Not getting enough sleep during the week and “catching up” on the weekends is not going to do you much good.  The real solution is to go to bed and wake up at the same time each and every day.  So, here are some tips to help you do that.  And yes… we all know it is more difficult than it sounds!

(1) Get Up Earlier - If you want to get to bed earlier and easier, set your alarm for 5 AM and haul yourself out of bed the second you hear it go off -- every single morning.  No matter what. This is the best way to reset your sleep schedule.

(2) Read the Right Material - There’s a time of day when you’ve got to shut off your active mind and let the passive mind take over. This can happen just an hour before bed or just after you get home from work. You’ve got to figure out how long you need to transition out of that active mind that’ll keep you thinking and awake all night, and keep yourself from partaking in any real mind-chatter-activating activities during that time. 

(3) Extinguish All Sources of Light - Any light, even in the minutest amounts, can affect your quality of sleep. If there is a light source in the room, it will decrease your sleep quality. Kill it. Pitch black is the ideal situation. 

(4) Sweep Your Mind for Stray Thoughts - It only takes a couple of minutes to sit down with a pen and pad (or a keyboard) and perform a mind sweep before tucking in for the night. Get every thought on your mind out of your head and into a tangible form. Afterwards, it literally feels like you’ve tipped your worries out into a bucket so that you don’t have to deal with them until you’re ready. 

(5) Avoid Computer and TV Screens - While the picture on your computer screen might look like a bunch of windows and images standing still or moving the way things in real life move, the reality is that the screen is being redrawn so fast that the illusion of motion, or even solidity, is present. While you might not see a bombardment of repetitive flashing, your mind certainly gets hit with the strain of it, and your eyes and brain get stimulated further by it -- meaning you’ll find it harder to get to sleep.