Tips for Good/Better Sleep Hygiene

Tips for Good/Better Sleep Hygiene

What is Sleep Hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is a combination of environmental factors and habits that lead to consistent, uninterrupted, good quality sleep.

Being able to get enough sleep has numerous potential benefits for our health. Good sleep can lead to a stronger immune system, reduce our chances of becoming obese, and reduce our risk of developing health issues such as diabetes and heart disease. It can also mean that we feel happier, less stressed, reduce our risk of developing anxiety issues and depression, and lessen the symptoms of other mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia. When we are consistently well rested, we are also likely to feel happier overall, and be more able to focus, learn, and think more clearly.

So, when we are experiencing difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or feel sleepy and unrested throughout the day, we might try to address these issues by making changes to our sleep hygiene. 

Some things to think about:

• Maintaining a consistent bedtime and waking schedule
  • Parenting conversations talk a lot about establishing consistent bedtime routines for young children to help them establish “good” sleep habits and sleep through the night, but as we get older, we start to ignore a lot of these ideas. It can be really difficult to follow a set bedtime routine as we juggle the demands on our time, and then it can be really tempting to try to catch up on that sleep deficit when we finally get the chance to sleep in on days off or at weekends. However, while there is some evidence that we can redress a sleep debt by snatching a few extra hours at weekends, say, the overall impact of disrupting our sleep rhythm by doing so is detrimental. Following a consistent sleeping and waking schedule reinforces our natural sleep cycle, which can make it easier for us to fall asleep and wake every day. It can also help us ward off daytime sleepiness. 
• Developing a consistent bedtime routine
  • Following a relaxing bedtime routine can help us wind down, signalling to our body/brain that it’s time to sleep. Following set steps consistently may result in us being able to fall asleep more quickly. 

It might take time to develop our individual bedtime routine and find the activities that are most beneficial for us. A routine could include things like taking a warm bath or shower in the hour or so before we plan to go to bed, doing some gentle stretching or yoga to release tension from our bodies, using a breathing exercise like 4-7-8 breathing (See the Self Care Toolkit for a detailed explanation) to calm ourselves down and bring our focus to the present moment, or doing a brief meditation or visualisation to slow down and relax. 

• Using the 10-3-2-1-0 rule
  • The 10-3-2-1-0 rule is another routine to consider throughout the day that may have positive implications on our sleep. These rules are pretty general, and do not consider our individual tolerances for caffeine etc, but they can be a decent rule of thumb to play around with.
    • Stop caffeine 10 hours before bedtime. If you plan to sleep from 10pm, then the goal would be to stop any intake of coffee/tea/cola at 12pm. (Read more about the effects of caffeine on sleep and mental health here: )
    • Try to avoid eating heavy meals and limit alcohol intake 3 hours before bed
    • Stop working 2 hours before bed
    • Avoid screen time from 1 hour before bed
    • Use the snooze button zero times
• Trying to get some exercise every day
  • As little as 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day can have a significant impact on our sleep. Exercising outdoors can have additional benefits as natural light can play a role in regulating our Circadian rhythms and thus our ability to fall asleep and rest.
  • However, vigorous exercise 1-2 hours before bedtime can negatively impact sleep as it increases our energy and body temperature, making it harder to fall asleep.
• Reducing smoking
  • Nicotine is a stimulant, and so smoking can make it harder for us to fall asleep. Studies also show that smokers have lower quality sleep, and that nicotine may even reduce the amount of REM sleep we get, leading to daytime sleepiness. 

Smoking can also make us more at risk of developing sleep conditions such as sleep apnea, and also increase the chances that we snore.

