Sleep Hygiene
What is sleep hygiene? Why is it Important?
How to Improve Yours!
Sleep is one of the most important things we do as humans for both our physical and mental health. We all know what it feels like after we get a bad night’s sleep, or after pulling an all-nighter. You are sluggish. You have trouble remembering things. You feel more on edge and may react to things in ways you normally wouldn’t.
If you have trouble sleeping for a few nights in a row or even longer, it can lead to serious mental and physical health issues like depression, heart disease, and early death. It’s that serious. That is why it’s so important to have quality sleep and why we want to help yours improve.
What is Sleep Hygiene
Sleep Hygiene is the routine and environment used to give oneself the best opportunity to have a consistently restful and restorative night’s sleep. Research shows that learning about sleep hygiene is related to implementing better sleep hygiene habits, which, in turn, is related to overall sleep quality. The data indicates that variable sleep schedules, going to bed thirsty, environmental noise, and worrying while falling asleep contribute to poor sleep quality.1 It’s also important to have consistent bedtimes and wake times, to avoid screens - phones, TVs, tablets - for at least 30 minutes before bedtime, and to have a comfortable bed and sleeping situation.
Why it is Important
Mental Health
Our brains go through several different stages throughout the process of sleeping. These stages include NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement), and our brain activity fluctuates up and down in different parts of the brainwave spectrum during these stages.
This enables us to process information and memories and helps with different cognitive functions like learning and thinking. Poor sleep can impede our brain’s ability to process positive emotions and can lead to an increase in anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and other serious mental health issues.2, 3
Physical Health
While sleeping, your body is doing many different things to help you recover, and be physically ready for whatever you have to do the coming day. Here are just a few examples:
It is a chance for your sympathetic nervous system, which is tied to your fight and flight response, to relax and reset. An overactive sympathetic nervous system has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.4
Your pituitary gland releases growth hormones to help your body recover from the previous day’s activities.5
Your immune system also releases cytokines - small proteins that help your body fight trauma, infection, and inflammation.6
Without enough sleep, your body can’t complete these processes and you will be left feeling lacking, resulting in suboptimal health and performance.
How to Improve Yours
Just knowing about sleep hygiene is not enough, you must put these tips into practice to enjoy better sleep. (7) To improve your sleep hygiene we recommend optimizing these areas in your life:
Consistent sleep and wake times - preparing to go to bed at the same time every evening trains your body and nervous system to wind up at the same time every morning and calm down at the same time every night. The rhythm of our sleep and wakeful states should be steady and consistent for the best results. This habit alone can work wonders - try it for 2 weeks and see what happens!
Comfort - wearing clean and comfortable nightwear and sleeping in clean and soft bedding can significantly affect sleep quality. This habit puts the “hygiene” in sleep hygiene. The firmness of your mattress is purely personal preference, just make sure you find what works best for you and prioritize quality or price. Sorry, pocketbook. You will own a mattress for many years and spend ⅓ of your life in bed so invest wisely, you’ll be glad you did. A final note on comfort: your room's temperature should be on the cooler side - studies show that 65 degrees are optimal, but try different temps to see what works best for you.
Wind down routine - nightly self-care is essential… flossing and brushing your teeth, washing your face, drinking some water, and changing into your favorite spiderman pajamas - can set the tone and vibe that’s most conducive to falling asleep quickly. Consider your current nightly routine - how well you set yourself up to win or are you sabotaging your sleep efforts before you even lie down?
Just as importantly… there are a few activities to avoid before bed:
First things first, you should avoid all screens for a minimum of 30-60 minutes before bed. The blue light from screens of all kinds will confuse your nervous system into thinking it sees the daylight sun and should be wide awake instead of falling asleep, thereby decreasing melatonin production and hindering sleep quality.8 Even if you wear blue-blocking glasses it is beneficial to avoid screens and other activities that may stimulate your nervous system - like caffeine or alcohol. In moderation these substances are OK, but more than 1-2 alcoholic beverages before bed will prevent you from accessing deep sleep cycles,9 and caffeine too late in the day and prevent you from falling asleep at all.
Instead, pay attention to the process of taking care of yourself, being present in your life and your surroundings - maybe ponder the day you just had, what went well, and what you are grateful for, or would like to do differently tomorrow.
A systematic review of research on gratitude practices found that gratitude interventions (no matter when they were performed) were seen as being of greatest benefit to cardiovascular parameters, inflammatory markers, and sleep quality.10 With the known benefits of relaxation, practicing gratitude as part of a nighttime routine can improve both sleep quality and sleep onset.
Bonus life hack: - Right before bed, spend a few minutes thinking about a problem you would like the answer to and ask your subconscious mind to give you the answer while you sleep - you might wake up with more ideas about the solution!
