Tag: care

If you could see my room right now, you would judge me.

It’s almost 10 p.m., and I’m sitting on an unmade bed surrounded by four notebooks, two cups, chocolate truffles, various paper scraps (why?), and a package of smoked sausages.

On every surface or corner, there are clothes: clean clothes drying on a rack, dirty clothes that I hope(d) to re-wear thrown on the floor and over chairs, clothes that are still sandy from the beach hanging limp from wooden knobs, clothes piled on other clothes so I’m not sure what they are.

There’s an ironing board, boxes, a trash bag full of clothes I meant to give away when I started (but never finished) spring cleaning in May. There are boxes of unopened toothpaste, books, some old posters I got for free at a museum exhibit maybe a year ago, bags, binders, makeup, lotions, all of the dust. Crumbs. Tiny insects.

And the receipts. Oh sweet Lord, the receipts. How are there so many?

Imagine taking the contents of a big wooden office desk (the kind filled with file folders and little trinkets like paper clips, erasers from the 1990s, and sticky tack) and just dumping it all out into a pile. There. That’s my room.

Maybe this sounds romantic to you, as you read this from far away, perhaps in an organized space that seems to you predictable and anesthetized. I assure you that it is not.

It’s true that there is some evidence suggesting

cofounder Elizabeth Dodson tells Glamour about a safe, efficient method for cleaning your blender: Use it.

“Put a little soap and water into your blender and with the lid on, turn the blender on,” she says. 

“You will see the blender clean in front of your eyes. Now rinse and let your blender pieces dry. No cuts!”

Use your morning tea to make your bathroom mirror sparkle.

The problem: Your bathroom mirror looks like it’s had tiny particles of food and spit hurled its way on the regular. Because it has.

The solution: Let the last couple swallows of your English Breakfast do some shining action.

“Black tea and the tannin acid in it are your best friends when it comes to cleaning your bathroom mirror,” Go Cleaners London housekeeper Harriet Jones tells Glamour.

“Brew a pot and use a clean cloth to wipe it over mirror and you are done.”

Hide dust with books.

The problem: Dusting, like life, can be boring and hard and often feel pointless.

The solution: Don’t do it (dusting, that is)!

Certified professional organizer Amy Trager tells Glamour that putting books on the edge of your shelves will cut down on the amount of dusting you have to do.

“Not only does it look great, but this style doesn’t allow dust to accumulate on the shelves in front of the books,” she says. “It settles behind the books, but no one ever sees that. Less dusting!”

Clean your toilet bowl with denture tablets.

The problem: Toilet bowls are friggin’ disgusting.

The solution: Denture tablets (!!!) Who knew? (Apparently a lot of people, but whatever.) There are a couple of variations on this trick.

Option one is that you take a single denture tablet, plop it in the bowl, and let it do its fizzy thing before you flush the toilet. No scrubbing necessary.

Option two requires you to hold your bladder through the night. Before going to bed, put a denture tablet and one cup of white vinegar in the toilet bowl, allowing the mixture to sit overnight before you scrub and flush.

Which option you choose will likely depend a lot on how dirty your toilet bowl is. Maybe you can have a cleaning kickoff with option two, then maintenance with option one.

We’re ready to get it together with these simple tips. How about you?

“The entire atmosphere [of the wedding] felt moving. So moving in fact that John stopped midceremony to propose to his longtime girlfriend, ‘Jane,’ and reveal her pregnancy.”
If this sounds like a situation straight out of a wedding nightmare, it gets worse—because it actually did happen to one woman who shared her experience in a letter to the advice column “Dear Prudence.”

The newlyweds continued to be upstaged by John and Jane at their reception, when John used his platform as best man to talk about his relationship with Jane, even requesting a special dance for the two of them in celebration of their engagement.
The woman ends her letter by asking, “Do you think John’s behavior warrants the end of a long-term friendship, or are we angry over nothing?”

Was this as rude as it sounds?

Almost all wedding etiquette experts agree universally that upstaging the marrying couple on their wedding day is never okay. Proposals and other big announcements, like a pregnancy, should be avoided at weddings.

