David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Top Tips for Better Sleep

12 Aug 2016 · 1 min

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1:26

In this concise monologue, Dr. David Perlmutter emphasizes the critical importance of sleep hygiene for preventing serious health conditions such as coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease. He outlines practical, evidence‑based recommendations: darken and cool the bedroom, eliminate ambient light, limit caffeine intake (no coffee before noon) and avoid other late‑day stimulants like chocolate, and steer clear of stimulating TV or computer use before bed. He stresses establishing a consistent bedtime routine—going to bed at the same time each night even if not sleepy—and highlights vigorous aerobic exercise as the most powerful strategy to improve sleep onset and quality.

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People always wonder, what are the top tips for better sleep? And before I answer that question, let me just say this is fundamentally important. We're now seeing research indicating that sleep interruption and loss of what we call sleep hygiene relates to things like risk for coronary artery disease and even Alzheimer's. So you've got to get a good night's sleep. You've got to darken your room. You've got to restrict your coffee, maybe have no more coffee until I mean, until noon, that would be it. You also want to look for other stimulants later in the day, like for example chocolate, and even things on television that may interrupt your sleep that are a little bit too exciting. You know, people have a tendency to want to watch the TV before they go to sleep or work on the computer. Those are things that really need to be avoided. Another tip that I think really bears mentioning, and that is cool your room down. A lot of people don't realize that they actually need to have a cooler room and obviously a darker room. Get rid of ambient sources of light. Really try to get into a routine. For example, set a time that you want to go to sleep each night and get in bed even if you're not sleepy. And perhaps the most important tip would be aerobic exercise. If you want to sleep well at night, get into a really vigorous aerobic exercise program. That'll help you. That'll go a long way to helping you fall asleep.