Sleep hygiene
Have you ever woken up and realized that you actually hadn't slept well the whole night? Or maybe you slept a little too well and snoozed your alarm multiple times? That may be your body informing you that you need better quality rest.
Good rest allows your body and brain to function optimally during the day. You may have noticed that it is often more difficult to work on tasks during the day when you are sleep deprived. This is because your brain has not cleared out the toxins that it needs in order to perform at its optimal levels. By developing good sleep hygiene, and limiting the barriers and unhelpful habits, our body and brain can unwind and rest during the night, which will inevitably give us more productive and positive experiences when we are awake. This seems like an easy task, however, for most people it is certainly not.
What is sleep hygiene?
Sleep hygiene is a term which means developing healthy habits which allow quality sleep. This can include having a regular daytime schedule, a bedtime routine, and a healthy and comfortable dimly lit setting to fall asleep in. Sleep hygiene improves sleep duration and wakefulness during the day.
There are always barriers that can limit our rest and relaxation, but there are also healthy habits that we can use to mitigate these barriers. It is important to stay cognizant of what habits work for you and what barriers really challenge you. Take note of these and test them out to see what is beneficial for your personal sleep schedule.
Common barriers to developing good sleep hygiene
Using technology right before bed. Often when we use our devices, it can superficially wake up our brain. It is advised to put off our technology and screens one hour before we sleep in order to have a more restful night.
Being or feeling unproductive during the day. When we have not perceivably done enough during the day, our brain can activate our mental activity during the times when we need to sleep. It is important to spend your waking hours doing something that is meaningful to you, this will calm down your frontal lobes and promote rest.
Excessive caffeine. Excessive caffeine can be more harmful to your sleep than you think. Having one cup of coffee with 40 mg of caffeine will take 5 hours to halve itself in your body. In other words, 40 mg becomes 20 mg after 5 hours, and after 10 hours becomes 10 mg. This means it will take multiple hours for caffeine to fully dissolve itself in the body. Ultimately, making caffeine a culprit in giving us poor quality rest. While it is more than okay to drink coffee in the morning, drinking it after 5pm can upset the body's natural sleep system.
Helpful habits
Journaling and tracking your sleep schedule and what helps your body sleep is essential to figuring out what is most helpful for you. Different people can have various strategies that help them sleep better. Some people enjoy ASMR as certain sounds can calm their brain down, but for others this can feel creepy and unsettling. Finding out what works for your brain is essential in building better sleep hygiene.
Put your phone on “do not disturb,” or silence it during the times you wish to sleep so that you are able to have 1 hour of space between screen time and bedtime.
Set up your environment in the best possible way. In other words, get out that rusty essential oil diffuser and turn on the lavender diffuser mode, as this can comfort you and can promote sleep. Turn off the lights and make sure there are no lights streaming in through your windows. Get a weighted blanket or something which will help you feel comfortable and at ease.
Exercise and eat well. Exercise can be helpful in exhausting your physical body and essentially promotes good sleep. Avoid high fat diets and have a nutritious diet to help your body reduce the stress to digest fatty foods and glucose.
Create routines which allow for sleepiness. For some people reading a book or a piece of text before bed can make them feel sleepier. For others, drinking chamouille tea can help promote sleepiness.
Overall, sleep is such an important and essential part of our bodies regulatory system. Regular sleep schedules are associated with improved outcomes in multiple dimensions of health and performance including, metabolic health, inflammation, mental health, and academic performance. While it is great to build these routines, it is also important to recognize when to ask for help when you cannot manage and give yourself grace. It is helpful to have the recommended 6-8 hours of REM sleep. If you continue to struggle, make sure you reach out to a mental health professional or your doctor for more guidance.
References
De Pasquale, C., El Kazzi, M., Sutherland, K., Shriane, A. E., Vincent, G. E., Cistulli, P. A., & Bin, Y. S. (2024). Sleep hygiene–What do we mean? A bibliographic review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 75, 101930.
Delgado-Floody, P., Caamaño Navarrete, F., Chirosa-Ríos, L., Martínez-Salazar, C., Vargas, C. A., & Guzmán-Guzmán, I. P. (2022). Exercise training program improves subjective sleep quality and physical fitness in severely obese bad sleepers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 13732.
Sletten, T. L., Weaver, M. D., Foster, R. G., Gozal, D., Klerman, E. B., Rajaratnam, S. M., ... & Czeisler, C. A. (2023). The importance of sleep regularity: a consensus statement of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel. Sleep Health, 9(6), 801-820.
