It was once again one of those awful nights. The credit card statement fluttered into the house (MIST!), The presentation next week is in your stomach, you have stress with your friend. First you could not fall asleep. Then you woke up in the middle of the night and lay awake for two hours. And when the eyes finally closed again, the alarm clock already sounded. Sleep deficit. We know the effects: fatigue, decreased concentration, higher stress levels. About eight hours of sleep would be optimal – but are the rarity for you. Before you reach for sleeping pills in your desperation, it's better to follow these eight tips to make sleeping and staying asleep easier. The optimal sleep temperature. You're feeling cold and have turned up the heating overnight? Or you tear open the windows, so that cold air comes into the bedroom? Both are not optimal. The perfect sleep temperature, according to my sleep researcher, is 16 to 18 degrees. Only absolute frostbite can increase a little (up to 20 degrees). Before you go to bed you should let the room air well again. Open windows for ten minutes and let fresh oxygen into the room. Put on socks. Yes. We know. It is not insanely sexy. But we just freeze a bit faster than the guys. That's why we should pack our frostbite toes before sleeping pretty muckelig warm. Because cold feet make out of balance – and restless. Dark off the bedroom. It has been proven: too much light during the night affects sleep negatively. This not only applies to your bedside lamp, but also to the TV, which remains lit and emits light, or even for the bright street lighting in front of your room. Blinds down, curtains in front, door closed, lights off. Good night! In the morning, but then a few rays of sunshine in the room, so the mood increases and your bioryhtmus also "awake" surrounds. What you should eat before sleeping. Food that is difficult to digest, which of course is logical, should not be eaten an hour before bed rest. Otherwise the stomach will work on digestion at night, your sleep will be restless. Your sleep is improved by eating foods containing the amino acid tryptophan – such as pumpkin seeds, eggs, soybeans. Also magnesium-containing dishes such as avocados and dark leafy vegetables make for a pleasant night. Sleep naked. Sure, you should warm your feet with socks. But sleeping naked otherwise makes for better sleep. In the process, the stress hormone cortisol is gradually being reduced. When you wake up, you have more energy and less hunger. The situation is different if you sleep restlessly through too much heat or even wake up several times. Then your cortisol level is too high and you feel cravings – the cause of nocturnal fridge attacks. Goodbye iPhone. Yes, we know it. Before you go to sleep, check your iPhone, Facebook status, WhatsApp, we know it. But, put it aside, just like the iPad or another electronic device. The light of these devices harms our inner clock and thus our sleep. Unless you've activated THIS function … you should drink that. That coffee or energy drinks are not the right choice now is logical. Unfortunately, alcohol also causes you to wake up more often at night. Better is a cup of fruit or chamomile tea – and the sleep classic par excellence: the cup of milk with honey. Relaxation. If it's mainly stress and worry that keeps you awake at night, then you should definitely do autogenic training before falling asleep. Imagine that your limbs are getting warm and getting tired. Your calves fall deep into the mattress, your thighs become soft, your fingers relax … So you gradually relax each muscle group and sleep more peacefully.