Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day will help to regulate your sleep schedule.

If you are not sleeping properly you will lead a shorter life — both your brain and your heart need regular rest periods to restore themselves for the day ahead. Don't fear, there are a number of good things that you can do to sleep.

• Try to stay on a regular schedule of going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every morning. That includes going through the weekends with that schedule.
  
• Take some time to calm down before you turn in. Put away the bills, put away the books, put away the work and give yourself some downtime to relax.
  
• Skip that bed-time brownie. If you're a bad sleeper, one of the first things the sleep physician is going to tell you to do is knock out all caffeine. Smoking has the same effect, and so does chocolate.
  
• Will any snacks actually help you sleep? If hot milk doesn't do it for you, eating cherries about 30 minutes before you go to sleep will help you calm down. It seems cherries contain a substance similar to melatonin, a sleep aid available over the counter.
  
• Here are a few more basics for good sleep hygiene:
  • Don't exercise just before bed; a higher body temperature may make it hard to fall asleep.
    
  • Avoid a big bedtime snack.
    
  • Don't count on sleep aids because you can become dependent on them.
    
  • If snoring is interrupting your good night's sleep, try the golf ball trick! Wear a pocket t-shirt backward to bed and put a golf ball in the pocket. If you roll onto your back, you'll land on the ball, and hopefully stay on your side or stomach, where snoring is less likely.

Think Positive

• Mood really does have power over your life span! Dozens of studies show that having a good attitude offers a multitude of benefits. It increases healing and recovery time, reduces stress, and decreases the odds of infection and long-term illness.
  
• Laughter itself is a life-extending medicine all its own. It's very elusive and very difficult to measure the impact of laughter, yet more and more data is being brought forth in a variety of studies that do show how important it is.
  
• Laughter is known to release chemicals beneficial to the immune system, decrease stress, pump adrenaline into the bloodstream, relax muscles and reduce anxiety.
  
• Work is good for you! You have to have purpose, and that means continuing to work or volunteer or be involved in care giving, or in something that gives purpose to your life, something to get up for in the morning that makes the difference. When you're helping people your body is coursing with adrenaline and feel good hormones, all of which make a strong impact on your health.
  
• Married people do live longer, probably ,in part, for practical reasons such as helping each other out in times of illness, and because closeness and intimacy makes life worthwhile. British researchers have determined that when it comes to living longer, having good relationships is even more important that having money.

Resources

Institute of Sleep Medicine
Staten Island University Hospital
Staten Island, N.Y.
718-226-2332