Try to avoid caffeine at least 4 to 6 hours
before bedtime
Exercise regularly, but not late in the evening
Try not to drink alcohol 2 hours prior to your
bedtime
If you do need to nap, take short naps (30-40
minutes) and preferably before 4PM.
Maintain regular schedules for meals and
choose the right balance for food and fluid
intake in the evening
Make your bedroom a sleep-inducing
environment
4. Well-being by light
4a. Light and a Healthy Lifestyle
Visible light plays a very important role in human
well-being. All plants and animals on Earth have
developed mechanisms to anticipate the time of
day based on the cycle of light and darkness, and
we are all synchronized to this cycle by means of
light entering our eyes. The regularity of this cycle
influences our functioning throughout the
day.Changing the timing of especially the start and
the end of the light exposure will influence our
feeling of well-being: early bright light will make
you energetic in the morning, whereas late bright
light will make you energetic in the evening.
4b. Light and alertness
Bright light entering our eyes increases our
alertness and decreases sleepiness. This is the
case during the day and during the night. In the
morning, when the eyes are still adapted to
darkness, relatively moderate light intensities
(such as the ones of the Wake-up Light) can be
sufficient to activate the body and reduce
sleepiness. During the day one needs to seek much
brighter light to increase alertness, such as the
light provided by the sun or Philips light therapy
devices.
In the case of the Wake-up Light, the gradual
increase of light intensity before awakening gently
prepares the body for waking up and has the
additional effect of reducing sleepiness.
4c. Light and sleep