Good Sleep Starts in the Morning
Develop a Morning routine - the opposite of your night routine - you want morning light in your eyes! Get outside and look into the sky, don’t look directly into the sun with your eyes open (that’s only safe briefly at sunrise). Going for a quick walk while getting early morning sun can jumpstart your day the right way. Again, you can think of things you’re grateful for and excited about, imagine yourself doing things successfully, imagine how good you will feel once you’re in action and going about your day, then do it
When to eat? It’s best to start your day with a high-protein breakfast. This helps regulate your metabolism for the day, so you avoid hypo-glycemic responses (sugar rush and crash). You will have more consistent energy throughout the day and begin to rely less on stimulants like coffee, tea, and energy drinks less. About coffee… we recommend sticking to 1-2 cups per day, or 200-500mg, and waiting 1 hour after your high-protein breakfast before consuming any caffeine. Your body needs to process the protein you just ate and replenish glycogen stores before consuming caffeine for the caffeine to work effectively. This will allow you to get more energy from your morning cup of joe and become less reliant on stimulants in general.
Eating right before bed can cause restlessness and prevent sleep onset. It takes 2-3 hours for a full stomach to empty into the small intestine where it moves more slowly and easily, so it’s best to not eat right before bed so you’re not bothered by a rumbling tummy while trying to fall asleep. Depending on the macronutrient content of your meal, you may have a hyperglycemic response (too much sugar) which would be stimulating and cause you to crash - which would further dysregulate your sleep. It’s best to eat a balanced meal late in the day, about 2-3 hours before bedtime, and skip the late-night snack. Instead, drink some water right before bed to sidestep possible hunger pangs.
In summary…
Though good sleep is not completely within our control, it also depends on your current health status and a variety of genetic factors, implementing good sleep hygiene practices is the best way to take back what control you do have and give yourself the best opportunity for better sleep. Consider adding one or more of these habits below to your current routine, and reconsider which of the bad habits you currently have that you might want to quit today and replace with something better.
Things you should do …
Go to sleep at the same time every night
Nightly self-care routine
Turn down the thermostat to 65 degrees
Wear blue blocking glasses the last hour before bedtime
Use comfortable bedding and quality mattress
Practice gratitude before bed
Practice visualizing what you want in your life as though you already have it
Get sunrise in your eyes early in the morning
Eat a high-protein breakfast to jumpstart your metabolism
Wait an hour after breakfast before drinking caffeine
Stay hydrated throughout the day
Things NOT to do …
Eat sugary food 2-3 hours before bedtime
Consume caffeine after 4 pm
Consume too many alcoholic drinks
Look at screens within 1 hour of bedtime
Worry too much
There are so many ways to improve sleep quality, sleep onset, and sleep duration, which will have far-reaching positive effects on your life. We hope you implement these suggestions and begin to enjoy better sleep ASAP. Let us know how we can help!
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CITATIONS
(1) Franklin C. Brown Ph.D., Walter C. Buboltz Jr Ph.D. & Barlow Soper Ph.D. (2002) Relationship of Sleep Hygiene Awareness, Sleep Hygiene Practices, and Sleep Quality in University Students, Behavioral Medicine, 28:1, 33-38, DOI: 10.1080/08964280209596396
(2) Augner, Christoph. "Associations of subjective sleep quality with depression score, anxiety, physical symptoms and sleep onset latency in young students." Central European journal of public health 19.2 (2011): 115-117.
(3) Benitez, Andreana, and John Gunstad. "Poor sleep quality diminishes cognitive functioning independent of depression and anxiety in healthy young adults." The Clinical Neuropsychologist 26.2 (2012): 214-223.
(4) Malpas, Simon C. "Sympathetic nervous system overactivity and its role in the development of cardiovascular disease." Physiological reviews (2010).
(5) VanderLaan, W. P., et al. "Implications of growth hormone release in sleep." Metabolism 19.10 (1970): 891-897.
(6) Irwin, Michael. "Effects of sleep and sleep loss on immunity and cytokines." Brain, behavior, and immunity 16.5 (2002): 503-512.
(7) Mastin, D.F., Bryson, J. & Corwyn, R. Assessment of Sleep Hygiene Using the Sleep Hygiene Index. J Behav Med 29, 223–227 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-006-9047-6
(8) Shah, Nirmish. "It’s all about the blue lights–screen time before bed is associated with poor sleep."
(9) Park, Soon-Yeob, et al. "The effects of alcohol on quality of sleep." Korean journal of family medicine 36.6 (2015): 294.
(10) Boggiss, Anna L., et al. "A systematic review of gratitude interventions: Effects on physical health and health behaviors." Journal of Psychosomatic Research 135 (2020): 110165.
