Barbara Brody: Lack of sleep really is kind of an epidemic in this country, and a lot of people do think that you can just pop a pill and that that's the best thing to do, but there are a number of lifestyle measures that you can take, and starting them early in the day is really the key to sleeping better at night.
Joyce A. Walsleben: An important thing to do during the daytime is to stay on a regular schedule. So get up at the same time everyday, try and have your meals at the same time everyday, get light in your eyes, be outside, and have an exciting life.
Barbara Brody: With regards to exercise, there has been a lot of research showing that it is really helpful for helping you sleep better because it really has lot of stress reducing qualities.
Joyce A. Walsleben: We know though, that exercise can be stimulating, so you don't want to do it right before bed.
Barbara Brody: Ideally, if you can do it a couple of hours before bedtime, you really should be able to reap the benefits.
Joyce A. Walsleben: I think an important thing to do to ease yourself into sleep is to break from the day.
Barbara Brody: A lot of people think that they can just run around all day, they can keep really late hours in the office, be up with the kids at night, and then just as soon as they are ready to go to sleep, just flip a switch and pass out. But your body really isn't wired like that. You really need to start winding down a couple of hours before bedtime to kind of have a buffer between your daytime activities and sleep.
Joyce A. Walsleben: Turn off the television, turn off the emails, relax for a little bit, maybe take a warm bath, read a book and then into get bed when you are sleeping, and that would be very helpful.
Barbara Brody: All these things can really just kind of help de-stress you and kind of get your body ready to go to sleep.
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