Have you heard the phrase ‘sleep hygiene’ recently and aren’t sure what to make of it? Keep reading this article for a full explanation and some simple tips to improve your sleep hygiene.
What is sleep hygiene?
Sleep hygiene refers to a series of healthy sleep habits that can help you fall asleep faster and keep you asleep longer. Simply put, it’s the best sleeping habits. We’re all guilty of falling into bad habits that affect our sleeping patterns by disrupting our routines, that usually means not getting a good night’s sleep every night. Thankfully, certain lifestyle changes to your bedtime routine can help improve your night’s sleep.
Even if you’re a sufferer of occasional insomnia or anxiety that keeps you awake, you can use these tips to improve your quality of rest. No matter your reasons for having some poor sleeping habits, with some research, dedication and effort, you can find yourself a strong routine and stick to it to get a better night’s sleep.
The most important thing to remember is that for these changes to have full effect, you have to want to make these changes. Make sure that you’re dedicated to sticking to them, as this will help you get the most out of it. Subconsciously your mind and body love routine, so going to sleep at the same time every night and waking up at the same time each morning will do wonders.
So why is sleep hygiene important?
Most people will wake up early in the week and then sleep in over the weekend. However, sleeping in on the weekend to try and make up for the sleep you’ve missed out on in the week is actually doing more harm than good. Sleeping 5-6 hours in the week and then 10-11 hours at the weekend disrupts your sleep-wake cycle. It’s recommended for adults to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. If you’re sleep deprived, it can affect your physical, emotional and mental health, so getting enough sleep is important to maintain your day-to-day life.
Once you establish good sleep habits, you should notice an improvement in how you feel, how you think and how productive you are.
Do you have any poor bedtime habits?
Go through this list, and you’ll be able to determine if you’re getting the right amount of sleep or not.
- Do you wake up in the mornings feeling unrested?
- Do you feel tired and sluggish throughout the day?
- Do you struggle to fall asleep at night?
- Do you wake up through the night regularly?
- Do you find it hard to wake up in the morning?
- Is your sleep pattern consistent or are you sleeping at different times for different amounts of time?
If you’re not getting enough sleep, it can significantly impact the hours that you spend awake, and make it hard to live the best lifestyle you can. If you’re trying to improve your well-being then ditching any bad habits is key. For more information, click here for Sleep Hygiene tips from Savvy Sleeper.