Fitful sleep, no sleep, restful sleep . . . if you are familiar with the first two but crave the latter, give these ideas a whirl to see if they lead to an improvement in the quality of your sleep. 

1. Power down your cell phone before you go to sleep
   If you don’t believe it, at least give it a try, but be prepared to wake feeling refreshed without a cellular device’s electromagnetic radiation interfering with your deep sleep cycles. Turning your cell completely off as you sleep is ideal, so try charging it during waking hours. If you need to leave the power on while charging your phone overnight, do so in a room other than your bedroom.
2. Sleep on your back
   Not only will this position prevent permanent facial wrinkles and keep all of your organs in their best shape possible, it will keep your skeletal structure in its ideal alignment, resulting in the least aches and pains as you age. If you are a side-sleeper, place a bed pillow under your knees as you train yourself to sleep on your back.  You will awake still on your back after a wonderful night of sleep.
3. Don’t eat after 7 PM
   We have heard this before in relation to maintaining weight loss, but how about for your best sleep quality?  This is a home run.  After you try it a few times, eat something late in the evening and then notice how tired you feel the next morning.
4. Avoid chicken
   Why, you ask?  Well, for many people, nightmares are a common occurrence after ingesting chicken.   Terrible dreams are suitable for Halloween, but disturbing the rest of the year.    The lovely feeling of waking after a beautiful dream is so worth giving up chicken, eh?
5. Sleep without central air or central heating whenever possible.
   Allow fresh air into the room by cracking a window or two.  You will all contract less colds and flu.  In severe cold weather, keep the central heat on low to prevent frozen pipes, but heat the bedrooms with portable heaters and keep the bedroom doors closed to contain their heat.  Watch in amazement as your family enjoys a year with hardly a runny nose.
6. Avoid coffee after noon.
   Switch to chamomile tea, which contributes to great sleep.

If you are on a path toward a healthy plant-based diet and you find that you require less sleep, don’t panic. Many people report needing only five hours of sleep after shifting to a plant-based diet.

Improving your sleep quality will also improve your health, and in fact, if you are suffering any ailments, try getting to bed early and watch some of them miraculously disappear.

Sherry Brooks is a healthy, happy and trim “Frugalista” living the lean and green life near Malibu in sunny southern California. Follow Sherry on Twitter