Sleep Better Naturally

Everybody has trouble sleeping now and then. Even we YOU Docs toss and turn sometimes. Don't yawn and bear it. Insomnia increases with age, and so do its dangers.

Poor sleep triggers inflammation and ups your chances of dangerous blood clots and hypertension. Sleeping pills add other risks, especially with age, often leading to daytime drowsiness, memory problems ,and scary falls.

Rest easy. Our late-night medical reading (see #3 below) turned up four natural sleep strategies that helped 66% of people sleep better. Good bet they’ll help you, too.

• Spend less time in bed. Sounds counterintuitive: If you need more sleep, stay in bed until you get it, right? Nope. Instead, train your brain to link bed only with sleep (or sex) -- not with watching TV, answering e-mail, or paying bills. Do that elsewhere.
• Don't hit the sack until you're really sleepy. That way you won't be tempted to do stuff there that disrupts your shut-eye (see #1). A good tip for nodding off easily at night: Exercise in the morning.
• Get up if you can't sleep. Read a book until you feel drowsy again (a medical journal is even better!). Or do some slow, gentle stretches and deep breathing. Or try scent: Dr. Mike believes in lavender so much as a sleep aid that he's backing an aromatherapy company.
• Hop out of bed at the same time every day. Sticking to a regular wake-up schedule, even on weekends, gets your body in a healthy, consistent sleep rhythm.

Learn why sleeping better helps you lose belly fat.