As part of Oak Street Health’s ongoing commitment to health literacy and Making Health Make Sense, Oak Street Health is providing weekly health tips. This week’s tip alerts older adults on the importance of sleep and how to get healthy, restful sleep. Do you get enough sleep? Do you wake up tired? Or do you have trouble falling asleep? Or maybe you can fall asleep but not stay asleep? Doctors and scientists have learned a lot about sleep over the last few years, and they’ve found sleep is especially important for older adults. That means it’s important to us here at Oak Street Health. Older adults should sleep at least seven hours a night. We know that can be hard, so we want to share some tips with you for how to get healthy, restful sleep.

1. Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.
2. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot nor too cold.
3. Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV.
4. Avoid TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” in the bedroom. A recent study at Harvard Medical School found that using an electronic screen before going to bed led to less sleep…and that sleep was less restful.

Based in Chicago, Oak Street Health is a network of primary-care doctor’s offices for people on Medicare with an innovative model of care focused on keeping their patients healthy and out of the hospital. Oak Street Health has five locations in Chicago, and also has locations in Blue Island and Berwyn.