9 Simple Rules Good Sleepers Swear By

We’re really, really bad at sleeping. Seriously.

Think about it: How many times have we been tired but pushed through just one more episode of “House of Cards”? Or how often do we check our email right before crawling under the covers?

Luckily, cliches like “sleep is for the weak” or “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” are on their way out — but just because our attitudes about shuteye are shifting doesn’t mean our habits are following suit. It’s time we change that, and who better to give advice than those who have this whole sleeping thing down to a science?

Here are a few rules reliably well-rested people try to follow when they go to bed.

As Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg explains, putting sleep at the top of your to-do list — like you do for your kids — is only going to benefit you in the long run. “Once you have children, you realize that when they don’t get enough sleep, they’re a mess… When they get enough sleep, everything’s great,” Sandberg said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “And then I realized I’m like that, too. I really do prioritize sleep and it’s made a huge difference.”

Two words: No phones.

This is probably one of the oldest rules in the book for our new digital age: Keep those phones and tablets far away from the bedroom. “Have a specific time at night when you regularly turn off your devices — and gently escort them out of your bedroom,” Huffington wrote last year. “Disconnecting from the digital world will help you reconnect to your wisdom, intuition and creativity.”

That also goes for the morning. When you first rise, take some time for yourself and postpone checking those emails. You’ll start the day on a much happier note.

The Huffington Post