Sleep Hygiene

Sleep Hygiene is a term used to describe healthy sleeping habits, and maintaining sleep hygiene is very important to improving the quality of sleep, whether your sleeping problems are mild or chronic. Here are some sleep hygiene pointers you can use to help along the process of correcting your sleep problems.

1. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.

Your body has a natural clock that tells you when it’s time to sleep and time to wake up, so try not to ignore this. If you are feeling sleepy, go to bed, and resist the urge to stay up for another five minutes, or you may miss your window of opportunity. Conversely, don’t go to bed too early even if you think you might fall asleep as you will likely experience disturbed sleep and may wake up too early, confusing your body clock even more. Your body will eventually become accustomed to this new sleep schedule, and this will result in better sleep.

2. Get regular exercise

There’s a large amount of evidence that regular exercise helps with getting good, restful sleep. This is likely the first thing your doctor will recommend to you if you seek treatment for a sleeping problem, as it is widely believed to be the main factor in the milder range of sleeping disorders. Try to exercise either in the morning or before dinner.

3. Try to spend some time outdoors in natural light each day.

Sunlight is what triggers the body to produce Melatonin naturally. Spending a little time in the sunlight each day, particularly early in the day, can help re-synchronise your body clock.

4. Use your bedroom for sleep and sex only.

Resist the urge to use your bedroom like a lounge room (ie reading, watching TV, playing video games, using the computer, studying, etc) and only use it for sleep and sexual activity. This will reinforce your body’s connection between sleep and the place where it occurs.

5. Try to remain comfortable and relaxed.

Make sure your room is comfortable, with a constant comfortable temperature, decent pillows, mattress and bedclothes. You spend a third of your life sleeping, so you should invest in making sure that time is spent in comfort and relaxation. A warm bath or shower immediately before bed will cause the body’s temperature to rise, then fall, which can help promote sleep. Additionally, don’t engage in stimulating activity before bed. This can get the mind racing and may cause you to be unable to sleep. Stimulating activity could be playing video games, watching an exciting movie or reading an engrossing book, doing puzzles or crosswords.

6. If you can’t sleep, get up.

You can’t force your body to sleep, and trying is guaranteed to make things worse. If you aren’t asleep in around 20-30 minutes, get up and do something for a few minutes in another room. Keep the lights dim, and try to do something boring or unstimulating (some suggestions we’ve gotten include doing the ironing, folding some clothes, tidying up another room, or just walking around the house) When you are tired, go back to bed. This will again reinforce the to the unconscious that the bedroom is for sleeping.

7. Avoid Stimulants at night.

This mainly encompasses tea and coffee, but others include soda, cigarettes, chocolate and other junk food. A good rule to follow is none of the above after sundown. Cutting these significantly or all together out of your daytime life may benefit your sleep as well (especially coffee and cigarettes).