I’m on a mission. This mission is to improve my sleep hygiene and reap all the benefits that come with it! The biggest thing, is I want to begin my days at 5am (Woot woot, 5am Club!). But you don’t have to have the same goal as me to enjoy the benefits of a good nights sleep!
What is Sleep Hygiene?
Sleep Hygiene refers to a set of habits, behaviors and controlled environmental factors that contribute to consistent quality of sleep.
Essentially, it’s everything you do or don’t do to maintain a healthy sleep and wake schedule.
The Benefits of Good Sleep Hygiene
- Sharper concentration
- Better memory
- Higher productivity
- Reduced stress
- Reduced irritability
- Supports immune function
- Helps maintain a healthy weight
- Reduces inflammation
- Lowers blood pressure reducing risk of heart disease and stroke
- Improves skin significantly
- Improves weight loss and muscle growth after exercise
This is not an exhaustive list. Good sleep improves such a wide range of physical and mental health, it really is a super power. Still too many people are considering proper sleep a “luxury” and not a necessity.
What I’m Doing
I’ve suffered from insomnia pretty much my entire life, so if I can do it, you absolutely can. Where there is a will there is a way.
- Lowering screen time, especially before bed.
- Creating a consistent bedtime schedule
- Having a relaxing bedtime routine
- Avoiding caffeine past 1 pm
Ways to Improve Sleep
Consistency is key
Having a consistent sleep routine is huge when it comes to sleep hygiene. Going to bed at the same time every night helps train your internal clock.
Watch what you eat and drink
You don’t want to be stuffing yourself or starving yourself before bed. Avoid heavy meals 2-3 hours before sleep and cut out things like alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as well. Caffeine after 1pm can hinder sleep. Alcohol may make you more sleepy to start but it actually disrupts sleep later in the night. Nicotine is just terrible in general but trying to avoid it in the few hours before sleep can help to create a more restful sleep.
Optimize your environment
Making your room cool, dark and quiet is important for proper sleep. Even a little bit of light in your room can disrupt your brain and keep it going, try to move clocks and any light source so they aren’t visible. A temperature between 60 and 67 degrees F is optimal for good sleep.
Day time naps
You want to be limiting your day time naps if you can’t avoid napping all together. There is research that shows naps have a benefit to over all brain function and health, (but thats a whole other post topic) so I don’t want to say avoid them completely. But you should try to keep them at 20 to 30 minutes and avoid any naps after 3 pm.
Daily physical activity
Adding daily physical activity into your routine is a good way to improve your over all sleep quality. Just avoid any heavy exercise in the hours before bed, opt instead for something relaxing like yoga or light stretching if your going to exercise before bed.
Manage stress
Stress does crazy things to our body and mind but it especially messes with our ability to sleep and our ability to get proper restful sleep. Managing stress is the best way to get the best sleep possible.
Limit your bed use
Your bed should only be used for sleep and sex. Try to avoid working in bed or lounging on a screen.
Utilize relaxation techniques
Having a relaxing nighttime routine will help improve your ability to sleep as well as the quality of your sleep. Having a warm bath or shower, reading, doing yoga or meditating before bed are all ways you can help yourself relax and get into a sleepy state.
All in all even improving a few of these areas or utilizing a couple of these techniques will help improve your overall sleep hygiene and thus improve your over all health and wellbeing.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope this post has helped you on your journey to a more restful sleep.
Much love,
Ky <3