There is one small exception to this rule: If you are determined to propose during a wedding, you must have the couple’s express blessing to proceed, as was the case when bride Jess Nakrayko helped plan a surprise proposal during her wedding.
When you ask the couple for their blessing to propose at their own nuptials, look for forced smiles and barely suppressed rage that you would even suggest such a thing.

If you see genuine enthusiasm, feel free to go ahead with the proposal, but do so in the most low-key way possible. Even if the couple gives their blessing, you should still respect that the wedding is their day, and the focus should ultimately be on them.
Viral wedding reception proposals are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to defining modern wedding etiquette.

Wondering what other traditional wedding etiquette may have changed? Experts weigh in on some of the top wedding etiquette questions to keep you faux-pas free this wedding season.

Dress Code Etiquette for Newlyweds and Guests

Nontraditional wedding dress codes are becoming the norm as couples look to make their wedding stand out, but this can be confusing, especially for older guests who may wonder if their traditional blue suit is appropriate for a “fancy ranch” wedding.

Ariel Stallings, a writer for Offbeat Bride, recommends that couples who want their dress code to stand out give guests as much specific information about the dress code as they can so there is no confusion.
You can put this information directly on your invitation, but since space might be limited, Stallings suggests using your wedding website to elaborate on dress code instead.

If you have a very specific dress code in mind, include pictures or links to outfits that would be appropriate.
As for guests, traditional wedding etiquette still holds true: You should always abide by the dress code.

But what does “steampunk chic” even mean?

If you’re not quite sure what the dress code is, check the wedding website for more information, or do some google research.

If you still don’t have a clear idea of what to wear, don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of the wedding party for clarification. When the couple has a specific wedding theme in mind, they’ll be happy to share examples of appropriate clothing that fits the dress code.

Répondez s’il vous plaît.

RSVPs are almost universally guaranteed to give the wedding couple stress-induced ulcers before their big day. Much to the couple’s chagrin, however, most RSVPs end up tossed aside on kitchen counters for weeks before being returned right before the deadline.

Don’t be that wedding guest.
Wedding etiquette expert Tessa Brand says wedding guests should follow a few cardinal rules when sending back an RSVP.

First, make sure you only RSVP for guests included on the invitation. If you were not given a plus one, under no circumstances are you to include a guest in your RSVP.
But it shouldn’t matter if I just want to bring one person along, right?
Wrong.
The couple has budgeted for a specific number of guests. You may think, “It’s just one person, what’s the big deal?” But those costs do add up and can leave newlyweds scrambling to accommodate your wedding crasher instead of focusing on their big day.

Second, actually write your name on the RSVP card. If there is a meal option and you are including more than one guest in your RSVP, always make sure to specify which guest gets which meal.
Third, send the RSVP back in a timely manner. It doesn’t matter if you are the maid of honor and are obviously attending the wedding. The moment couples send out invitations, they start anxiously awaiting RSVPs. They’re usually pre-stamped, so there should be no reason to delay responding quickly.

Don’t just text the bride or groom to let them know you are attending—unless of course, that is what the invitation says to do.

Giving and Receiving Gifts: What’s the Protocol?

Many couples feel uncomfortable with the idea of having a traditional wedding registry but have been told that registries are a wedding must.

Although nothing about a wedding is an absolute must, it is a nice idea to have a registry, says wedding guru Liz Moorhead of A Practical Wedding. Even if you have everything you need, wedding guests will still want to give you gifts.
What if we want to do a nontraditional registry, like a honeyfund?
That’s totally fine, but just be aware that while many guests will contribute, some consider cash-based registries a little crass.

Creating a small registry of physical gift items will help ensure you get items you’ll actually use. (But it’s inevitable that some guests will go rogue and gift you something totally bizarre.)
As for guests: No longer do you have to abide by the traditional “pay for your plate” rule, say the wedding experts over at the Knot. If you’re unfamiliar with this piece of wedding etiquette, the usual rule has been that guests should purchase a gift of roughly the same monetary value as the wedding meal.

