Sleep Hygiene 💤 🛌
With Daylight Saving Time beginning on Sunday, March 10, it is important to consider how your sleep is affected by the time and season changes. Since I was a baby, my sleep has been thrown off by the time change, both in the spring and the fall. If you’re like me, you may experience grogginess, low motivation, and difficulty focusing for the first couple of weeks immediately following the clocks moving forward or backward. Something I’ve found to be helpful over the past few years has been adopting a consistent sleep hygiene routine in the weeks leading up to daylight saving time. However, sleep hygiene is important year round.
Sleep hygiene is the practice of creating an environment and habits conducive to getting a good night’s rest. Good sleep has reverberating effects on our day. When we sleep well, we’re sharper, more clear-headed, and even kinder. Poor sleep can cause memory problems, decreased immunity, mood changes, impaired cognitive functioning and motor skills, weight gain, and more.
The American Association of Sleep Medicine recommends the following habits and routines in order to establish a healthy sleep regimen:
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go do a quiet activity without a lot of light exposure. It is especially important to not get on electronics.
Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
Avoid consuming caffeine in the afternoon or evening.
Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.
Over the next couple of weeks, consider trying one of the above tips out, making it both specific and meaningful for you. For example, if you wake up often to go to the restroom in the middle of the night, try cutting out beverage consumption after 8 pm. Or, try to avoid hitting the snooze button for three days next week in order to maintain a consistent time that you get out of the bed.
Something I have noticed about my sleep hygiene is that I tend to take longer to wind down than I anticipate. So I have begun to give myself a full 45 minutes between transitioning from the living room to the bedroom in order to account for my nighttime routines (skincare, reading, blowing out candles, texting loved ones goodnight, etc.),
Another consideration is to monitor how much sleep you get regularly, and if that is having an impact on your quality of sleep. Using a sleep log first thing and the morning and last thing at night can help you determine what factors are impeding or supporting a good night’s rest for the week.
World Sleep Day is March 15th, and we are a sleep-deprived society. Celebrate by going against the status quo, and gifting yourself the best sleep you possibly can. You deserve it.
