Sleeping Well

For Better Health: Make Sleeping a Priority

The consequences of poor sleep include less energy for physical activity and dealing with stress, difficulty concentrating, increased mistakes, more prone to accidents, and an immune system that is not at its best to fight illness.

Start your day off right with a good night's sleep. The Better Sleep Council provides the following tips for better sleep:

1. Give yourself "permission" to go to bed. Put your "to do" list away and make sleep a priority.
2. Unwind early in the evening.
3. Develop a sleep ritual. Do the same things each night before you go to bed to signal to your body that it is time for sleep.
4. Keep regular bedtime and waking hours.
5. Create a restful place to sleep.
6. Sleep on a comfortable bed.
7. Exercise regularly, but avoid exercising late in the day.
8. Avoid drinking caffeinated beverages in the evening.
9. Don't smoke.
10. Reduce alcohol intake. Drinking alcohol shortly before bedtime interrupts and fragments sleep.

Source: Better Sleep Council, www.bettersleep.org . If you have trouble sleeping because of your environment (like noisy roommates or late night "Q & A: LGBTA groupings") try talking to your roommates. You can also get suggestions from your RA, masters or someone in the Rice Counseling Center.