According to the CDC, 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep each night on a consistent basis. Sleep is vital to your overall physical and mental health and well-being. Regularly getting a lack of sleep each night will not only make you feel exhausted in the short-term, but can raise your risk of potential long-term health consequences like mental illness and physical health concerns. In this article, you’ll learn more about how you can improve your sleep quality through focusing on sleep hygiene, what is sleep hygiene, and how you can implement it into your own life.
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Sleep Hygiene: What is It?
Interested in learning more about sleep hygiene and how it can improve your quality of sleep?
Sleep hygiene involves the routine or practices you utilize to help you get a better night’s sleep. Typically, this can involve certain behaviors you do or the environment you sleep in. For example, whether you realize it or not, you may have a simple sleep routine of going to sleep in your bedroom each night at a set period of time. This is a great framework for building your sleep hygiene. That being said, there’s so much more that goes into your sleep hygiene than you may think.
For instance, certain behaviors before bed can either help or hurt your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. If you don’t have a bedtime routine and go to bed whenever you feel like it, this can hurt your sleep health in the long run. This is because if you decide to go to bed at 2 am one night, then 9 pm the next, this creates an inconsistent routine that can overall negatively impact your body’s physical and mental health. Routines are critical for your body, especially when it comes to getting quality sleep.
3 Ways to Improve Your Sleep Hygiene
Now that you know more about what is sleep hygiene, it’s critical to implement good sleep hygiene practices into your life so you can improve your sleep quality. Below are three simple ways you can start improving your sleep hygiene so you can start feeling more well-rested and energized during the day.
- Follow a Set Bedtime and Wake Up Schedule
First, a simple way to improve your sleep hygiene is by keeping a set bedtime and wake up schedule. While this may be challenging at first, especially if you haven’t followed a consistent schedule before, keeping with a set wake and sleep time can help teach your body when it can expect sleep and get a restful night’s sleep.
- Create a Set Nightly Routine
Next, rather than scrolling on your phone right before bed, create a relaxing nightly routine to help calm your mind and prepare your body for sleep. This can look like reading a book or limiting the amount of screen time you use before bed.
- Create a Restful Environment for Sleep
Finally, create a restful sleep environment that is dark, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature to help you fall and stay asleep.
Help Is Available
Now you know more about what is sleep hygiene, and how you can implement good sleep hygiene practices into your life. Sleep is critical, and a lack of consistent, quality sleep each night can lead to a range of negative physical, mental, and emotional health factors. If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health condition, like a sleep disorder, it’s critical to consider seeking help so you can safely lead a healthier life.
Our expert team at Casa Serena is here to help safely progress along your recovery journey. We understand that no two recovery journeys are ever the same. That’s why our alcohol rehab for women provides a comprehensive range of addiction and mental health care resources to ensure you receive the tailored support you need to effectively transform your life for the better. Ready to start your recovery journey? Contact us today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are signs of lack of sleep?
A lack of sleep can cause a range of negative consequences. This includes experiencing tiredness the next day, irritability, mood swings, an inability to focus or concentrate, having increased cravings, experiencing a headache, and overall not feeling good physically, mentally, or emotionally. While a lack of sleep once or twice will not cause significant harm to your health, chronically getting a lack of sleep can result in a range of negative health consequences.
What is the meaning of sleep hygiene?
As discussed above when exploring what is sleep hygiene, the meaning of sleep hygiene are the practices or routines you do to help you achieve quality of sleep. Failing to prioritize good sleep hygiene can negatively impact your ability to get good quality sleep. This is why it’s critical to practice good sleep hygiene which is going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, creating a nightly routine that calms your mind and body before bed, and creating an environment that helps make you comfortable so you can fall and stay asleep.
What is the best sleep hygiene?
While there isn’t one “best” sleep hygiene principle, there are several simple yet highly effective sleep hygiene principles you can implement to get a better night’s rest. From sticking with a consistent sleep schedule, to limiting your screen time before bed, to moving your body during the day, these are all helpful ways to help you get a better night’s rest.
It’s critical to understand that sleep hygiene is not just what you do right before you go to sleep. Sleep hygiene can also consist of daily habits like not drinking caffeine too late in the day, or moving your body/ exercising to help you feel more tired at the end of the day.
How much sleep do you need?
Each person differs when it comes to how much sleep they need each night. However, typically most people need anywhere from 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to feel rested. While getting less than 7 hours of sleep every now and then likely won’t negatively impact your overall health, when you chronically get less sleep than your body needs, this can put you at an increased risk of experiencing long-term negative health consequences.
