Spring sleep boosters

As the days grow longer, extra hours of sunlight can disrupt your body clock and affect melatonin production, increasing the risk of restless nights and morning grogginess. But a few tweaks to your routine can reset your sleep cycle, helping you drift off faster, slumber more restfully and wake up refreshed.

- ANN GREEN

Soak up the morning sun

Start your day with a dose of bright light—say, by enjoying coffee near a sunny window or on your patio—and you'll set yourself up for better sleep tonight. Morning light hitting your retinas halts melatonin production (the hormone that makes you feel drowsy) and triggers an internal timer to restart its release earlier in the evening. Indeed, a recent study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people exposed to bright light in the morning fell asleep faster, slept significantly more soundly and experienced less next-day sleepiness.

Take a ‘sleep walk’

A short, brisk walk does more than get your blood flowing—it also improves your sleep. A study published in