New Year, Good Night...

A New Year is coming (It may not be quite time yet to claim this year as "yours" yet. Time will tell).

Anyway, with a new year, come the resolutions.

95% of resolutions have to do with one's health and well-being.

On top of returning to a gym/watching your food/sugar intake to take care of your physical health, why not invest in not only your physical health; but your mental and emotional health as well?

"Get more rest."

Getting a proper rest can help you with your physical health by giving you energy through the day, burning calories while you sleep, or, at the very least, can strengthen your immune system.

As far as "mental health," I know that my mind can sure be clearer from a good night's rest, along with my basic outlook on life.

...as for "Emotional Health," I sure know that I have a better outlook on life after a good night's rest. The world seems slightly more pleasant to be around and I'm certainly more pleasant to see...

I, for one, can speak for trouble sleeping (it's 10:54 on a Monday Night and I'm working on this; with YouTube babbling at me in the background).

Thanks to the FitBit program that I started last year, however, I am beginning to get better about sleeping and am currently at somewhere between 5-7 hours on a decent-great night (More on using a sleep-tracker of some type in a moment).

Permit me to offer some suggestions; some of which I have battle-tested to work for me.

SET A BED TIME/WAKE-UP TIME...

...Then try to STICK TO IT.

Probably the safest, surest way to get more out of your sleep schedule as to set one and try to treat it as fairly sacred.

Accidents/Mistakes/Conflicts can happen here and the LAST thing that you want to do is lose any sleep over being 15 minutes-an hour late to bed time. However, a fairly sacred sleep schedule can lead to far better rest...

LIMIT YOUR CAFFEINE/ALCOHOL/HIGH-SUGAR IN-TAKE BEFORE BED TIME...

...A LIGHT snack before bed isn't a bad thing.

Go for an apple/banana and glass of warm milk/(UNCAFFINATED) tea.

(Be wary about even many "healthy" fruits before bed; many contain NATURAL sugars).

If you're going to slam back a can of Pepsi or a 'Bud' a half-hour before bed, you WILL have a fairly-t0-very fitful night...

SET A ROUTINE

Bedtime/Wake-up-Time is key.

The (PROPER) bedtime snack can help.

Try to shower/get into your PJs at about the same time each night.

Which side do you sleep on?

"Co-sleep" with a pet or no?

KNOW whether you sleep with the door open or closed and try to abide by that (Closed for me).

Know how much light/dark you need (The nightlight in the corner, for when I inevitably get up in the middle of the night now that I'm in a Fitbit program that causes me to drink a lot more water throughout the day).

Know how many blankets/sheets you'll need or how much clothing you require.

Adjust the temperature in the room to the best of your abilities.

Be as positive as possible that the pillow will be comfortable to you.

Know where to find your linen spray if needed.

Have your favorite Sleep Meditation/white noise/QUIET music queued up

Know if reading before bed helps or hinders your rest.

Know when to turn off your "screen-time" before bed. (Personally, I can easily fall asleep to a movie/DVD. Then, without fail, I wake up later from the glare from the TV and need to fix that. For many people, try to omit screen-time a half-hour to an hour before bed).

Know if a (LITE) workout can help you work off energy from the day (walking in place, lite planking, slow shadow-boxing, yoga, etc.)

KNOW HOW TO RELIEVE YOUR MIND OF THE FRUSTRATIONS OF THE DAY.

Journal.

Read.

Phone a (very good) friend (These types of friends/family-members are NOT a dime a dozen and, therefore, should not be taken for granted).

Spend some time in (SILENT) prayer to your Higher Power/silent reflection.

One of the absolute last things that you need when your head hits the pillow is for your mind to be going at a mile a minute about the pains/frustrations/regrets/fears of the day...

USE A "SLEEP" TRACKER/RECORDER.

Lo and behold, "Mr./Ms. Fitbit" does more than track steps.

It appraises my rest/sleep cycles and "scores" them for me (not always accurately. It's a small blessing that, if I keep my heartrate at somewhere around a "Resting" level, it thinks that I'm in "lite-sleep" even if I am still in the process of slipping into sleep).

An honest appraisal of your sleep patterns could always help you get more rest.

DO WHAT YOU CAN TO "CONTROL" YOUR DREAM STATE.

Nothing hinders your sleep cycle like the type of nightmare that snaps you awake (then, upon checking my FitBit, my heartrate is already banging away at a solid 80/bpm; when I could have sworn that I was just ASLEEP barely a minute before).

Now, self-hypnosis into a forced dream doesn't work that way. (Take it from someone who notoriously plays out scenarios as a bachelor contestant where my former crushes are now the candidates vying for my heart, or who thinks out scenarios in which I'm a pop-star in hopes of forcing that dream, or INTENTIONALLY thinking about my crush du jour, or...anyhoo; yeah, it doesn't exactly work like THAT when, instead, that's anywhere from 15 to 45 more minutes of time awake before your sleep cycle even BEGINS).

Focus on the good things of the day. Fall asleep with a grateful heart/spirit. It can only be more beneficial to your dream life than falling asleep mulling over the past/thinking about a misunderstandting/worried about the next day, etc.

Best of luck to you in the New Year; and, for tonight, sweet dreams...