• Reducing alcohol
  • Even drinking moderately can have an impact on our sleep, and leave us feeling tired the next day. While drinking alcohol can have a sedative effect, leading us to initially fall asleep quickly, it reduces the amount of REM sleep we can achieve, and can also lead to more disrupted sleep with frequent waking overall. 
• Making your bedroom/sleeping environment as comfortable as possible
  • A comfortable mattress/futon and pillow make a big difference to our sleep. Replacing mattresses every 7-10 years (depending on the type) can help ensure supported, comfortable pain free sleep. Replacing pillows on average every 1-2 years ensures they offer support, remain clean and  free of allergens.
  • The bedding we use can affect skin and body temperature while we sleep, which can impact our sleep quality. Also, sometimes bedding can be attractive but when we use it, it feels scratchy or uncomfortable, making it hard to settle. Additionally, if we are sharing a bed, getting enough duvet or blanket can be a challenge! Some people prefer to use 2 duvets/blankets on a double bed so both parties are in control of the bedding and no one misses out!
  • The room temperature also makes a difference. In general, a cooler temperature is most beneficial for good sleep, but we all have individual preferences. 
  • The amount of light entering the room can really affect sleep. Generally, a darker room is most beneficial for good sleep, signalling to our body that it is time to rest and helping us follow our circadian rhythms. Black out curtains or blinds can be helpful, but if this is not possible, using an eye mask can help avoid early waking and disrupted sleep. However, total darkness can cause anxiety for some of us, so in this case, compromising with a night light, or leaving a light on in an adjacent room so it casts some light into the bedroom may help alleviate some of the anxiety and lead to better sleep overall.
  • Noise can be really disruptive, especially in lighter phases of the sleep cycle. Using earplugs, or trying a white/brown noise machine, or even a fan may help drown out some sounds. It can also be helpful to mute notifications on our phones or other devices (if this is possible within our work and life responsibilities) to avoid being disturbed by non urgent emails and updates during the night.
  • Many of us use our phones as our alarm clock, so keeping them in the bedroom makes sense. However, this pattern can also impact our sleep as we can be disturbed by the arrival of non urgent emails and messages throughout the night, or if we wake up during the night, follow the instinct to scroll. The blue light from the screen can suppress melatonin production and also therefore affect our natural sleep/waking pattern.
• Limiting bed/bedrooms to spaces for sleep
  • Trying to keep the bedroom a space solely for sleeping can be challenging, especially in a Japanese home or small apartment. It can be tempting to blur the  lines, and allow our beds to become a space to work from, to eat in, to watch TV, or to engage in other activities, but doing this weakens the mental link that this space is for sleeping. If we try to limit what we do in this space, it can become easier to shut out other thoughts and concerns about work or other topics when we move into the space, creating a psychological boundary, and help us to fall asleep more quickly.   
• Going to bed only when you feel tired/sleepy
  • Lying in bed for hours and being unable to fall asleep or go back to sleep after waking can be really frustrating and create stress which makes it even harder to sleep. 

Generally, if we are still awake after 20 minutes, getting up and doing some gentle stretches or some form of relaxing activity, like reading for a while, can actually be beneficial and help us get to sleep more quickly.

• Limit napping during the day
  • The benefits of taking a 20 minute “power nap” during the day are often trumpeted, leading to improved focus and concentration, better cognitive performance, reduced stress and promoting heart health. However, napping too much or for too long can affect our sleep, making it harder to fall asleep at night and more disrupted sleep. 

Limiting napping to 20 minutes and trying to avoid doing so as it gets later in the day should help maintain the beneficial effects of the power nap without impacting night time sleeping too much.

• Try different techniques to help manage stress leading up to bedtime
  • Stress and having a lot on our minds can definitely impact sleep. There are a number of ways we can try to manage our mental load so we are not carrying it into bed each night. Some things to try are:
    • Try a grounding technique like counted breathwork or a relaxing visualisation to bring focus to the present moment and help us step away from anxieties connected to the past or future.
    • Practicing meditation can also help us bring calm to our minds, slow down and get our minds ready for rest. 
    • Journaling is one technique that can help us reflect on our day, organise our thoughts, express gratitude for the things we appreciate, and acknowledge our concerns or worries. Doing this can give a mental nod that we are acknowledging these worries, but also acts to set them aside until the next day so we don’t have to ruminate on them throughout the night.
    • In a similar vein, if it feels helpful, writing out a to-do list for the next day/week/month can again acknowledge what we have coming up, help us set out our priorities and help us detach from the need to think about it over and over throughout the night. 
• Limit large meals leading up to bedtime
  • Eating at night can affect how fast we fall asleep, the quality of our sleep, and how we feel in the morning. For a long time, it was widely believed that eating in the run up to bedtime was a bad idea. While health professionals would still advise against  eating large and heavy meals in the 2 hours before we want to go to bed, recent studies suggest that eating a small, nutrient rich snack can have benefits, preventing low blood sugar and sating hunger until the morning. Certain snacks can even help us fall asleep more quickly and/or help us stay asleep longer. 
• Light exposure during the day/after sunset
  • Circadian rhythms are natural internal processes that regulate biological cycles, such as sleeping and waking, hormone regulation, and body temperature across roughly a 24-hour period. Light has a big influence on these internal rhythms, and They are influenced by many factors, including temperature, food intake, physical activity and stress, but the most powerful influencers are light and dark. 

Trying to ensure we are exposed to some natural light each day, particularly in the morning, can help us keep our circadian rhythms running happily. Some scientists also suggest limiting exposure to light after sunset can be beneficial for sleep and support the production and regulation of certain hormones.  Practically, this might mean using smaller lamps rather than overhead lighting, dimming lighting where possible in the hours leading up to bedtime, or making sure devices are in a night time mode to reduce our exposure to blue light.

Disclaimer:

If you are experiencing prolonged difficulties getting to sleep or disrupted sleep and improving sleep hygiene is having no impact, consult a medical professional to discuss other potential causes and issues.