Surfing the Web before bed may seem like a relaxing, low-key activity. But it could rob you of something very important (hint: it's not your identity).

We're talking about sleep. In a group of people who reported spending up to 2 1/2 hours a night browsing sites on the Internet, over one-third of them also had some kind of problem with their sleep. Here are some better bedtime rituals.

Sounder Sleep
It appears that high-excitement media inhibits drowsiness (watching late-night TV made sleep time less productive, too, in a recent study). The light your body is exposed to via TV screens and computer monitors seems to mess up your natural sleep/wake cycles and rhythms.

Here are better ways to ease your body into sleep mode.

• Love your routine. A consistent bedtime helps you sleep better.
• Do some gentle stretches every morning. Here's why this helps.
• Put on a pair of warm socks. This is what it will do for you.

Feeling Drowsy?
If you're sleepier than usual, the end of daylight saving time may be throwing off your ZZZs. Sticking to your regular sleep schedule will help you adjust faster. Or take the RealAge Sleep Health Assessment and find out what's really causing your restless nights.

Using electronic media before sleep can curtail sleep time and result in self-perceived insufficient sleep. Suganuma, N., Tomoharu, K., Yanagi, K., Yamamura, S., Morishima, H., Adachi, H., Kumano-Go, T., Mikami, A., Sugita, Y., Takeda, M., Sleep and Biological Rhythms 2007 Jul;5(3):204-214.

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