Adequate sleep improves mood, attention, learning, and memory.
Adequate sleep improves health. It helps to prevent type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. It also improves your overall wellbeing. 

​Canadian Daily Sleep Guidelines: Youth and Adults
​A healthy 24 hours includes physical activity, sedentary behaviour, healthy eating and sleep. 

Sleep well

• Try to have 7-9 hours of sleep every night
• Try to have consistent bed and wake-up times

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TIPS:

Preparing for sleep

• Create a relaxing bedtime routine. Chose activities that you like and make you relax. Repeat them every night, in the same order.
• Routine creates a pattern that your brain recognizes and links to sleep.
• Be consistent. Have regular bedtime and wake up times. Try to not change it too much on the weekends.
• Turn off electronic devices 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Avoid bright lights close to bedtime.
• Avoid stressful tasks (work, chores, arguments, etc .) close to bedtime. Having at least 30 minutes to relax at the end of the day gets you in the right mood for sleep.
• Avoid large meals, alcohol or caffeinated beverages close to bedtime. No caffeine should be taken 6 hours before going to bed as it decreases quality of sleep. 

Falling asleep

• Remove televisions and computers from the bedroom. Your brain should “see” your bedroom as a sleeping room.
• Do not use your cellphone after getting into bed. Electronic devices emit blue light, which has been shown to reduce or delay the production of melatonin in the evening. Melatonin is the hormone that makes you feel sleepy. Blue light has also shown to have an impact on sleep stages. Overall, blue light at night decreases sleep quantity and quality.
• Try to sleep in a quiet environment. If it is not possible, try ear plugs or a fan to drown out other sounds.
• Create a comfy environment. Try to make your bedroom comfortable, dark and at a cool temperature.
• End your day on a good note. Catching yourself thinking about bad things that happened during the day? Shift your mind towards positive thoughts. Find 3 positive things that happened today or put yourself back in a situation where you felt happy and relaxed.
• Don’t Toss and Turn: Try to have a positive mental link between being in bed and being asleep. For that reason, if after 20 minutes you have not fallen asleep, get up and stretch, read, or do something else calming in low light before trying to fall asleep again.

Daily habits to increase sleep quality.

• Restrict in-bed activity. Yes, your bed is comfortable, and it can be tempting to lie on it to work, play on your phone, etc. It is however better not to do so. Building a link in your mind between sleep and being in bed can help in having good quality sleep.
• Get daily exposure to sunlight, especially in the morning.
• Avoid taking too much caffeine during the day. No caffeine should be taken 6 hours before going to bed as it decreases quality of sleep. 
• If you take naps, try to not take them too long or too late in the day. For most people, the best nap seems to be 10-20mins. The best time to nap would be the halfway between when you wake up and when you plan to go to bed.
• Get your daily physical activity. It helps to improve good quality sleep. For more information, see our movement section.