Create a sleep schedule where you wake up and go to sleep at the same time everyday, even on weekends or days off. Sleep requirements vary from person to person, but on average, you should be getting between seven to nine hours of sleep to function at your best during your waking hours. However, some people need as much as ten.  Teenagers generally need more sleep than older adults. Young bodies need a lot of rest while growing during adolescence. Some people require more sleep than others. A very few people thrive on as little as six hours a night, while others require ten to be truly rested. Respect these differences; a person needed more sleep is not lazy or bad. Some people think getting just one less hour of sleep will not greatly affect their daily functioning. Another belief is that sleep can be made up on the weekend or a day off. And once in a while is probably fine. But if this happens a lot, your regular sleep schedule will suffer, leading to oversleeping or being overly tired when you wake up.  It is a myth that the human body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedule. While most people can reset their biological clock, this can only be done by timed cues, and even then, only by one to two hours per day at best. It can take more than a week for your body’s internal clock to adjust to traveling across several time zones or to switching to the night shift. Even then, some people adjust easier than others. Extra sleep at night cannot cure you of your daytime fatigue. The quantity of sleep you get every night is important, but the quality of your sleep is more important. You may get eight or nine hours of sleep a night but will not feel well rested if the quality of your sleep was poor. Switch off your television, smartphone, iPad, and computer or keep all electronics out of your bedroom completely. The type of light these screens emit can stimulate your brain, suppress the production of melatonin (which helps you sleep), and interfere with your body’s internal clock. Another option is to shut down your computer on a schedule. This will automatically sleep your machine and prevent you from working on your computer too late or too close to your bedtime. There are sleep features on both PCs and Macs that you can activate. As well, if you want your computer to be ready to go in the morning, once you wake up, you can schedule a startup time too. If you tend to get wrapped up in evening activities or conversations and forget to stick to your sleep schedule, you can set an alarm on your phone or computer to alert you 1 hour or 30 minutes before bedtime. If you prefer to shut down all electronics a few hours before bed, you can use an alarm on your watch or ask someone you live with to remind you of bedtime one hour before the appointed time. This could be a warm bath, reading a good book, or having a quiet conversation with your partner. Relaxing hobbies or activities are also an excellent choice. Doing a restful activity will help to trigger your brain to start relaxing and shutting down.  Playing on the computer or your device is not a good activity - your body is quiet, but your mind may be overstimulated and the light of the screen triggers the mind to be awake. Likewise with television: this device triggers "awake" signals in the brain. If you find yourself tossing and turning in bed in the dark, avoid staying there awake for prolonged periods. Instead, get up and do something calming in order to get your mind off your inability to sleep. Getting anxious about not being able to sleep, and dwelling on it will actually make it less likely you will be able to get to sleep.  Again, do not turn on the television, gaming system, computer, or other electronic device. Try things like reading, washing the dishes, knitting, running a load of laundry, doing origami, or the like. Put up heavy curtains or shades to block the light from windows. Cover any electronic displays, like TVs or computers so the light does not glow in the room. You can also use a sleep mask to cover your eyes to help you sleep.  A cool temperature in your room when you sleep will actually help you get a better night's sleep. A drop in your core temperature, due to a cold sleeping environment, can trigger your body’s “let’s hit the hay” tendencies and help you get right to sleep.  If you have difficulty sleeping due to loud noises outside your window or a loud sleep partner, consider investing in good earplugs, or a noise machine. You can also set a timer so bright lights come on in your room in the morning at the same time every day. Sunlight helps your body’s internal clock to reset itself each day. This will also help you avoid oversleeping, as the sun will cause you to wake up. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people who have trouble falling asleep.
حافظ على جدول نوم منتظم. أغلق كل أجهزتك الإلكترونية والمشتات قبل الخلود إلى النوم بعدة ساعات. اضبط منبهًا ليذكرك بوقت الخلود إلى النوم. قم بنشاط يبعث على الاسترخاء قبل الخلود إلى النوم. حافظ على ظلام وبرودة وهدوء غرفة نومك. استيقظ مع شروق الشمس.