11 tips for a better night’s sleep

Don’t bring your smartphone into the bedroom, turn the temperature down and invest in an eyemask for better rest at night.

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Have you caught yourself looking at Twitter at 1 a.m.? Do you wake up at night to check your Facebook news feed? Are you writing emails instead of dreaming?

As communicators, we’re fanatical about staying connected at all times. Our sleep, however, is vital to our performance during the day. Here are some tips to follow up on the recent infographic Ragan published, to help you achieve the rest your body needs.

1. Don’t go to bed angry. It’s a cliché that carries a lot of truth. Reserve some time before you head to bed for what my dad always calls “winding down” from your day.

Choose a time to turn off your cell phone, log out of email, and close the computer. The few minutes it takes to disconnect and put your mind at rest makes all the difference. I find that if I check email after get into bed, I’m not ready to snooze once the lights are out. Which brings me to my next point:

2. Let bed be bed. Limit, within reason, the activity in your bed. Read on your couch, work at your desk, eat at your table, and sleep in your bed. In order to train your brain to associate your bed with sleepy time, you don’t want to be living in it.

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