Tips For Betยญter Sleep Hygiene Have you ever found yourยญself tossยญing and turnยญing in the midยญdle of the night? Youโ€™re exhaustยญed, but someยญhow you just canโ€™t drop off? If so, youโ€™re not alone. Milยญlions of peoยญple all over the globe strugยญgle to fall asleep and get a sound sleep. If this hapยญpens to you more freยญquentยญly than youโ€™d like, you need to learn about sleep hygiene. What it is, how to achieve it, and what can help you get a solยญid nightโ€™s rest. Good sleep hygiene enables you to get a conยญsisยญtentยญly good nightโ€™s sleep, which is someยญthing we all need for physยญiยญcal and emoยญtionยญal good health.  In this post, we do a deep dive into sleep hygiene โ€“ what is it, and how it helps you achieve a good nightโ€™s sleep. It starts with a relaxยญing rouยญtine before you climb into bed and ends with a comยญfortยญable, cool matยญtress that allows you to rest at the right temยญperยญaยญture. What else comยญprisยญes a restยญful night? Read on!

A Definition Of Sleep Hygiene:

This term includes sevยญerยญal facยญtors, but in essence, it refers to healthy sleep habits. For examยญple: going to bed after eatยญing a large meal is defยญiยญniteยญly not a good sleep habit! Pracยญtisยญing good sleep habits is vital for your menยญtal, emoยญtionยญal and physยญiยญcal health. And it is as much about preparยญing for sleep as it is about sleep itself.

Here Are Some Tips For Prepping Yourself For a Restful, Sound Sleep:

1- Establish a Set Bedtime Routine

We know that someยญtimes life gets in the way of this. For examยญple, one night, you have a proยญfesยญsionยญal engageยญment you must attend that you know it will run late and keep you out until midยญnight. Howยญevยญer, itโ€™s cruยญcial that you set up a rouยญtine before bed and donโ€™t waivยญer, apart from unavoidยญable events like that.  That includes going to bed at the same time each night, whenยญevยญer itโ€™s posยญsiยญble. Many studยญies show that the sleep you get before midยญnight is the deepยญest and most restoraยญtive. If necยญesยญsary, head to bed at 10 or 11, but no later.

2- Turn Off Your Devices Well In Advance

This is a big ask, we know, parยญticยญuยญlarยญly if youโ€™re one of those peoยญple who takes their lapยญtop to bed and answers email just before you turn out the light. But this is a habit youโ€™ve got to break! No screens for at least one hour before bedยญtime are ideยญal for allowยญing your brain to wind down and relax. Furยญtherยญmore, the blue light emitยญted from phones and othยญer devices can wake you momenยญtarยญiยญly durยญing the night, interยญruptยญing your sleep and wreakยญing havยญoc with your slumber. Instead of takยญing your device to bed to catch up on work, get in bed with a book or magยญaยญzine. We guarยญanยญtee youโ€™ll have a more comยญplete, more restยญful sleep.

3- Cut Back On Caffeine During The Day

If you sip on cofยญfee or tea throughยญout your day at the office, try cutยญting your conยญsumpยญtion in half to begin with, and refrain from cafยญfeine use for a minยญiยญmum of 6 hours priยญor to bedยญtime. Too much fluยญid can make you need to get up in the night to use the bathยญroom, thereยญby interยญruptยญing your sleep. But also, cutยญting your cafยญfeine intake will make you less jitยญtery and anxยญious. That means itโ€™ll be easยญiยญer to relax in the evening, right up until you turn out the light.

4- Create a Soothing Environment In Which To Sleep

tips for better sleep hygiene As any inteยญriยญor decยญoยญraยญtor will tell you, soft colours are best for bedยญrooms, like dove grey, taupe or off white. Bold colours are fine in othยญer rooms where lots of activยญiยญty takes place, but your bedยญroom should be decยญoยญratยญed like a retreat, a refuge. The softยญer the palette the less stimยญuยญlatยญing, and thatโ€™s what you want and need in your sleep environment.

5- Have a Warm Bath, Then Meditate

Doing deep breathยญing exerยญcisยญes is incredยญiยญbly relaxยญing before bed, and it takes only 10 minยญutes or so. Conยญcenยญtrate on letยญting your shoulยญders relax, then inhale deeply, exhale comยญpleteยญly, and repeat this cycle for at least eight breaths. When we get nerยญvous or excitยญed, our breathยญing becomes shalยญlow โ€“ thatโ€™s what youโ€™re comยญbatยญing in this exerยญcise. Sit on the edge of your bed, close your eyes and โ€ฆ youโ€™ll feel more relaxed before you know it!

