Nitey nite

The whole point of sleep hygiene is to let your body know it's bedtime and it's time to settle down.  Also, it is a very civilized way to live.  We have most of our best conversations at night when we've been in touch with all the girls and know that everyone made it through the day safely.
 Sleep hygiene is a wonderful thing.  And very simple to do.

1. Establish a regular bedtime and wake up time.

2. Starting 2 hours before your regular bedtime, don't look at a screen that has any sort of backlighting.  TV, computer, smart phone anything.  An e-reader is okay if  you have to use a lamp, but not one that is backlit so those new tablets are a no-no. We DVR anything we want to watch that comes on during the blackout period.

3. At night, turn the lights down low.  In the morning, either turn the lights up as bright as they will go or stand with your face toward the sun. This lets your body know that you are serious about waking up.

4. The bedroom is not for reading, watching tv, or fighting.  It's only for two things and one of them is sleep.  The other isn't playing parcheesi.

5.2 hours before bedtime, listen to music or books on tape, or talk.  But whatever you do, make sure it is low key.  This is not a good time for heavy exercise or even a walk.

Another thing is no drugs.  We cheat on that because of Pat's situation, but at the most he gets 1/4 of an ambien once every other week.  We use melatonin for the most part, but really the best thing is turning off the electronics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sal_pp_ptJQ