If you were to ask my mother how to get good sleep, she would tell you to go to sleep when you’re tired and that the best hours to sleep are between 8pm and 6am. You know what? My mother is right. There are a couple more key factors to getting the kind of good, restful sleep that is required to live a healthy happy life, but Mom’s got a good start on it.

Very few people wake up in a good mood after a night of bad sleep. Perhaps they lay in bed for an hour before being able to fall asleep because they were “tired and wired.” Or maybe you woke up to the sound of your alarm, which strangely resembles that of a natural disaster alert. These unpleasant nights of sleep make us cranky, tired, stressed, and can actually contribute to insulin resistance and those love handles you can’t seem to shake off.

Firstly I feel it important to mention that if you haven’t taken a look at the food you eat or your activity level yet, that’s probably a good thing to do as well. Both of these aspects of your life can have a large impact on sleep, and the quality of it. Without further ado, here are some simple tips on how to get good sleep:

Going to sleep when you are tired is crucial, especially if you are someone who typically “catches a second wind,” or wakes up after pushing past your natural point of exhaustion. For example, if you find yourself sleepy around 9pm, but you still have 20 emails to send or 5 chapters to read for your introductory law class. You stay awake and practically hold your heavy eyelids up to finish your tasks (and besides, 9:00 is too early to go to sleep, right?). By the time you are ready to go to bed, you are wide-awake, and end up laying in bed for a long time and not resting well. There are aspects of your diet that can contribute to getting this “second wind,” but the most important point is that if you go to sleep before it happens, it’s not a problem.

There have been many studies that show people who sleep between the hours of 8pm and 6am (when it is dark outside) feel more rested throughout the day… and my mother has read all of them. She’s got a point though. If you can manage to sleep in complete darkness, you will find yourself sleeping better, waking up less during the night, and awaking in the morning feeling fresh. Try your best to prevent your job or social life from interfering with your sleep, but if you must sleep when it is light outside, create complete darkness by wearing a sleeping mask, pulling the curtains, and covering every source of light within your room.

These two tips on how to get good sleep are easy to understand and relatively simple to implement. Going to sleep when you naturally feel tired will prevent catching a second wind and give your body what it wants: rest! Taking the time to draw your curtains and cover up your phone charger light will result in sounder sleep. Turning off your alarm, and making diet changes (like removing salt) can also have a very positive effect on the quality of your sleep. Learn more about these techniques and more on how to get good sleep on this page.