. Prolonged light exposure can reduce melatonin levels.  Avoid late night TV because of the light & flickering which is stimulating. Also avoid late night Ipad reading because of the bright light.
• Keep your room cool. Bedroom temperature also affects sleep. Most people sleep best in a slightly cool room around 65° F or less.  Many people prefer it be even colder.  Be sure to have good ventilation. If the room is too hot or too cold it can interfere with quality sleep.

Manage stress and anxiety before going to bed:

• Learn to stop worrying about sleep. Instead occupy your mind with pleasurable relaxing thoughts, memories & activities.
• Read a light, entertaining book or magazine or read positive uplifting or spiritually related prose or poetry. Or keep a journal & write down your thoughts to empty your head before bed.
• Take a warm but not too hot bath. It can be more soothing & relaxing if you add a cup of Epsom salts. Spend 15-30 minutes luxuriating in the bath.
• Listen to soft relaxing music
• Enjoy a light snack only if balanced with protein, fat & carbohydrates. Not sweets
• Do some easy stretches
• Wind down with a favorite hobby
• Use relaxation &/or hypnosis tapes or any kind of positive reprogramming tapes. Stress hormones are stimulating and can make it harder for you sleep, so relaxation is important. Follow this link to learn meditation techniques to counter the effects of stress. http://www.self-improvement-advice.org/ways-to-deal-with-stress.html. 

• Keep your mind as peaceful as possible and avoid problems.  Let all thoughts, which may come to you, which you do not wish to entertain, be as leaves falling from a tree into a stream to be washed away.  Release & let go. Release. Release.
• If you awaken in the night & feel activated and as if you may not immediately go back to sleep you can develop techniques, which work to put you back sleep.

• Slow deep breathing , counting as you inhale, then counting as you exhale and trying each time to count further than the time before- thus extending & deepening your breathing.
• Counting backwards from 500.
• Mentally repeating over & over a calming mantra or phrase, which soothes you.
• EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). You might watch the videos to learn tapping points & statements.  Practice them in the daytime, or at leqast before the middle of the night.   Repetition works best. Here are two starting links, EFT Yourself to Sleep & EFT for Better Sleep. You can  also google search EFT for sleep for more information on this very powerful technique for many life changes.

• If you are a severe insomniac, make sure you have sunlight exposure in the daytime, if possible, twice daily between 9-10 AM & 2-3 PM.  If there is no sun try 5, 000 LUX light therapy between 7-8 AM every day for 15 minutes to 1 hour.  Sit facing the light within 3 feet of it. You might want to use full spectrum lights in most of your home.  Then use low blue lights in the bedroom & bathroom.  These lights cause less melatonin suppression than regular lights. 

• Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Make sure you don’t fall farther in debt by blocking off a minimum of 8 hours for sleep each night. 
• Settle short-term sleep debt with an extra hour or two per night. If you lost 10 hours of sleep, pay the debt back in nightly one or two-hour installments.
• Keep a sleep diary. Record when you go to bed, when you get up, your total hours of sleep, and how you feel during the day. As you keep track of your sleep, you’ll discover your natural patterns and get to know your sleep needs. 

• Take a sleep vacation to pay off a long-term sleep debt. Pick a two-week period when you have a flexible schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and allow yourself to sleep until you wake up naturally. No alarm clocks! If you continue to keep the same bedtime and wake up naturally, you’ll eventually dig your way out of debt and arrive at the sleep schedule that’s ideal for you.

• Make sleep a priority. Just as you schedule time for work and other commitments, you should schedule enough time for sleep. Instead of cutting back on sleep in order to tackle the rest of your daily tasks, put sleep at the top of your to-do list.