How is your sleep hygiene?
Sleep hygiene is a practice that we engage in other for us to experience good sleep and full daytime alertness. When we do not sleep well, we are unproductive in every aspect of our day. Headaches, forgetfulness, irritability become a part of our day and stops us from showing up in our lives as our best selves.
A good sleep hygiene habit creates an environment for good sleep. If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, it may be beneficial to review your sleep hygiene and work on improvement areas.
Five Tips on How to Improve your Sleep
- Keep a schedule
Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or vacations. The lack of a sleep schedule could mean the difference between quality sleep and poor sleep.
- Pleasant Sleep environment
The environment of your room should be comfortable. Clear your bedroom of clutter. Physical clutter translates to mental clutter, leaving you stressed, anxious, and or even sad. Use fresh and relaxing paint colors for your bedroom walls. The color of your room sets a tone, so make sure you pick the right color. A quick online search will provide you some paint color ideas that will be suitable for you. You may benefit from “white noise” machines. Some people use fans because they find the breeze and white noise from fans calming. Humidifiers are good to add moisture to the air and prevent dryness. These are a few ideas on how to upgrade your room into a better sleeping environment.
- Relaxing bedtime routine
Having a relaxing bedtime routine helps you unwind and prepares you for sleep. You can do things like taking a relaxing bath or shower, lighting a candle, reading a book, drinking tea, or journaling.
- Avoiding stimulants
Stimulants such as caffeine too close to bedtime can lead to nighttime alertness that doesn’t promote good sleep.
- Do not eat or drink too close to bedtime
It is recommended that you wait three hours between your last meal and bedtime. Many foods that we eat can disrupt our sleep; therefore, do not eat too close to bedtime to allow digestion to occur. Eating heavy or spicy meals too close to bedtime does not give our body enough time to process it. Also, avoid waiting until nighttime to consume your daily 64-ounce water intake. You will be spending most of your night in the bathroom.
I want to encourage you to take the time to review your sleep hygiene habit. You may find that the secret to a restful night’s sleep lies in your sleep hygiene habit.
References
Melinda Smith, M.A., Lawrence Robinson, & Robert Segal, M.A. (2019, August). How to Sleep Better. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm
American Sleep Association Reviewers and Writers Board-certified sleep M.D. physicians. (n.d.). What is Sleep and Why is It Important? Retrieved from https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/what-is-sleep/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d). What should I do if I can’t sleep. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/cant_sleep.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d). Sleep and Sleep Disordered. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/index.html