Has a good night's sleep become rare to American adults? Sleep quality becomes increasingly worse for the average American adult year after year. Methodist Neurologist Dr. Randall Wright says he sees a lot of sleep deprivation in his practice. “We have a lot of people complaining that their memory is poor and they are afraid it may be the beginning of Alzheimer’s Disease. After we probe into their life and habits, we find out they are not sleeping very well.They address that problem, come back a while later, and guess what?!? They feel better!”
Dr. Wright knows that reduced sleep can mess up your body's nutritional functions, lead to heart disease and to say the least, make you cranky.He says to try to get in 7 hours every night. “Consistency is better than brain irregularity. The brain likes a routine.” Dr.Wright sees every day how important sleep is to our bodies and minds. “We definitely need it. It’s a way to rejuvenate ourselves every night. It’s good for our memory, it’s good for allowing our body to regulate our sugar and nutritional needs. There are so many health benefits from sleep that we are just now beginning to understand.”
He says a complete night's sleep of 7 hours is illusive if you leave on your TV, phone, or lights at bedtime. He also believes a warm bath or shower before sleeping in a cool room will help you to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly.
Here are more of Dr. Wright's Get To Sleep and Stay Asleep tips"
·Establish a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine.
· Relax your body.
·Make your bedroom conducive to sleep.Put clocks in your bedroom out of sight.
·Avoid caffeine after noon, and limit alcohol to 1 drink several hours before bedtime.
·Avoid smoking
·Get regular exercise
·Go to bed only when you're sleepy. If you aren't sleepy at bedtime, do something relaxing that will help you wind down.
·Wake up at the same time every day.
· Avoid daytime napping. Napping can throw off your sleep cycle.
·If you wake up and can't fall back to sleep within 20 minutes or so, get out of bed. Go to another room and read or do other quiet activities until you feel sleepy.