5 Tips to Improve Your Sleep Hygiene

How Can I Improve My Sleep Hygiene?

Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night, unable to fall asleep? Are you restless and find yourself thinking about all your worries or things you must do tomorrow? Or do you find yourself countlessly counting sheep and never fully feel rested in the morning? A common question we get is “How can I improve my sleep?”

We underestimate how important sleep is to our personal wellness. It’s usually the kick-start to our day and can predict how the rest of our day will play out. When you’re tired, your daily tasks can seem demanding and overwhelming, liking walking the dog or picking up groceries. Research has shown that sleep deprivation can negatively impact our day-to-day lives, which over time, can affect our physical, mental, and emotional health. Sleep deprivation has been known to negatively affect a person’s concentration, memory, and creativity since sleep is the optimal time for our bodies and mind to recharge. Chronic sleep deprivation can result in a multitude of physical implications, like increased blood pressure and increased risk for cardiac problems.

So, what can you do about your sleep? You can try things like drinking a warm glass of milk or listening to soft, meditative music, but improving your overall sleep hygiene may require adjusting your bedtime routine.

Outside of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, here are five tips to improve your sleep hygiene and your quality of sleep.

Regular Sleep Routine

It’s important to train your body to go to bed and to wake up at the same time every day. It’s like you’re syncing your internal clock to know when it’s time for bed and when it’s time to wake up, which will help establish a consistent schedule.

Bedtime Routine

Create a bedtime routine to help your body wind down and get ready for bed. This will help your body, and internal clock, know when it’s time for bed based on certain activities you do before bedtime. For example, taking a warm bath, drinking a cup of decaffeinated tea or listening to calming music.

Sleep, Sickness, and Sex

It’s important to associate your bed with the three S’s – sleep, sickness, and sex. If you use your bed to watch television, browse Pinterest, or to read, your body won’t connect your bed with sleeping. Rather, your body and brain will remain stimulated by these activities as opposed to relaxing.

Things To Avoid

It’s important to avoid a few things before bed to help your body establish a regular bedtime routine. First, it’s important to avoid stimulants like caffeine (coffee, tea, pop) and nicotine before bed. Contrary to popular belief, it’s important to avoid drinking alcohol before going to bed as it will disturb your quality of sleep in the long run. It’s also best to avoid taking naps during the day, especially too close to when you would go to bed. Sleep is the optimal time for our bodies to recharge, so if you nap, it’s like hitting the reset button to start a new day. Lastly, it’s important to go to bed when you’re tired. When you have a tough time falling asleep for example, it’s not uncommon to lay awake in bed and watch the clock tick by. When this happens, our minds become our worst enemy because we keep thinking about how late it is and how we haven’t fallen asleep yet. So, the next time you find yourself lying awake in bed or watching the time pass, get up and do something boring until you feel sleepy and then try to go to bed again.

Healthy Living

This involves eating a well-balanced diet and getting regular exercise during your day, even if you had a bad sleep the night before. The timing of these things isn’t important but this will help your body establish a consistent daytime routine and prepare your body for bedtime.

References

• Centre for Clinical Interventions. (n.d.). Sleep Hygiene. Centre for Clinical Interventions: Resources.
• Matta, C. (2013). 8 Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Health. Psych Central.
• Tartakovsky, M. (2016). 12 Ways to Shut Off Your Brain Before Bedtime. Psych Central.