I’m a sleep expert. Here are 5 things I never do before bed

(Sarah Jacoby/ Today) –– Getting to sleep seems like something that should come naturally to us. But far too often it’s a challenge to get those quality ZZZs.

If you find yourself tossing and turning in bed or falling asleep only to wake up again a few hours later, setting a few bedtime rules might help, Dr. Craig Canapari, a pulmonologist and director of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center, tells TODAY.com.

For him, that starts with having a consistent bedtime that allows enough time to get a full night’s sleep — plus a solid amount of buffer time to doze off. “It’s totally normal to spend 30 minutes or more, falling asleep,” Canapari explains. “So you actually have to let yourself have a little bit more of an opportunity to get enough sleep at night.”

That might mean you need to start your bedtime routine even earlier than you think or you run the risk of “chronically shortchanging your sleep,” he says. (…)