Written By: Haley McSweeney, M.A., LMFT

What is sleep hygiene?

“Sleep hygiene” is a concept referring to the behaviors, routines, habits, and environmental factors that influence the quality of our sleep. While bedtime routines and factors influencing the quantity and quality of our sleep have existed since sleep itself, the concept of “Sleep Hygiene” was first developed by researchers in the 1970’s.

How does sleep hygiene effect our mental/emotional/physical health?

Good sleep geeing is absolutely fundamental to managing and maintaining every facet of our health. Research shows that around half of Americans experience sleep difficulties. Here are just some of the effects associated with poor quality or insufficient sleep: cognitive impairment, decreased motivation, increased emotional dysregulation and irritability, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased risk of cancer. Good sleep hygiene is associated with improved mood, energy, and lower rates of disease.

Components of sleep hygiene and how to optimize them:

The components of sleep hygiene can be broken down into the main categories of: bedtime routine, environmental factors, stimulant intake, and timing.

• Bedtime Routine

  Bedtime routine refers to the routine and habits you engage in before getting ready to get in bed and go to sleep. Your bedtime routine should help you calm down, relax, and ease into rest mode. Take this time to decrease sensory and information input by limiting or having no screen time in the 20-60 minute before you plan to be in bed. If you do use your phone or tablet, make sure the display brightness is dimmed significantly, and try not to read anything that will leave you feeling emotionally heightened. If you tend to be somebody who has trouble falling asleep, because of racing or repetitive thoughts, sometimes “closing up shop, by journaling, or making a list related to the next day can help empty your mind.

• Environmental Factors

  The environment that you fall asleep and stay asleep and will directly impact the quality of your sleep and your ability to complete the sleep cycle and have restorative sleep. Research indicates that having the room temperature is slightly cooler, between 65 and 68°, is the ideal temperature, it is also important to limit arousing noise that stimulates your brain. Try having your sleep environment be either quiet, or put on some kind of white noise that is soothing, but does not keep you awake. It is also important that the room be dark, and that you limit your light exposure in an hour prior to falling asleep. Our brains produce melatonin, a hormone that helps us fall asleep, in response to darker lighting or the sun going down. If you live on a street with particularly bright street, lights, or some other form of intense light, try black out curtains or an eye mask.

• Stimulant and Alcohol Intake 

  Stimulants are chemicals that cause us to feel increased focus, alertness, and arousal when we take them. Caffeine, nicotine, and some prescribed medication, such as stimulants prescribed for managing ADHD can all interfere with her ability to fall asleep if they are active in our systems at high enough quantities close to bedtime. if you are consuming stimulants, it is important to find out what the half life of that stimulant is, meaning the amount of time it takes for half of that compound to leave your body. Once you know the half life of the compound, you can use that information to determine how early in the day you should stop consuming it. For example, the half life of caffeine is about six hours. So if you were trying to be falling asleep some time around nine or 10 PM, you would want to stop consuming caffeine by early afternoon in order for it to not impact your ability to fall sleep.

  Consuming alcohol close to bedtime can also disrupt your sleep. consuming alcohol close to bedtime can lead to increased difficulty, falling asleep, lighter sleep, during different stages of sleep, and more frequent waking throughout the night. If you are preparing for an important event, particularly an athletic endeavor, it is wise to avoid alcohol all together the night before.

• Timing

  Research indicates that you are most likely to have the best sleep quality if you wake up and go to sleep at similar times on each day. Having consistent times that you tend to wake up and fall asleep every day, enables your circadian rhythm to remain consistent, which research indicates leads to better quality sleep. It is also wise to avoid daytime napping unless absolutely necessary, as this interferes with your circadian rhythm. Additionally, while regular exercise can improve sleep quality overall, it is important that you not exercise, strenuously just before bedtime, as this can also interfere with your ability to fall asleep. You also want to make sure that you were going to bed early enough that you will be able to get at least seven hours of sleep.

Sleep, hygiene is some thing that, just like every other healthy habit, we tend to have spurts of consistency and inconsistency with. The most important thing is that you prioritize, getting quality, sleep, and do your best to implement the best sleep hygiene practices available to you in whatever circumstance you’re in.