Tips to help you sleep better

• Don't nap for more than 15-20 minutes per day. It can throw off your sleep cycle and make it harder for you to get good sleep at night.
• Try removing your socks for an hour before you go to bed and putting them on right before you go to sleep—the shock of warmth and comfort may help you get to sleep.
• Wear appropriate clothing that reflects the weather. Don't forget your feet—cold feet can keep you awake! Keep a sweatshirt or an extra blanket right next to the bed, just in case you get too cold at night.
• Avoid leaving your TV or music on overnight. If you need it to fall asleep, use the timer feature to make sure that it turns off by the time you fall asleep.
• Keep your eyes closed! It may sound intuitive, but it is hard to fall asleep when you are staring at the ceiling.
• If you can't fall asleep within the first 40 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy. Lying in bed awake for long periods of time will cause you to associate your bed with not sleeping.
• You may try using a particular ritual before you go to bed that will make you sleepy. For example, you might try taking a warm bath, reading a book, or drinking a glass of warm milk.
• Try using lavender. The scent may help you to calm yourself down and may make you feel a little sleepy. If you have lavender scented body splash or perfume, you can try scenting your pillow with it.
• Feeling too hot? Learn how to sleep comfortably on a hot night. Feeling too cold? Learn how to sleep when it's cold.
• Try taking a cool shower before going to bed. You'll wash off a good deal of what might make you itchy, especially if you've been outdoors and have a bug bite or two.
• Keep bedroom clutter to a minimum so the last thing you see at night is your bed, rather than all the little things that need to be taken care of.
• Here is how you can find the optimal thickness for a pillow: Stand comfortably with your back against a wall. The distance between the wall and your head is the ideal compressed pillow thickness.
• Try to keep your bedroom quiet. Having distracting noises that startle you can keep you awake.
• Try sleeping with an open window. Fresh air on a cool night can help you to relax.
• If you are struggling to sleep due to changes in your sleep cycle, try taking melatonin before you go to sleep. Continue this routine for a few days, or as instructed on the back of the medicine bottle.