Naturally, this can lead to some awkward conversations. Of course, it’s in poor taste for a couple to reveal how much is being spent on the wedding—and it’s equally uncouth for guests to reveal how much they are willing to spend for a gift.
Guests can avoid the confusion altogether by simply consulting the gift registry, which should have a range of items in every budget. Not sure how much to spend? For close family and friends, you should expect to spend between $100 and $150. For coworkers and casual friends, between $50 and $100 is an appropriate amount.
What if I can’t afford a gift in that price range?
If you can’t afford a gift in the suggested price range, don’t worry. Choose an inexpensive item on the registry that you can afford, and consider pairing it with a thoughtful handmade gift.

The newlyweds will appreciate that you both stuck to the registry and gifted them something unique.

When in doubt, just ask.

Although it’s almost universally acknowledged that there are some things you should just never do at weddings, there are exceptions to every rule.

Whether you’re newly engaged or you just received (another) save-the-date in the mail, when in doubt about wedding etiquette, never be afraid to ask for clarification. When you nail that “steampunk chic” dress code, you’ll be glad you did.

People like to point out the fact that it’s bad to go to sleep without removing your makeup. We don’t want to be just another judgy voice in the chorus, so we’re going to go the extra mile and tell you exactly what’s so bad about sleeping all dolled up.

When you go out for an amazing night on the town and stay up until you basically fall asleep on your feet, you probably aren’t going to feel like spending a few minutes at the bathroom sink repeatedly splashing your face with water.

We all slip up occasionally, but here’s the horrifying truth about what can happen when you regularly forget to remove your makeup before bed. Together, these insights create a pretty compelling argument in favor of cleaning your face at night.

1. You could stretch out your pores.

Makeup has a tendency to work its way deeper and deeper into pores as you sleep. Not only can old makeup clog pores, sparking a field of blackheads and zits, but it can also fill and actually push your pores further open. At that point, kiss those dreams of invisible pores goodbye.

“Makeup can actually stretch the pore and make it look bigger,” David Orentreich, a dermatologist with Clinique, told Cosmopolitan magazine. We feel like we’re in a constant battle with pore-size as it is. There’s no reason to help out the enemy.

2. Your complexion could take a hit.

Sleeping in makeup is as bad as they say. The proof? It can cause zits, sure, but it can also develop age lines in your face.

“Sleeping in your makeup can result in unnecessary exposure to the free radicals in the environment, which the makeup holds on to,” Eric Schweiger, a dermatologist with the Clear Clinic, told the Huffington Post. “Free radicals cause the breakdown of healthy collagen, which results in fine lines on the skin. Additionally, makeup can clog the pores while you sleep, resulting in the development of acne.”

3. Your skin could look dull and lifeless.

We all strive for bright, radiant skin. When you sleep in makeup, you spoil your chances of attaining this look. While you sleep, all the gross stuff in your pores, like old oils and dead skin cells, push to the outer layers and give your face a dull finish.

“Oils and dead skin cells on the outermost layers of the skin are matted up against the pillow all night, and natural turnover of this dull epidermal layer is diminished,” celebrity dermatologist Annie Chiu told Good Housekeeping. “Regular cleansing and exfoliation are integral to revealing healthy new skin cells and allowing the natural repair processes of the skin to occur.”

4. You can even get itchy, irritated skin on your face.

Even if you’re not allergic to the specific makeup you wear, the chemicals in these products might start to irritate your skin over time. Like, say, the six hours you’re asleep at night.

“The skin is good at tolerating a lot of things, but it can become reactive,” Orentreich said. “You don’t want to leave things on longer than you have to.”

So next time you’re tempted to collapse into bed with a fully made-up face, force yourself into the bathroom (or at the very least use a makeup remover towelette). Your skin will thank you!

The sun shone brightly in May of 2017.

