Sleep is a vital part of our well-being. It’s our body’s way of re-energizing, restoring, and repairing itself. When we sleep poorly, it can be harder for us to make-decisions, deal with our emotions, remember things, and focus. On top of that, it can be extremely frustrating when we struggle to fall asleep. Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying not to look at the clock for the tenth time, is an unfortunate routine a lot of us can get stuck in. There are many reasons we may struggle to sleep (e.g., certain medications, shift work, caffeine, a medical condition, lifestyle changes, or stress). Depending on the level of impact, the cause, and the severity of your sleep challenges, you may want to consult with a doctor. However, most everyone can benefit from taking small steps to improve their sleep hygiene.
So, what is sleep hygiene? Sleep hygiene refers to the behaviours, environmental factors, and habits that can impact the duration and quality of sleep. If we pay more attention to our patterns throughout the day and leading up to when we go to sleep, we may be able to find things that could be shifted and changed slightly to lead to a more restful night. I will warn you, some of these small changes won’t feel so small. Changing our behaviour, especially at the end of a long day, can be difficult. However, the hope is that with enough practice, these small changes will start to feel less effortful, and we will be rewarded with more consistent sleep patterns.
Below is a list of sleep hygiene tips you can try.
- Keep consistent wake-times and bedtimes.
Try going to bed and waking up at the same time each day (give or take about 20 minutes). This can be difficult, as we often look forward to the mornings we can sleep in or the nights we can stay up a bit later. However, when we keep wake-times and bedtimes consistent, it primes our internal clock to expect to rest at a certain time. This means that when that regular bedtime comes around, our body will find rest more easily because its consistent and expected.
- Have a standard routine or predictable sequence of events before going to bed.
It can be helpful to have a familiar routine that leads us into sleep. For example, take a shower, brush your teeth, put on your comfy pajamas, light a candle, sit on the couch, read a book, then go to your bed. Try to repeat a similar sequence each night. This is another way to prime your body into knowing what’s coming next.
Now, let’s say you’ve completed your routine and are trying to sleep, and you start to toss and turn. If you haven’t fallen asleep or gotten close to falling asleep after 20-30 minutes, get up and do that routine again. You may want to start from the beginning, or you could start halfway through the sequence, but always finish back in your bed and give it another try. Going through the steps again will reinforce that routine and hopefully encourage the transition into sleep.
- Avoid spending lots of non-sleep time in your bed.
Try to limit your time spent in bed to two things, sleeping and having sex. When we watch TV, read, do our homework, eat, or talk on the phone in our beds, we begin to associate our bed with all kinds of activities. By limiting these activities, our brain will more easily make the connection that being in bed often means sleep.
- Have visible clocks turned away.
Try to keep clocks, your phone, or anything that will indicate the time out of sight. Frequent time checking can get us into a pattern of negative thoughts.
“It’s 3:00am and I haven’t fallen asleep yet, I’m going to be so tired tomorrow, I’m not going to get enough sleep.”
The negative thought train will only awaken our brains and make it even more difficult to fall asleep. In general, avoid thinking about how much you are sleeping when you find yourself awake in bed. Even when you are lying in bed with your eyes closed, your body can do some restoring, but that’s harder to do when you’re in a state of anxiety. Try to relax (even if you aren’t asleep) as best you can and try not to monitor the time and how much you have slept.
- Avoid screens an hour (or at least 30 minutes) before you go to sleep.
For many of us, this will be the toughest mountain to climb. Try turning off the TV, tablet, and phone an hour before bed. The screens of our devices emit a light that reduces melatonin levels in the body, making it harder to fall asleep. On top of that, if your screen time involves scrolling through social media, these apps are designed to keep you scrolling, which makes it hard to stop. If you can, put your phone on do not disturb or sleep mode so it doesn’t buzz or light up, and if you are one to fall asleep with the noise of the TV, try dimming the screen or turning it off altogether.
- Try to avoid caffeine later in the day.
Try to avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before going to sleep. That doesn’t just include coffee, sometimes certain chocolates, sodas, teas, and even some medications contain caffeine. Nicotine in cigarettes can also make it more difficult to sleep. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants that activate the brain. Try to avoid (or at least limit) these a few hours before you plan to go to sleep.
- Incorporate more activity, exercise, and nutrient-rich food into your day.
Simply put, keeping yourself healthy is important! Regular exercise has been found to contribute to improved sleep. However, it is often recommended that we avoid overly strenuous physical activity later in the day when it’s within a few hours of our bedtime. A well-balanced diet is also important. Generally, its recommended to avoid eating before bed. Some people find going to sleep on an empty stomach difficult and distracting. If you are one of those people, try a light snack rather than a heavy meal.
- Use relaxation strategies.
There are lots of resources out there that are used to promote relaxation and sleep. There is an endless library of free guided meditation/relaxation videos on YouTube (like 10 hours of rain). There are apps like Headspace, Better Sleep, and Calm that have audios you can listen to. Another helpful strategy is progressive muscle relaxation, in which you go through each part of your body and tense it for 5-10 seconds and then release and relax it for 10-20 seconds. You could try using a new relaxation strategy that you haven’t tried before. It’s important to play around and find one that works best for you.
Maggie
Simply Counselling Services