How Well Do You Sleep?

If you have trouble falling asleep or toss and turn all night, you are not alone. Millions of people do not get a good nights sleep. I sometimes find myself not feeling refreshed upon awakening and that truly affects my day. My mind is off, my body is achy.

Simple changes we can make will bring us better sleep. Our mind, body and soul will benefit.

Regular day exercise can help sleep. Believe it or not, as little as twenty to thirty minutes of activity during the day helps. Exercising close to bed time actually stimulates the body. Keep a regular bedtime schedule, including weekends. Overall sleep will be better if you do this.

Our mind and body associate 'light' with being awake and the opposite for sleep.
Your bedroom should be quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature with proper ventilation.

Make your bedroom the place for sleep. Don't associate your bed with work. Do you sometimes balance your checkbook on the bed while the TV is on? or finish that work you've brought home? Your bedroom should be the place where you go to relax, to sleep.

What about your bed? Is it large enough? Can you stretch out and turn comfortably or are you cramped? All these factors affect your quality of sleep. I usually wake up with aches in my back, so I know a new bed and mattress is a must. Shopping for beds has me stumped. There are so many choices. Does it matter what a bed looks like? I just want my bed to appeal to me. This way I want to be in it!

Surfing the web, I came across Time4SleepBeds. The choices are overwhelming: Leather Beds,Wooden Beds, beds for children, Metal Beds,French Style Beds,Antique Style Beds, to name a few. Then there's the decision of picking the mattress. I know it will be better for my back to pick a firm mattress. Maybe with a pillow top. I now use an egg crate on top of the mattress to make my back feel better, but my mattress is so old, that I'm not truly benefiting from it.

Does anyone have recommendations on what type of bed or mattress helps with back issues? If you also have some tips to getting a better night's sleep, please do share.