Anyone who has ever suffered from insomnia or even a few bad nights of tossing and turning knows just how important sleep is for a well-functioning brain during the day. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night can make a huge difference to your overall heart and brain health, says Dr. Michael Roizen, co-author of “You: The Owner’s Manual” and many other titles.

Getting enough sleep can be easier said than done, but Dr. Roizen is sharing some tips on how to improve the quality of your zzzzs.

• Set your alarm clock: Get up at the same time every day, even on the weekends.
• Plan for it: Count back 5 or 6-90 minute periods from when you need be awake, and then plan on being in bed that number of hours before the alarm clock is going to trigger. Plan the 30 minutes before that to do meditation for 10 minutes, essential preparations for the next day for 10 minutes (like preparing a lunch) and 10 minutes for hygiene.
• Cool down: Try lowering your thermostat – a cooler room is more conducive to sleep.
• Snack smarter: Choose foods in the evening that contains sleep-inducing melatonin, like oats or rice. Avoid caffeine close to bedtime.
• Keep distractions out of the bedroom: don’t bring distracting laptops, TVs or work materials to bed with you.  A TV in the bedroom also decreases sex by 50 percent, according to Dr. Roizen.
• Your night lights can be red wavelength only—that set of wavelengths doesn’t affect melatonin secretion, so your sleep after waking to use your bathroom is more likely to be good.

How do you wind down in the evenings?