Valley’s Tips for Better Sleep
Sleep matters! It just does. Good consistent sleep will make you more productive, happier, and healthier. Our culture of “busy” as the new norm, is toxic to our anxiety levels and has us all wishing for more hours in the day. As we will never be able to find or invent those, we often steal from our sleeping hours to get more done. The result though, is exhaustion, mental and physical illness, and decreased productivity. On top of the “busy”, we are crippling our bodies’ ability to achieve healthy sleep with screens, stress and schedules. Over the years, and specifically through the pandemic, Valley Hospital has released some great information for a better night’s sleep. Attached here are two links to helpful resources, with a small summary if you just need a quick read. Make sleep a priority, especially going into the holidays, heaven knows things aren’t getting any easier!
FOR KIDS:
Tips To Reduce the Impact of Remote Learning on Sleep (printed in mybergen.com)
- Stick to a consistent schedule
- Know how much sleep your child needs based on age
- Practice a nighttime unwind
- Keep screens out of bedrooms
- Pay attention to food and drink before bed
- Help your child stay active
FOR ADULTS:
VIDEO: Sleep Right, Sleep Tight
- Stop electronics at least half an hour before bedtime
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol several hours before bedtime
- Set up an environment for sleep, and use the bed only for sleep and sex
- Maintain a sleep/wake schedule
- Get out of bed if you haven’t fallen asleep in 30 minutes
- Avoid daytime napping
- Don’t drive drowsy
When to get help:
- If you have been experiencing insomnia for more than a couple months
- If you are experiencing daytime sleepiness
- If you are waking up in the middle of the night for no clear reason
You can check out Valley’s sleep page, call them at 1 800 VALLEY1 or email VirtuallyValley@ValleyHealth.com
