Nine Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

Do you find yourself tossing and turning long after calling it a night? Maybe the following get-to-sleep strategies listed in a CNN article will help.

1. Give your body a full hour to wind down from work before you try to fall asleep. 
2. Take a warm bath or shower. Your body temperature drops rapidly after you get out of the water, which can make you feel sleepy. 
3. Put on socks. Research has found that the perfect recipe for sleep is a cooler core and warmer extremities. 
4. Deliberately change your pattern of breathing. You might try inhaling through your nose, filling your chest and lungs for three to four seconds and then slowly exhaling through your mouth for double the time you were inhaling. 
5. Don't head to bed until you actually feel sleepy. 
6. If you're looking to try a calming technique such as visualization or progressive muscle relaxation to help you unwind, try it during the day, not at night when you're feeling anxious and restless. 
7. If you're lying in bed awake, get out of bed and move to another room until you feel sleepy. 
8. Hide or dim your clock. If you're constantly checking the time, you're putting more pressure on yourself and creating a stressful environment. 
9. If racing thoughts keep you awake a night, try writing them down before you go to bed. Processing your feelings can help you relax. 

Last but not least, keep in mind that you're not alone. Approximately 60 million Americans experience insomnia in a given year and 40 million have long-term sleep disorders.

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