Set yourself up for restful sleep

Host Amber Smith: Here's some expert advice from sleep expert Dr. Ioana Amzuta from Upstate Medical University. What can someone do to help get a good night's sleep?

Ioana Amzuta, MD: Basically retraining yourself to have better sleep hygiene: getting rid of all the distractions, getting rid of drinking coffee later in the evening, or any other caffeinated drinks, reducing the amount of alcohol and, even better, not having any alcoholic drinks in the evening hours, keeping the room at a low temperature, keeping the room quiet.

And again a big, big part of this is allowing yourself enough sleep time, so don't just go to bed at midnight if you know that you have to wake up at 6 o'clock in the morning. Allow yourself a time in bed of eight hours. And not in bed watching movies or checking social media, but actually sleeping and resting.

You have to keep your room on the colder side. The ideal room temperature should be around 65 degrees.

I recommend blinds or blackout curtains; especially if you are someone who is working shifts, and you have to achieve your sleep during the day, that becomes extremely important.

You shouldn't exercise just before going to bed, and the reason for that is because the exercise is going to increase your internal body temperature, so if you are exercising, try to stop exercising about two hours before going to sleep. And keep in mind that 30 minutes, minimum, of aerobic exercise daily will ensure a very good quality sleep.

Reading is a very good way of relaxing. But keep in mind that if you have a very bright light by your bed, so you can read, that's not a good idea. I truly encourage patients to keep the bed and the bedroom just for sleep. In other words, if you want to read in a different room, definitely do it. But then, when you go to bed, try to keep the bed only for sleep.

What will happen if you take a nap during the day? If you take a nap, by the time you go to bed in the night, you are not going to have such a powerful drive to fall asleep and stay asleep. For most people, I would say avoid naps during the day. Try to limit the nap to about 30 minutes to avoid that post-nap drowsiness.

For seniors, it is very important to get light exposure during the day. This will ensure that you have a healthy melatonin (a sleep-related hormone) production. And again, exercise is the best cure for having problems sleeping, so maintaining a healthy level of exercise, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, five times a week, and in addition to that, some weight training, twice a week. That was proven to have amazing health benefits and improve the quality of sleep.

Host Amber Smith: You've been listening to sleep expert Dr. Ioana Amzuta from Upstate Medical University.