Ah, the holidays -- the worse time for getting good sleep. Use these tips to combat the most common culprits robbing you of shut eye.
1) Get Ahead of Holiday Stress
You have at least three events you are obligated to attend before Christmas, you're missing quality time with family and close friends, Aunt Bessie insists on smoking in the guest room and you haven't even started any of your gift shopping. Whoa! Holiday stress can make it difficult to relax and fall asleep at night. Instead of fretting, plan ahead and set some limits so you can get to New Year's without losing any sleep. Check your calendar to see how much free time you have before accepting invitations so you don't overbook. Keep a to-do list to stay organized and running efficiently -- scattered details are hard to remember. Assign tasks to your family members to divide and conquer. Have kids? They may like getting their own special to-do list. And before relatives visit, tell them the rules of roost, like smoking is only allowed outside.
Tracey Marks, M.D. is author of Master Your Sleep: Proven Methods Simplified and founder of the Beyond Burnout blog, where she features videos and articles that help people deal with stress, anxiety, sleep problems, and other life-balance issues.
2) Don't Drink Too Much
Your best friend's eggnog is so tasty, but it could also cost you a good night's sleep. Drinking too close to bedtime, even in moderate amounts, can disrupt your sleep. Alcohol depresses your adrenalin and slows you down, which is great to help you fall asleep, but when your alcohol wears off, you can get a surge in adrenalin (a rebound of sorts) that wakes you. You can enjoy that eggnog; just switch to the non-alcoholic variety at least two hours before bedtime.
3)Turn Off the TV (and Christmas lights)
You can lose sleep from the sound and light from a television. Darkness triggers melatonin, the sleep hormone, to be released from your brain. Light, even from the television and computer -- and especially from a Griswold-like holiday display -- decreases the amount of melatonin production making it hard to fall asleep. If you can, turn off the TV in your room, but if you're on the pullout couch and your boyfriend's aunt and uncle are still up watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, go to plan B and use a sleep mask and soft earplugs. If those crazy Christmas lights are coming from next door, pull the shades (and drapes) for maximum darkness.
4) Turn the Thermostat Down
When you're visiting your parents, who keep the thermostat at 82 degrees, your sleep is in jeopardy. Sleeping in a house that is too warm can keep you up. If your body is not working hard, it doesn't want to be hot. That means when you're asleep, you should be cool. If that's not possible in your guest accommodations, open a window, turn on a fan or try a tightly sealed ice pack to keep you cool and sound asleep.
5) Keep to Your Usual Schedule on Short Trips
You decide to squeeze in a trip to California to visit his family for a few days before returning to yours on the east coast. Jet lag from crossing time zones can wreak havoc on your body clock, leaving you to fall asleep at odd times of the day. If you are only visiting for a few days, consider staying on your schedule as though you are in your own time zone to minimize jet lag when you return home.
6) Give Yourself a Curfew
You were dreading your company holiday party, but wound up staying until 1 a.m.! With parties happening throughout the season, you have to set a time to leave each one. One late night party equals a little lost sleep, but several nights can create an inconsistent sleep schedule that will leave you tired. To stay well-rested, choose the nights you'll stay up late and then stay as close to your normal sleep schedule as possible the rest of the time.
7) Enjoy Sweets But Not Too Many
When there's a dessert tray at every cubicle, countertop and table you pass by, it can be impossible to resist them. But try to set limits. An overconsumption of sweets causes sugar highs, then lows, in turn increasing cortisol levels in response to rising and falling insulin. Cortisol is the stress hormone -- meant to help you with fight or flight response -- which can disrupt your sleep. Plan ahead for how much you will indulge in sweets so that it's not impulsive. Keep healthy snacks available that will fill you up so you don't have as much room for all the sweets.
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