Do These 7 Things to Sleep Better

When sleep is elusive, you'll pretty much do ANYTHING to get a restful night of z's. You might have some tea to calm yourself, try some meditation or breathing exercises, stay off your phone, or even try some sleeping aids or supplements.

"Always refer to sleep as a puzzle to try and get the best sleep," says Rajkumar Dasgupta, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "And your puzzle pieces can be light, sound, temperature, and comfort."

So temperature can be a factor. Too hot, and you're uncomfortable and sweaty. Too cold, and you're kept awake by shivering. For some people, the temperature has to be just right.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine maintains that the best temperature for sleep is "cool." And the National Sleep Foundation gives a range of 60º to 67ºF. It ultimately depends on the person, so what is "cool" for you might mean something different to someone else.

"Sleep is always very individualized, but we always speak in broad strokes," Dasgupta says. "And in broad strokes, one of my personal mottos is that when you lie down, the body cools down, and when you get up, the body warms up. That's how I teach it to my sleep fellows. I teach it this way because any time I mentioned the word circadian rhythm, we frequently attach circadian rhythm to our need for sleep—but what also is attached to your circadian rhythm is body temperature. So what happens is that as nighttime approaches, we get to our lowest body temperature at night, which we call our core temperature nadir."

So how can you maintain an optimal temperature in your bedroom so you can sleep better? Dasgupta gave us some pointers, but he wants us to keep one thing in mind.

"No matter what you do to the temperature, you still have to abide by the rules of sleep hygiene," he explains. "A set bedtime, set wake time. Doing exercise, watching your diet, all the things that are adding to good sleep hygiene."

And if you are trying everything and nothing is working, you might have insomnia, which is best treated by a sleep doctor.