A Canadian mom named Rebecca Cannon planned to take her 14-month old daughter, Kyla, out for a day in the sunshine. Like any good mother, she planned to protect her child’s sensitive skin from harsh UV rays. So she took out a can of an aerosol SPF-50 sunscreen and sprayed little Kyla down.

A few days later, Cannon shared frightening pictures of Kyla’s badly burned face on social media.

“It has been verified and confirmed 3 times now a 2nd-degree caustic burn (chemical burn)[sic],” Cannon wrote. In an interview with CBC News, Cannon went deeper into her terrifying experience.

“As the day went on, she got a little redder and redder and the next morning she woke up and was swollen, she was bright red, there were blisters starting to pop up,” Cannon said in that interview. “We immediately took her up to the doctors and found out she has second-degree burns.”

So what’s going on?

Did the sunscreen somehow magnify the strength of the UV rays hitting Kyla’s face? Was there some caustic chemical in the sunscreen that was injuring the poor little girl?

Parents magazine tasked writer Melissa Willets with finding out. So Willets did what journalists do: She talked to the experts.

Rachel Prete, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children didn’t think there was anything special about the brand of sunscreen involved in this incident.

“To my knowledge there is no additional ingredient [this sunscreen] uses that their competitor sunscreens do not,” she told Parents. “Each child is different in the way they respond to sunscreen, especially on the face where the skin can be more sensitive.”

Prete suggests that Kyla may have had an allergic reaction to a substance called oxybenzone, which “is present in about 65 percent of chemical sunscreens on the market,” she said.

Willets had another question. Could it have been the fact that this sunscreen was packaged in an aerosol can that caused the injury? She asked dermatologist Janet Prystowsky of Livad Skin Care. Prystowsky couldn’t say for sure, but she did mention that she doesn’t recommend aerosol sunscreens for infants in the first place.

“The problem with [aerosol sunscreens] is that, with infants and toddlers, it can be tough to apply adequate coverage,” Prystowsky said. “You don’t want your child to inhale the sunscreen either, which is always a risk with aerosols. Plus, the child may rub it off almost immediately. It can be hard to tell for any parent.”

Unfortunately, the sad case of Kyla and the sunscreen remains a mystery.

However, there are steps parents can take to protect their children from a similar fate, whether it’s an allergic reaction or a harsh chemical. Start by choosing the right sunscreen to keep in your beach bag.

“I recommend broad-spectrum mineral-based sunscreens that come in a lotion or stick for the face,” Prystowsky said. “Choose a sunscreen that is age-appropriate. If you choose a high SPF of 50+, make sure that your active ingredients are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. You’ll notice adds a white tint and doesn’t blend in fully. For small children, this can be an easy way to ensure that they are wearing sunscreen.”

In addition to sunscreen, use hats and clothing to cover your infant fully.

” I can’t stress enough how important clothing is for your child’s sun protection,” she said. “A bucket hat will protect their scalp, ears, and upper face.”

Finally, Prystowsky reminded us that infants shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight at all until they’re at least 6 months old. After that, parents should limit sun exposure. With these tips and the right kind of sunscreen, you should be able to avoid an ordeal like the one Kyla and her mother experienced.

Nothing says summer like a quick dip in the pool.
Of course, if you’re at all concerned about your health, you might be better off staying poolside. Pools are breeding grounds for bacteria, and even with proper chlorination, they can present some substantial risks for swimmers.

Here are a few disgusting facts that might scare you away from pools for the foreseeable future.

1. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public pools are responsible for 10 to 20 outbreaks per year.

Those outbreaks include bacterial diseases caused by organisms like E. coli and serious illnesses caused by parasites like Cryptosporidium.

Cryptosporidium (often abbreviated as “crypto”) is particularly problematic, as evidenced by the fact that the CDC affords the disease its own database. In 2016 alone, the CDC recorded crypto outbreaks in Arizona, Alabama, and Ohio.
Conditions are just about perfect for major crypto outbreaks in 2017, according to an alarming CDC report.

Fortunately, swimmers can avoid the parasite. Here’s how.
“Protect yourself from getting sick by not swallowing the water in which you swim,” said Michele Hlavsa, chief of the CDC’s Healthy Swimming Program.

