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tion. It makes you sleepy, right? While a night- time glass of wine may help you fall asleep more quickly, alcohol has an adverse effect on sleep quality. Since it dehydrates the body, it can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night (whether to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water) and keep you from en- tering into the deepest stages of REM sleep, when your body is doing the most of its revi- talizing. Of course, there’s no need to become a full-on teetotaler; just be sure not to indulge too heavily within three hours of bedtime.


the production of growth hormones that help the body repair itself, and people who do it regularly often report waking up feeling more alert and rejuvenated. Just be sure to sched- ule your work-outs to end at least four hours before your bedtime, so that your body has time to process the energy before trying to quiet down for the night.


6:30 PM : Be Mindful Of What You Eat 4 hours before bed Research shows that there’s a clear relation- ship between food and sleep. Simply put, what you eat and when you eat it matters. While it’s a good idea to stick to a healthy diet overall, what you eat during the four hours leading to bedtime are the most crucial when it comes to sleep quality. We don’t suggest cutting out food entirely before bed, though. In fact, going to sleep on an empty stomach can actually keep you up because hunger can have a stimulat- ing effect on the body. Rather, you should be mindful about what types of food you’re eating.


So what shouldn’t you eat before bed? « Most importantly: don’t eat saturated fat and sugar before you try to sleep


4 Sleep Shopper / 2019


« High-fat foods take longer to digest and can keep you up. On the other hand, your body digests sugary foods too rapidly, caus- ing your blood sugar to spike and crash


« If you have any sensitivities or acid reflux, avoid triggers like spicy foods, citrus fruits and dairy—anything likely to cause bloating and indigestion should be avoid- ed at bedtime


What should you eat before bed? « Unsweetened cereal with milk « A banana with a dollop of almond butter « Low-fat cheese on a whole grain cracker


The best nighttime foods combine the ami-


no acid tryptophan with complex carbohy- drates. The tryptophan is converted into mel- atonin (which regulates your circadian rhythm) and serotonin (which aids in relaxing) in your brain. The carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, which helps transport the trypto- phan to the brain.


7:30 PM : Cut Out Alcohol 3 hours before bed For people who have trouble falling asleep at night, alcohol may seem like an obvious solu-


8:30 PM : Get Your Bedtime Ritual Started With A Warm Bath & Cozy PJs 2 hours before bed “The brain is preparing for sleep about two hours before our actual bedtime,” Rebecca Scott explains. “We literally go from billions of neurons firing up all day to keep us alert, active and engaged, and that waking system has to slowly come down to allow the sleep system to take over.” It takes time for our bodies to calm down after a long day—and skipping that decompression period will make it much harder to fall asleep when you want to. Even though you should start actively thinking about sleep two hours before bedtime, that doesn’t mean you have to climb into bed just yet. Rather, one of the best ways to signal to your brain that it should start planning for sleep is by taking a bath. It’s common knowledge that a bath can be relaxing, but there’s also research suggesting that it does more than calm the mind. Because the body’s core temperature naturally drops before sleep, raising your body temperature a few hours before bed can trigger this process and prepare both your body and brain for rest. It doesn’t hurt to indulge in some spa-like


features too. Try adding lavender oil or Epsom salts for a fuller bathing experience. If you don’t have a bathtub—or simply don’t like it—a hot shower with some lavender body wash will also do the trick.


Media mogul turned sleep guru Arianna Huffington swears by the nighttime bath.


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