6- Turn Down The Thermostat

Sleep experts agree that your room should be cool, approxยญiยญmateยญly 60 โ€“ 67 degrees (F) or 15 โ€“ 18 ยฉ. That is the ideยญal temยญperยญaยญture for a body at rest. Howยญevยญer, some peopleโ€™s โ€œinterยญnal furยญnaceโ€ runs hot. Thatโ€™s when you should conยญsidยญer purยญchasยญing a Coolยญing matยญtress topยญper. These lie under the sheets but on top of your matยญtress, and they work wonยญders coolยญing you down, so you get the best rest posยญsiยญble. Choosยญing to purยญchase a matยญtress topยญper is anothยญer excelยญlent tool in your good nightโ€™s rest kit.

7- Lots Of Fresh Air & Exercise

When the spring comes, and the weathยญer turns mild, many peoยญple say that getยญting outยญside for exerยญcise seems to help them sleep betยญter. Sciยญence says theyโ€™re right! Going for a hike, prepยญping the garยญden for new plants and flowยญers, the more time you spend outยญside fills you with oxyยญgen and gets your blood flowing. This kind of exerยญcise is more benยญeยญfiยญcial than the indoor workยญouts we resort to in mid-winยญter when we have no choice but to stay inside. Of course, any exerยญcise is betยญter than none, but the activยญiยญty you do outยญdoors is defยญiยญniteยญly the best. Whether itโ€™s digยญging in the vegยญetable garยญden or hikยญing in a conยญserยญvaยญtion area, breathยญing fresh air and workยญing your body outยญside is a great way to ensure betยญter qualยญiยญty sleep. Pour your cofยญfee into a portable mug and head out for a walk in a nearยญby park. Come bedยญtime; youโ€™ll feel more ready for sleep because youโ€™ll be physยญiยญcalยญly tired.

8- Is It Time For a New Bed?

If you havenโ€™t replaced your bed in more than a decade, itโ€™s time to go shopยญping! Even the best matยญtress canโ€™t stand up to years of bodyยญweight tossยญing and turnยญing for eight hours each night. If there are two of you, conยญsidยญer that the matยญtress is workยญing to accomยญmoยญdate sevยญerยญal hunยญdreds of pounds. Even if you donโ€™t toss and turn, the matยญtress will begin to sag after eight or 10 years. You need a matยญtress that supยญports your spine. When you do purยญchase a new one, be sure to try them out first before buyยญing โ€“ whatโ€™s comยญfortยญable when youโ€™re 40 may not be comยญfortยญable when youโ€™re 50. It should be firm, and capaยญble of supยญportยญing your weight and your spouseโ€™s, for years.

9- Only Use Your Bed For Sleep

Please donโ€™t take your files or lapยญtop into bed with you, thinkยญing that propยญping yourยญself up against your headยญboard will let you finยญish up a few tasks before bed. If you must take care of some last-minute work, do it at the dinยญing room table or in your home office. Or if you have the space, creยญate a cozy corยญner in your bedยญroom with a comยญfortยญable chair and a good light overยญhead. Finยญish any work that needs doing there, rather than takยญing it into bed, or betยญter yet, curl up with a good novel.

10- Resist The Urge To Nap

Plenยญty of studยญies supยญport this theยญoยญry: napยญping actuยญalยญly makes it hardยญer to fall asleep at night. Some peoยญple argue that they just canโ€™t get through their day withยญout a quick bit of shutยญeye, but napยญping is actuยญalยญly counterproductive. If youโ€™re one of the milยญlions of peoยญple who stretch out for 40 winks in the midยญdle of the day, experยญiยญment with resistยญing this impulse. Go for three or four days withยญout napยญping. Weโ€™ll bet youโ€™ll find the qualยญiยญty of your nightยญtime sleep improves enorยญmousยญly. If you truยญly canโ€™t stop napยญping, make it 15 minยญutes rather than 40 โ€“ even this reducยญtion may help you get through the night more soundly.

11- Donโ€™t Snack Late At Night

Itโ€™s tough to pass on the potaยญto chips when the famยญiยญly is watchยญing an evening movie on Netยญflix. Howยญevยญer, if you want to estabยญlish good sleep habits, try to resist! Eatยญing in the evening forces your body into digesยญtion mode, which may keep you wide awake. Itโ€™s betยญter to go to bed a bit hunยญgry and be ready for a good breakยญfast the folยญlowยญing day.

Wrapping Up

Creยญatยญing good sleep habits โ€“ sleep hygiene, as sciยญenยญtists call it โ€“ is the corยญrect route for improvยญing the qualยญiยญty and length of your nightยญtime rest. Everyยญone has the occaยญsionยญal fitยญful night durยญing which they just canโ€™t seem to fall asleep. If that hapยญpens, get out of bed, go read for an hour and rememยญber: the odd night of lost sleep is not the end of the world. Howยญevยญer, getยญting solยญid sleep is vital for physยญiยญcal and emoยญtionยญal health. Try one, two or even all our sugยญgesยญtions, and we think that before you know it, youโ€™ll be regยญuยญlarยญly sleepยญing through the night. Each mornยญing youโ€™ll awake feelยญing refreshed and reinยญvigยญoยญratยญed, ready to tackยญle whatยญevยญer chalยญlenges the world throws your way.  

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