10 Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene

Are you among the 62% of American adults who end up staring at roofs at night, trying their best to fall asleep? You have got to the right page! Sleep hygiene refers to those healthy sleeping habits that promise you a good night's sleep. It plays a critical role in your life, determining your mood and affecting your physical and mental well-being. In this guide, we will uncover various sleep hygiene tips with which you can ensure restful quality sleep, giving your body that much-needed recovery time and preparing for a fresh start the next morning. So, what are you waiting for? Let's begin exploring!

Tip 1: Ensure Your Sleep Schedule is Consistent

Make a regular sleeping schedule, i.e., try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. This habit will time your body’s clock accordingly, helping you fall asleep easier than ever. This way, you can also skip daytime dizziness. When picking your bed, you must leave room for around 7 to 8 hours of sleep – this span may vary according to age.

Tip 2: Invest in Premium Mattress and Bedding

Another vital thing is the quality of your mattress and bedding. Ensure these are premium and supportive, offering your spine enough support to allow optimal comfort. Otherwise, you will end up with pains and aches. So, get yourself bedding and mattress that feel comfortable when touching – so you get that welcoming feel and a comfortable temperature every time you lie on your bed.

Tip 3: Craft a Relaxing Bedtime Routine

Your bedtime routine may start from 30 to 50 minutes before going to bed. You can perform various activities in it, signaling your body or preparing it to fall asleep. For instance, spend a few moments in meditation to calm your mind and body, take a warm shower or bath, read a few pages of your desired book, or perform gentle stretches to relax muscles. It’s totally up to what makes you feel more relaxed. Also, try to maintain consistency in your bedtime routine, so whenever you begin doing these activities, your body gets triggered to sleep in a little while.

Tip 4: Black Out Lights

Light can significantly disrupt the circadian rhythm, making it difficult to fall asleep. At the core, it limits the production of melatonin, a hormone that triggers sleep. So, when beginning your bedtime routine, you may dim or turn off a few lights in your room, limiting your exposure to bright light. When it's time to sleep, blackout curtains and all lights; just use minimal lamp light if you feel uncomfortable falling asleep in the dark.

Tip 5: Turn Off All Your Electronic Devices

You must have read or heard of blue light emissions from electronic gadgets. All the devices around you, be it mobile phones or laptops, emit blue light, again reducing melatonin production. They force your brain to stay alert and remain focused; this is why you end up feeling more awake when exposed to sunlight in the morning. So, in your bedtime routine, you must put your mobile phones away from your reach. Messages, even buzzing caused by devices put on vibration mode, can disrupt your sleep at night.

Tip 6: Limit Caffeine Intake

According to research, caffeine side effects can last up to three to seven hours on your body after consumption. Meaning that your habit of having tea in the afternoon can keep you awake much longer than you would like to. However, this tolerance might vary from one person to another. Still, prefer limiting caffeine intake after 2 PM. You may stretch your consumption up to midafternoon if that doesn’t seem to interrupt your sleeping schedule.

Tip 7: Get 30 Minutes of Sunlight Exposure

You might find it weird, but exposure to sunlight helps regulate the sleep cycle. It's because the body's internal clock is regulated by light exposure. So, during the day, you must open up windows, letting in the sunlight, or go out for a short walk instead. If natural light is limited in your residential area, you can consult with your healthcare professional regarding a light therapy box.

Tip 8: Exercise Regularly

Another important tip is to exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes. Aerobic exercise can significantly impact your overall health and sleep quality. Plan your schedule in such a way that your exercising hours don’t collapse with your bedtime routine, as this will increase your energy levels and body temperature, making it difficult to sleep. You may reserve tiring exercises for the day and stretches or yoga for bedtime routine.

Tip 9: Reserve Your Bed for Sleep

Most people, especially those working from home, tend to spend almost the entire day in their bed for the sake of comfort. This habit can cause problems at bedtime. There must be a strong connection between your bed and body, so the moment you lie in bed, your body knows that it's time to sleep. This connection can't be established if you spend most of your day in bed or even your leisure time.

Tip 10: Go to Bed Only When You Are Tired

Most people end up tossing and turning on the bed, unable to fall asleep. The key here is to only lay once you feel tired, and it'll be more likely for you to fall asleep quickly. So, if you don't feel like sleeping or fall asleep 20 minutes after going to bed, get up and try some unwinding activities, like reading on your comfy couch. You may even indulge in stretches until you feel tired enough to lay in bed and fall asleep.

Conclusion

Good sleep hygiene is important for restful overnight sleep and improved quality of life. So, ensure you follow tips, like limiting light exposure and crafting a consistent bedtime routine, so your body can react accordingly. The goal of putting in this effort is for your body to recognize when to fall asleep. In your bedtime routine, you actually give it signals that you must prepare to fall asleep after this activity. So, the body acts accordingly. We hope this info was helpful. Our staff at Healthy Kids Care at Sunrise are here to answer any other questions or concerns you might have.

In Health,

Dr. Atousa