Insomnia :: Don’t Watch TV or Read Before Going to Bed

Wait at least one-half hour (preferably longer) before going to bed after reading or watching television. We know; some people say that reading a detective story or some such escapist book helps put them to sleep. If it works for them, great. But it seldom worked for us. And it probably hasn’t worked for you either.

The reason is that no matter how passively we watch television, or how innocuous the book we read is, our minds are still being stimulated. And an overstimulated mind — along with anxiety and stress — is what keeps us awake. It’s all those thoughts in our head we have to get rid of before we can get to sleep. The last thing we need is more input into our heads from television or books.