Sleep-wake schedule

• Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule 7 days a week to help support your body’s natural circadian rhythms. If you have to change your sleep and wake-up times on weekends or vacations, try to limit the change to 1 hour.
• Prioritize sleep. Make ​sure that your schedule allows for 8 hours in bed. Some researchers have suggested that people with headaches benefit from 8 hours of sleep at night.
• Try not to take naps. Remember that napping can interfere with your body’s sleep pressure, which makes it harder to fall asleep at your regular time and may make it harder to stay asleep. If you have to have a nap, take it before 3 p.m. and limit it to 30 minutes or less.

Limit fluids and caffeine

• Limit caffeine to two 8-ounce servings per day.
• Try not to have any caffeine after noon because it can stay in your system for many hours.
• Remember, caffeine isn’t just in coffee. It’s in tea, cola, chocolate, hot chocolate, energy drinks, and some medicines like Excedrin, Midol, prescription Tylenol with codeine, and over-the-counter Tylenol Ultra.
• Don’t drink anything within 2 hours of going to bed. That way, you won’t have to make trips to the bathroom overnight.

Limit or stop alcohol

• Limit how much alcohol you drink, and don’t drink alcohol within at least 3 hours of bedtime. Although drinking alcohol in the evening might make you fall asleep faster, it decreases deep sleep, can make nighttime breathing problems worse, and might result in overnight bathroom visits to empty your bladder.

Watch your food intake

• Have your evening meal about 4 hours before bed so the food is partly digested by bedtime. Avoid heavy or spicy meals.
• Have a light snack 1 or 2 hours before bed. Avoid fatty or sweet snacks. Try a complex carbohydrate and a protein, like whole grain toast and peanut butter or whole grain cereal and milk.

Cut back or stop smoking

• Nicotine increases your heart rate and blood pressure, so if people smoke before bed, it might be hard to fall asleep. Also, nicotine withdrawal symptoms or cravings can sometimes wake people during the night.
• If you smoke and have sleep problems, try to smoke less or quit. If you need help with this, talk to your healthcare provider or visit AlbertaQuits.

Daytime aerobic exercise

• Regular aerobic exercise helps you fall asleep faster, get more deep sleep, and wake up less during the night.
• Exercise in the morning, afternoon, or early evening. Make sure you’ve finished exercising at least 2 hours before bed. Earlier than that is better.