When you’re having a difficult week, it’s likely that you start deeply ruminating about past and upcoming events as soon as your head hits the pillow. Unfortunately, disruptions in your quantity and quality of sleep can worsen stress, landing you in a never-ending cycle of worry. You can keep stress at bay by focusing on improving your sleep hygiene.

• Start by getting rid of all light emitting devices in your bedroom. Yes, that even includes your television. Compensate with an audio book or MP3 player at first.

• Keep all deep talk far from your bed to turn your room into a place of rest only.

• Limit your sugar and caffeine laced snacks and drinks as bedtime nears. Aim for finishing up all tasty tidbits at least two hours before going to bed. Give caffeine the boot from your day just after lunch.

• Exercise as much as possible each day to tucker yourself out and eliminate nervous energy.

• If you must nap during the day, keep it under 30 minutes in duration.

Taking the above steps will help you fall asleep faster while improving the quality of your rest. As a result, you should see an improvement in your stress levels within a few days.