Good health is dependent on good sleep and it seems that these days there are more and more things that prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep. Shift work, all-night sport on the TV, computers and various other aspects of modern day life often take priority over being well rested. And yet according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, “a lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality [death].”

Here are six ways that can help you get a good night’s sleep:

1. Relax before going to bed. Spend at least an hour preparing yourself for sleep, having a bath or shower or listening to music – whatever it takes to get the stresses of the day out of your head.

2. Exercise early in the day rather than later. Working out early in the day leaves you tired by the end of the day whereas a workout before going to bed may leave you sore and unable to sleep.

3. Avoid eating shortly before going to bed. The stomach digests food automatically and you can’t switch it off. You can’t be fully relaxed if your stomach is still working away at digesting the meal you just ate.

4. Shift work makes this one difficult but whenever possible go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time every day.

5. Get regular chiropractic checkups. Interference to the nervous system causes muscle tension that can make it hard to relax. This can be relieved by chiropractic adjustments.

6. When the body says rest, listen and go to bed. You’ll be thankful you did.