If you read our last email you should have an idea of how to properly plan your sleep. What I wanted to share with you this week was ways in which you can enhance your ability to fall asleep on time.

I will admit last night I was up until 10:30pm which is why I am currently struggling to write this email since I had a 4:25am wake up. However I was able to go right to sleep thanks to a few key points.

Once you know what your ideal bed time is then try to set yourself up for success by finding ways to turn off your brain. Most of us stay awake because we have too much on our minds and we can't seem to find the button to close the windows on those thoughts.

Two things that work well for me are reading and playing a Tetris type strategy game for 15 minutes an hour before my planned bed time. Now I know the new craze is to limit blue light exposure 1 to 2 hours before bed time. Just simply turn your computer or phone on night mode and it will cut blue light for you.

This is where my second suggestion comes in to play. Perform your night time routine at least 90 minutes before bedtime. If it's showering, brushing your teeth or prepping your lunch, anything that would cause you to turn your lights on do it ahead of bed time.

While you might be good at using night time mode and controlling blue light on your personal devices your lights in your house will still produce blue light waves.

I know what your thinking what is the deal with blue light waves..... well it is the light wave that during the day keeps your body from naturally producing melatonin. So it keeps you awake! The more we can limit your body from exposure to the blue light at night the more melatonin your body will naturally produce causing you to fall asleep faster.

By: Kevin Hollabaugh, MHA, CSCS, USAW, FMSC, CSAC

Khollabaugh@proforcesp.com