Image courtesy of National Sleep Foundation

It’s National Sleep Awareness Week, and one health official has some tips for people to get better sleep.

Director of Clinical Operations at Somnitech Amber Brown, in partnership with Guthrie County Hospital, advises to follow these sleep hygiene tactics to achieve optimum sleep. She says stick to the same sleep schedule both during the workweek and weekend, as well as sleeping in a dark space.

“So no nightlights if you can, avoid those. Because that helps release the melatonin in your body. Melatonin naturally occurs at bedtime. So if you can start to achieve that, even some begin to dim their lights about 30-60 minutes before instead of all these bright lights right before bedtime, that would be a big help.”  

Brown notes other tips include avoid using bright screen devices at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep, avoid falling asleep on couches, recliners and chairs right before bedtime, sleeping in a cooler environment and using “white noise” like a fan to block out other noises.

Brown points out if you can’t get a consistent good night of sleep, it may be caused by an underlying sleep disorder. She says the signs of an underlying sleep disorder include waking up and gasping for breath, daily headaches, irritability, excessive daytime sleepiness, obesity, high blood pressure and uncontrolled diabetes. Brown suggests to consult your medical provider, who can refer you to have a sleep study done.