Although it’s often dismissed as too simple, creating good sleep habits – known as sleep hygiene – can be an important first step in treating insomnia. The goal is to eliminate any stimulants that may be keeping you up, and to train your mind to associate your bedroom with sleep – successful sleep, says Andrew Jamieson, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Tips for good sleep include:

•    Eliminate caffeine.
•    Avoid naps.
•    Don’t drink alcohol.
•    Don’t eat a large meal near bedtime.
•    Exercise.
•    Go to bed and get up at the same times every day.
•    Reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex – no TV, piles of laundry to sort or even books.
•    If you can’t sleep, get up after 20 minutes. Go into another room and read or listen to music until you’re sleepy.
•   Don’t use bright lights or watch TV.

Other tips to doze off naturally:

If you smoke, stop. A recent study published in the journal, CHEST (the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians), found that even healthy cigarette smokers are four times as likely as nonsmokers to report feeling unrested after a night’s sleep.

Create a routine. Create a nightly routine that prepares you for bed, such as changing into soft, loose pajamas, drinking soothing herbal tea, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. Eventually, these will become mental signals that it’s time to sleep. Also, it is important to go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning. This sets your internal clock, the mechanism inside your brain that tells you when to sleep, wake, eat and perform other everyday functions.

Don't eat or exercise close to bedtime. Don’t eat and avoid exercising for two hours before you want to go to sleep. Digestion and an elevated heart rate will delay you from falling asleep. 

A study out of Federal University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil focused on 52 healthy volunteers ages 20 to 45. Food intake was analyzed by a three-day food record. An overnight polysomnogram, or sleep test, was performed to evaluate sleep.

According to the results, positive and statistically significant correlations were found between total calorie intake and late-night snacking and awakenings during sleep.

While previous studies have shown that the distribution of food intake is capable of modifying hormonal and metabolic patterns during sleep, studies of the influence of food intake distribution on sleep patterns are scarce. This study, which analyzed the influence of energy intake on the sleep patterns in healthy subjects, concluded that total energy intake and late-night snack energy intake may increase sleep fragmentation in healthy subjects, and that sleep restriction in turn may affect nutritional and metabolic balance.

Keep your bedroom cool. While the exact temperature for ideal sleep has not been determined, the National Sleep Foundation found that a cool room helped people fall asleep faster, and that temperatures above 75 degrees were disruptive to sleep.

Block out light. A dark room is the most conducive to sleep. Avoid nightlights or uncovered windows, and face the glowing alarm clock away from you or put a towel over the display.  For extra darkness, wear a soft eye sleep mask.

Quiet, please. To help quiet noise that may disturb you, use a sound machine to create a soothing atmosphere, a fan for white noise or wear earplugs.

Wait until you’re sleepy. Wait until you’re drowsy to go to bed. If you try to sleep before you’re tired, it’s difficult to fall asleep because your mind is still active. The best time to fall asleep is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. This is when your body is primed for deep, restorative sleep, the kind that makes you wake up feeling refreshed and energized.