How “Groundhog Day” Can Help Improve Sleep

(Richmond, VA) – In the 1993 comedy movie “Groundhog Day,” a self-centered weatherman played by funnyman Bill Murray re-lives the same day over and over, with amusing and occasionally poignant results. Murray’s character spent day after day trying to break the cycle, but a sleep advice website says that doing the same thing day after day can actually help you get a better night’s rest.

“’Groundhog Day’ offers an offbeat lesson in the importance of routines in our lives,” said Dan Schecter, vice president of consumer products at Carpenter Co. and creator of leading sleep tips website SleepBetter.org. “We’re certainly not recommending recurring encounters with Punxatawney Phil, but developing a bedtime routine and sticking to it every day can help people of all ages get better sleep.”

Schecter noted that family rituals such as “quiet time” and reading bedtime stories have long proved successful in helping children get to sleep. He says established daily routines can also help adults. He offers these tips:

• As bedtime approaches, wrap-up the day’s chores with some simple tasks, such as ironing a shirt for the next day. Don’t launch any tasks that involve strenuous physical effort or heavy mental activity.
• Bedtime stories are great for adults, too. Read a chapter of a book, chat quietly with a family member or meditate for a few minutes.
• Try to get to sleep at the same time each night and awaken the same time in the morning, even on weekends. Established daily rhythms can be a calming physical signal, especially at the end of the day.

For more tips to help you sleep better, please visit http://sleepbetter.org. You can also get sleep advice from SleepBetter on Twitter and Facebook.

About Carpenter Co. / SleepBetter.org
SleepBetter.org is dedicated to helping people sleep better. Designed as an online resource, the web site creates a forum for visitors to define, discuss, and discover solutions to their particular sleep needs. SleepBetter.org’s quest is to continually gather pertinent sleep information, then share this knowledge with the general public. The site also shares tips on the best sleep related products, both in stores and online. SleepBetter.org has created the Sleep Better seal as a way to easily identify products recommended for their superior quality or scientifically based design. Created by Carpenter Co., the world’s largest producer of comfort cushioning products, SleepBetter.org provides information and advice that visitors can use to sleep better. For more information, please visit http://SleepBetter.org.