30 Days to Better Sleep: Day 2 — Remove the Electronics from the Bedroom

On the path to better sleep, today's task requires a little manual labor: remove the electronics from the bedroom.

Ideally, your sleep environment should be a space that is maximally conducive to sleep. For most people, this involves having a devoted room in the home with a bed. It should be cool, dark, and quiet. It should be a space reserved for sleep and sex. It should be preserved as an area devoted to sleep. In order to accomplish this, you must remove the electronics.

Start by unplugging the television. Many people enjoy falling asleep to TV, but this can be a very disruptive part of the sleep environment. It can delay your bedtime and reduce your total sleep time. As you finally doze off, the noise may cause you to awaken. If it remains on, this can occur throughout the night. Along with the television, clear out your gaming systems, VCR, DVD player, Blu-ray player, and any other entertainment devices.

Next, turn your attention to your computers. Power off the desktop, pack away the laptop, and remove your tablet computers. It may even be advisable to clear out your electronic readers such as your Kindle or Nook. These devices are small, quickly slip into bed, and can easily be a source of distraction and sleep disruption. If you wake in the night and begin using your computer to pass the time, you lose the association between your bedroom and sleep. Instead, it becomes the place where you can lie awake at night and surf the Internet. Moreover, the exposure to low levels of light may disrupt your circadian rhythm and your ability to fall asleep, resulting in insomnia.

Additionally, leave your cell or mobile phone in the other room when you go to bed. These phones are increasingly recognized as a source of sleep disturbance in children and adolescents, with many "sleep texting" inadvertently. If your phone sounds with an alert for a text message or if a call rings through, this will disrupt your sleep. Don't let this disruption intrude into your sleep environment. If possible, you should not have any phones in your bedroom space.

Before reveling in the success of accomplishing today's task, do one final sweep of your bedroom. Is there any other technology that might be a source of distraction or disruption? Are there devices that will prevent you from having a quiet, soothing sleep space? You may clear out radios, alarm clocks, portable music players, and anything else that has a power cord and an on/off switch. Preserve your bedroom as an electronics-free zone.

Your bedroom is for sleeping, and by removing these electronics you will begin to re-establish the healthy relationship between this space and the expected associated behavior. You will reduce your exposure to disruptive low levels of light and intrusive noises at night. Moreover, with this simple task you will begin to initiate changes that are integral to sleeping better.

30 Days to Better Sleep: Day 1 — Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day

If you have resolved to sleep better, you may be overwhelmed with where to even begin. When sleep problems creep into your life, it can be difficult to identify the entangled issues and set things right. Chances are that your trouble sleeping didn't fully develop overnight, so allow yourself the time you need to improve your sleep. Over the next 30 days you will be introduced to specific changes that you can make to sleep better. Depending on your individual needs, you may be able to pass by a recommendation without a second thought. However, for the advice that hits closer to home, take the time that you need to resolve the issue. Together let's set out on the path to better sleep!

The first challenge may seem inconsequential, but it typically yields results quickly: wake up at the same time every day. Ideally, you would be able to sleep as much as you need to and wouldn't wake with an alarm clock, but to begin with you can use one. You should select a wake time that you can observe every day, including weekdays and weekends. For most people, this would mean selecting a time that would allow you to get to work or school during the week and then getting up at the same time on Saturday and Sunday.

Once you have selected your wake time, consider whether it is feasible. This isn't about making yourself an early bird if you are a night owl. Though society may pressure you into believing that waking earlier is somehow better, more moral, reflective of a hard-working nature, what evidence is there for this? Plenty of successful people stay up until 2 A.M. and sleep in until 10 A.M., so don't fall into that trap. Consider your own body and your needs. Pick a wake-up time that you can maintain and don't let it be too early or inconsistent with your typical, natural pattern.

Why does it matter to wake up at the same time every day? Think of your wake time as the anchor to your day. Our bodies follow a circadian rhythm and this relies on consistency. There are many things that you do at about the same time every day, not the least of which is sleep. Anchoring your wake time in place is a cue (or zeitgeber) to your body about when you should be awake and when you should be asleep. Waking at the same time every day will actually help you to sleep better at night. This is especially important for people who have difficult falling or staying asleep, characteristic of insomnia.

It is important that when your alarm goes off at your selected wake time, you get up. You cannot hit the snooze and stay in bed for 9 minutes or even an hour. You want consistency, and this requires ruling yourself with an iron fist. You might put your alarm clock across the room if you are apt to hit the snooze while half asleep. In order to track your success, you can record your bedtime and wake time on a sleep log. This information will be useful as you implement further changes to improve your sleep.

If adhering to a fixed wake time daily proves to be a difficult task for you, allow yourself 1 to 2 weeks of consistency in your wake times before you make further changes to sleep better.