Well, that’s really helpful. At least the vast majority of public pools are safe, right?

2. A shocking number of public pools aren’t safe.

Ideally, pools should have a free chlorine level of 1 to 3 mg/L and a pH of 7.2 to 7.8. At these levels, problematic bacteria have trouble surviving. Unfortunately, various contaminants can make chlorine less effective, and without rigorous maintenance, public pools quickly fall behind.

In 2010, the CDC reported that 1 in 8 public pools were shut down due to safety issues, based on 120,000 inspections carried out in 2008.
Granted, this wasn’t restricted to dirty water; some pools simply didn’t have the required staff or safety equipment (not exactly comforting).

“We definitely need to focus on improving pool operations,” said Hlavsa, once again providing profound insight.

3. That “clean” chlorine smell is actually something else.

Well, your local pool is different, right? After all, you can smell the chlorine from the moment you arrive. That must mean that the cleaning crew is doing their job.
“Many people think that when a pool smells of chlorine, that means that it’s clean,” said Mary Ostrowski, director of the Chlorine Issues at the American Chemistry Council, to Life’s Little Mysteries.
“But that smell is actually chloramines, a substance that results from a mix of chlorine and bacteria, urine and sweat.”
Ideally, a pool should be odorless, but this isn’t really possible at public pools.
If the chlorine smell is extremely strong, steer clear; there’s a good chance that the chloramines are powerful enough to cause skin irritation and other issues.

You can take your own testing strips to the pool, if you don’t mind looking paranoid. There’s more bad news, however: Some organisms, such as the aforementioned cryptosporidium parasites, are capable of living for days in chlorinated water.

4. Oh, and too much chlorine is also a bad thing.

Let’s say you manage to find a pool that consistently keeps its chlorine levels perfect. Plus, every swimmer is compelled to shower before getting into the water. You’re in the clear, right?

Not quite. Several studies have shown that chlorine can raise swimmers’ chances of asthma and allergies.
As it turns out, chlorine isn’t too great for our bodies, although you’re probably in the clear if you only visit the pool on occasion.
Oh, and this likely applies to outdoor pools as well, according to a 2008 study published in the European Respiratory Journal.

“Outdoor chlorinated swimming pool attendance is associated with higher risks of asthma, airways inflammation and some respiratory allergies,” the study’s authors wrote. “Hypochlorous acid [chlorine] generates a mixture of harmful breakdown products, which includes potent irritants, such as chloramines, haloacetic acids or haloacetonitriles.”
In other words, the chlorine in pools can effectively address some problems, but it can also create significant respiratory issues with prolonged exposure.

5. Yes, people pee in the pool.

We doubt that we’re surprising anyone with this revelation. However, the scale of the problem is pretty incredible; according to a survey from the Water Quality and Health Council, one in five Americans admits to the practice.

That’s just the people willing to confess. By one estimate, a typical pool has about eight gallons of urine. Many people might not see this as a major issue, but as mentioned above, contaminants like urine make chlorine less effective. While urine itself is mostly harmless, it can substantially affect pool maintenance efforts. Plus, eww.

So what can you do to make pools less disgusting?

While we’ve painted a grim picture in this article, most pools are relatively safe. Bacteria is everywhere, after all, and you’re not exactly diving into a sewer when you head down to the public pool.

To do your part, don’t bathe in the pool. By soaping up before you hit the pool, you’ll help to prevent pathogens from spreading. Don’t go swimming if you’ve been sick, and as Michele Hlavsa will tell you, don’t drink the water. Clean thoroughly after you leave the pool, and you should be fine.
Oh, and try not to think about the pee thing.

In any household, parity is important.
That’s especially true when it comes to household chores. In order for a household to function effectively, each person must handle a fair share of the burden.

Unfortunately, women still perform the majority of the household chores, according to several recent studies. The National Science Foundation reports that on average, husbands create an extra seven hours of housework per week for their wives. Wives, on the other hand, save their husbands from performing about an hour of housework each week.
That’s a massive disparity, and although the household gender gap has diminished somewhat over the past several decades, it’s still a substantial issue. Here’s what we know.

