If you spend most nights tossing and turning for hours, you likely spend your days feeling tired, irritable, and unable to concentrate. Insomnia affects more people than you might think, but these proven tips can help you get a good night’s sleep.

1. Set a schedule. If you often go to bed at very different times, it could be a cause of your insomnia. Try to set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it so that your body gets used to falling asleep at the same time each night.
2. Give yourself 15 minutes. If you can’t fall asleep within 15 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something else. Lying awake for hours could cause you to stress out more, so try to tire yourself out by reading or washing the dishes.
3. Change your diet. Don’t eat right before you go to bed, but try not to go to bed hungry, either. You likely already know that you shouldn’t drink caffeine before bedtime, but try to avoid alcohol, as well.
4. Create a comfortable sleep space. If you still have trouble sleeping, it may be your surroundings. Wear earplugs if the outside noise is too loud, replace your blankets to suit your temperature needs, or add a mattress pad if your bed is uncomfortable.

20 Ways To Sleep Better Every Night [Prevention]
Sleep tips: 7 steps to better sleep [Mayo Clinic]
How to Sleep Better [Help Guide]
Healthy Sleep Tips [National Sleep Foundation]
How To Get A Better Night's Sleep [Sleepless in America]

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr paulidin

While you may think of napping as a luxury reserved for the weekends, taking quick power naps throughout the workweek is not without its benefits — just make sure your boss is okay with it first! Here are four of the most important health benefits of napping:

1) It increases your level of alertness.
Even a 40-minute nap will increase how alert you are by a full 100 percent. Just think of the ways that extra energy will improve your work performance or help you tackle chores around the home!

2) It boosts memory retention.
If you take a mid-afternoon nap when you start to feel tired, once you wake up you’ll be able to remember more facts and deliver a better performance without feeling sluggish.

3) It prevents disease.
That’s right: napping regularly not only improves your brain function, it also improves your overall health. Napping for just 30 minutes a day a few times a week is said to decrease your risk of heart disease and diabetes and help your body to heal itself more quickly.

4) It makes you happier.
It may seem like common sense that you feel less grumpy after a nap, but there’s more to it than that. Napping increases your brain’s production of the mood-enhancing neurotransmitter serotonin, which increases overall feelings of well-being and decreases stress.

Napping: Do's and don'ts for healthy adults [Mayo Clinic]
The Health Benefits Of Napping: Resting Can Help Reduce Stress And Protect Immune System [Medical Daily]
Unleash the Power of the Nap [The Art of Manliness]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/qJake