If you toss and turn at night, there are some simple changes you can make to get through the night easier and feel more rested in the morning.

“In the last few years, the level of anxiety has gone up with the economic downturn. When anxiety goes up, sleep suffers,” said Gillian Roskicky, nurse practitioner.

And the things we turn to to get a good night’s sleep may not actually help.

“Some people notice that alcohol helps them feel sleepier and they think that’s a sleep solution, but in fact you’re more likely to wake up in the middle of the night if you’ve been drinking more than one to two drinks in the evening,” said Roskicky.

Most of us know to lay off the caffeine, but there are other culprits, too, such as the light from a whiz-bang phone or laptop.

“A big mistake a lot of people make is having any kind of light in the room during sleep hours, so you need to make sure that you’re not stimulated right before bed with TV or computers or cell phones,” said Roskicky.

And the days getting longer can also pose problems.

“The brain really relies on circadian rhythms, the balance of light to dark, so you want to give your body the exposure to dark and light at the same intervals every day, regardless of the season,” said Roskicky. “So if that means darkening the shades during the spring and summer, and making sure light is introduced by turning on the lights at a specific time during the winter and fall, that will help you a lot.”

Perhaps you’ve heard that it’s good to exercise earlier in the day. true, but here’s a new tip: use that time to train yourself to work through what normally plagues you at night.

“A lot of people complain about over thinking, not being able to turn their brain off,” said Roskicky. “Regulating these neurotransmitters really helps that.”

These simple solutions can improve your sleep in the short term and your health in the long term.

There is no set number of hours people should aim for, since sleep needs vary from person to person. most adults require between seven and nine hours of sleep.

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