Couples who share housework responsibilities are often happier.

In a review of household labor practices, researcher Scott Coltrane wrote that “More balanced divisions of housework are associated with women perceiving fairness, experiencing less depression, and enjoying higher marital satisfaction.”

In other words, women tend to be happier when the household chores are distributed evenly. They also tend to be more satisfied with their relationships (something that their husbands should probably keep in mind when the floors need mopping).

However, some household tasks can actually decrease stress levels.

A study conducted by Florida State University found that washing dishes could promote mindfulness, essentially acting as a form of meditation. In fact, the chore could decrease stress and promote relaxation in the right circumstances.
According to the research, when people focused on “the smell of the soap, the warmth of the water, [and] the feel of the dishes” while doing this task, they were able to decrease nervousness by 27 percent. These individuals also experienced a 25 percent improvement in “mental inspiration.”

This effect, of course, varies greatly from one household to the next. Although dishwashing might be a mindful practice for some, it’s a terrible experience for others. Still, many women say that they handle additional chores out of love for their families rather than a simple sense of obligation.

Recently, blogger Ellen Seidman of Love That Max wrote a piece about the mental burdens that mothers feel compelled to bear.

“I am the person who observes, right before bedtime, that various iDevices are lying around uncharged,” Seidman wrote. “I am the person who finds the bag of clothing on the floor of the car that was supposed to be returned to the store three weeks ago. I am the person who foresees needing gifts for the birthday party, graduation party, anniversary party, every party…”

“…I rarely get credit for my observational talents. I see, I do and I conquer, tirelessly and without complaint. Er, mostly without complaint. OK, I complain. But has our family ever had a t.p. crisis? Nope. It doesn’t take a village—it takes me. Because I am that person who notices we are running out of toilet paper. And therefore, I rock.”

Ultimately, we’d love to see the household gender gap disappear entirely. However, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking pride in the way that you support your family, either; check out Seidman’s full essay here.

Sponges are a cheap and versatile tool that can be used to clean pretty much anything. All you really need is a pair of scissors and a few other typical household items. Watch the video below for a step by step guide. 

1. Cut your sponge to more easily clean wire cooling racks.

The sponge can easily reach the spaces between the wires where food gets stuck.

2. Don’t have a fabric softener dispenser? Use a sponge instead.

Soak your sponges in a little bit of water and fabric softener, then add one to the wash.

3. Turn your sponge into a soap dispenser.

Simply cut a hole in the sponge that approximates the shape of your soap.

4. Use with tongs to clean your blinds.

Make an incision in the bottom of the sponge and insert tongs. You’ll have clean blinds in no time.

5. Easily remove nail polish.

Soak a sponge in nail polish remover and avoid wasting all those cotton balls.

If you take oral birth control, you know the drill.

Even though the last week or so of your pill pack only contains placebos, you still take a pill every day. Otherwise, you risk getting out of the habit—and to be fully effective, hormonal birth control pills should be taken regularly at around the same time each day.

So what would happen if, say, a packaging error switched your placebos from the end of the pack to the beginning?

For one thing, you might end up with a surprise bun in the oven. That’s why so many consumers were freaked out to learn that a pretty commonly used birth control pack was being recalled due to just such a packaging error.

To understand how this could happen, consider the packaging of your pills.

It’s actually a two-piece construction; a plastic blister pack slips inside of a cardboard (or plastic or whatever) container that keeps your consumption organized throughout the month.

In this case, an error at the packaging plant ended up slipping the blister pack into the cardboard sleeve the wrong way. What a difference 180 degrees makes. Affected packages could cause women to take placebo pills during the first week of their cycle instead of the last. This could wipe out the effectiveness of the birth control.

Fortunately a remarkably detail-oriented customer noticed that the sleeve was on upside-down. This mystery benefactor sent a “market complaint” to the manufacturer, who quickly issued a recall. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reprinted the recall in order to help get the word out.

