10 strategies for a more restful night's sleep

By Ginny Graves

updated 12:50 p.m. ET March 2, 2008

The brown bat sleeps for nearly 20 hours each day. Humans function best on a comparatively thrifty seven to nine, but more and more people are having trouble getting even that. The National Sleep Foundation recently found that just 25 percent of Americans get at least eight hours of rest on weekdays and that 60 percent of women say they often sleep poorly.

"Insomnia is a bona fide health problem," says Rubin Naiman, clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Program in Integrative Medicine and sleep director at the Miraval Resort in Tucson. "Skimping on sleep has a price, including weight gain, diminished immune responses, lack of concentration, irritability, and depression."

Why should something that seems to come naturally to other creatures prove so elusive for us? "Our society doesn't value sleep," says Phyllis Zee, a professor of neurology at and director of Northwestern University's Sleep Disorders Center. "We see it as a sign of laziness or a waste of time" — so much so that sleeplessness has become something to brag about. Plus, "the culture we've created is geared to keeping us awake," Zee says. Our minds are constantly aroused by stress, caffeine, and even e-mail. "Scans of metabolic activity in the brain show that people who suffer from insomnia have more activity than people without sleep problems when they're trying to get to sleep," Zee says. "When people say, 'I can't turn my brain off at night,' they're actually right."

It probably doesn't help that we're all preoccupied with our sleep problems and inundated with pills, gadgets, and treatments that claim to cure them. We asked experts to tell us which solutions they recommend, and then we put them to the test with bleary-eyed women. After all, sleep is the birthright of most animals; but to toss and turn is uniquely human.

Free your mind
The problem: Anxiety. You're alone with your thoughts for the first time all day, and you become so fretful that you feel like a character in a Woody Allen movie. "Worrying prompts your body to produce the adrenaline-like chemical epinephrine, which keeps you awake," says Joyce Walsleben, associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, who has studied sleep extensively. It also constricts your blood vessels, making your extremities cold — and it's easier to fall asleep when they're warm.

The solution: Imagine placing all your negative thoughts in a bubble and then watching them drift away, Walsleben says. Replace each worry with a restful thought of a beach or spa. Other calming ideas: Take a warm bath an hour before you turn in, and put on a pair of socks before slipping into bed.

Tiny tweaks Mild sleep problems can be tamed with relatively easy steps: Don't do anything stimulating in the hour before bed — even talking on the phone. Sex, happily, seems to be the exception. "Most people find that it makes them sleepy, even though it's arousing," says Meir Kryger, director of research at the Gaylord Sleep Center at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, Conn., and author of "A Woman's Guide to Sleep Disorders." Go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day. "We're creatures of habit. Our bodies become habituated to sleep if we make it a routine," says Mark Mahowald, a neurologist and director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. Mute disturbances: Cover light sources, block out noise with earplugs or a white-noise machine, and kick out the cat. Pets are a surprising source of sleep disruption, experts say, because they tend to be noisy and move around at night. Never look at the clock in the middle of the night — no matter what. "It can make you more anxious about not sleeping," says James Maas, a professor of psychology at Cornell University and author of "Power Sleep." Keep your bedroom cool — no more than 68 degrees. "That's the optimal temperature for sleeping, because it facilitates a drop in core body temperature, which will help you fall and stay asleep," says Rubin Naiman, clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Program in Integrative Medicine and sleep director at the Miraval Resort in Tucson.

Why it works: "Learning to control your worries will reduce epinephrine production," Walsleben says. Most people find a bath psychologically relaxing. Plus, the body warms up in the tub, and then "the fall in body temperature afterward can entice sleep," Zee says. The socks keep your feet warm, which will make you even sleepier.

The challenge: We tried to inject our worries into a bubble, but found that they just kept leaking back out again. Plus, we started to fret about why we weren't able to do it. But the bath really worked — we began to feel drowsy minutes after climbing out of the tub.

Get physically tired
The problem: You simply haven't been active enough to feel sleepy.

The solution: Shoot for at least a half-hour of moderate aerobic activity every day, even if it's only brisk walking, says James Maas, a professor of psychology at Cornell University and author of "Power Sleep" (HarperCollins).

Why it works: "The body must exert energy to get physically tired," Maas says. Studies show that a half-hour of exercise can improve sleep about as well as benzodiazepines (sleeping pills sold under the brand names Restoril, Halcion, and Valium), which are pre-Ambien and are still prescribed. In addition, "exercise over the long-term can help you lose weight and reduce stress, both of which can inhibit sleep," says Shelley Tworoger, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the Harvard School of Public Health, who has studied the effects of exercise on sleep.

The challenge: The results were immediate and dramatic: After never working out, we found that we fell asleep far more quickly and slept far longer on days when we jogged for 30 minutes on the treadmill. We also woke up during the night just once — rather than two or three times — on those days.

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