According to The Better Sleep Council, 68 percent of American women do not get their eight hours of recommended sleep each night. A number of factors, ranging from your sleep environment to work and family stressors, can prevent you from getting a good night's sleep. Because sleep is linked with a number of benefits, including recharging the brain to make a person feel more alert, women should engage in stress-relieving activities in order to achieve a good night's rest.
Exercise
Exercising not only helps the heart and muscles---it also helps women get a better night's sleep, according to Dr. Philip Muskin, a psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center, on CBSNews.com. However, this only is true for when women exercise earlier in the day. Because evening exercise can be stimulating and actually cause a woman to feel more awake, exercising in the morning or afternoon can help you experience the sleep benefits associated with exercising.
Limit Caffeine After 2 P.M.
An estimated 37 percent of women drink at least three caffeinated beverages every day, according to CBSNews.com. Caffeine is a stimulant that can affect the nervous system and create difficulties in helping you achieve a good night's rest. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends only drinking caffeine in the morning and avoiding the use of other stimulants, such as alcohol and cigarettes, later in the day as well. Caffeine can even be found in teas, so make sure you are drinking decaffeinated varieties in the evening.
Improve Your Sleep Environment
The Better Sleep Council's Better Sleep Month Survey found that an uncomfortable mattress and/or pillows were one of the top three factors that affected sleep in women. If your sleep environment is not comforting, it's likely you may be having difficulty going to sleep. If your back hurts when you wake up, and is seemingly unrelated to other chronic problems, it could be time to replace your mattress. The same is true for when your neck hurts---it could indicate the need for a new pillow.
Other factors can affect your sleep environment. These include noise and very hot or cold temperatures, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Create a more comforting sleep environment by eliminating noise from a television or radio and instead use a white-noise or soothing-sounds machine. Light-prohibiting curtains also can help block out excess light from streetlights, which could prohibit you from sleeping. Additionally, make your bedroom only for sleeping---avoiding stressors that keep women awake, such as working on a computer, can keep you experiencing stress when you are trying to sleep.