So if Mibelas 24 Fe chewable tablets from Lupin Pharmaceuticals are your chosen method of birth control, this could affect you.

Check your packaging to see if it’s part of lot L600518, Exp. 05/18. You might have to remove the blister pack from the sleeve to see this information; the packaging mistake actually covers up the lot number and expiration date.

The recalled product will be a blister pack with 28 tablets. The active tablets are white or whitish, with print reading “LU” on one side and “N81” on the other. The remaining four placebo pills will have LU on one side and “M22” on the reverse.

If you have an affected package of this medication, Lupin encourages you to tell your doctor and take the package back to your pharmacy.

In fact, if you have one of these products, there’s a pretty good chance the manufacturer has contacted you already.

“Lupin is notifying its distributors and customers by recall letter and is arranging for return of all recalled products,” says the notice posted on the FDA website. The manufacturer is cooperating with and reporting to the FDA during the entire recall process.

Lupin Pharmaceuticals told Glamour magazine that “there have been no reported cases of any adverse health consequences due to the mix-up.”

If you have any further questions, you can always contact Lupin at 800-399-2561. They staff the lines 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday.

Sleeping well can be as valuable to an athlete as eating right and finding the right training regimen. The secret to getting good sleep is all about planning, preparation, and practice.

1. Prepare your bedroom.

Get drapes that block out street lights, put your blinking devices out of sight, and hide the glowing numbers on your alarm clock. Your body interprets these lights as a signal to stop producing melatonin, which is a key hormone that helps you sleep.

Set your bedroom temperature somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Your body likes sleeping in a cool, comfortable environment.

2. Avoid caffeine in the evening.

Don’t drink coffee or any other stimulant-enhanced drinks during the four hours before your bedtime (we’ll get to that next).

Some people need even more time without caffeine; if you’re having a hard time falling asleep, set a stop time for caffeine ingestion and see if you notice a difference.

3. Have a regular bedtime.

We are creatures of habit. With time and regular practice, your body will grow accustomed to a routine and will naturally start to prepare itself for sleep. Do your best to stick to a consistent schedule.

4. Develop a routine for getting ready for bed..

“Have a power-down routine each evening before bed,” writes Olivier Poirier-Leroy for YourWorkoutBook. “From an hour or half hour out from when you want to be asleep plot out the things you will do each evening before zonking out. Brush teeth. Read for twenty minutes. Prep clothes for the following day.

“Write in your journal. And so on. Doing this regularly will draw a clear connection in your mind and prime your body for a proper night’s rest. This will come especially handy when you are traveling and sleeping in a new environment. The routine will give you a sense of familiarity in the foreign.”

Make avoiding screens a part of that bedtime routine, too. The blue light that emanates from most electronic devices really throws the body’s melatonin production for a loop.

5. The bedroom is for sleeping.

You bedroom is your sleeping sanctuary. You can also…you know…in there, but keep it to those two things. Your body will come to recognize your sleep space and will quickly get into sleep mode if that’s all the space is being used for.

If you’re also doing work, watching television, eating, or surfing the net while you’re in bed, you’re sending mixed signals to your body. Don’t do that to yourself.

6. Refuse to use the snooze button.

Your body sleeps in cycles that last for more than an hour. When your alarm clock initially wakes you up, it cuts off the previous cycle, whether you got the full benefit of it or not. When you fall back asleep you’re telling your body that you’re starting a new sleep cycle, which can make you feel sluggish for hours.

Besides, having a consistent wake-up time is just as important as having a regular bedtime. By being consistent with your wake-up time, you can do a better job of homing in on the perfect bedtime.

7. Be cautious with naps

When you’re feeling tired and drowsy during the day, it can be very tempting to take a nap to give yourself an energy boost. You have to recognize that naps can affect your regular evening sleep routine.

If you are following the above recommendations and your body still seems to be telling you that you need more sleep, experiment with napping. If you go down this road, though, do your best to make naps either very rare or a regular part of your routine.