Sleep is what we go to every night and wake up from every day. It is a definite part of our lives, and it recharges us. But are you aware of how your sleep habits are affecting your health ?
The length of your sleep, the environment you sleep in, your mood when you go to bed—all of this and more affects the quality of your sleep cycles, which in turn impacts your health positively or negatively.
How does having proper sleep etiquette help your health ?
Benefits of good sleep
- More energy
- Better skin
- Improves mood
- A better-functioning immune system
- Lower risk of diabetes and blood pressure
- Mental and physical well-being
What restful sleep that is good for your health feels like
- You fall asleep quickly at night. You go to sleep within 30 minutes of going to bed.
- You don’t wake up often in the middle of the night for no reason.
- You sleep for the recommended hours (7-8).
- You feel energized when you wake up in the morning.
- Getting out of bed is easy and does not feel like a chore you have to do in the morning.
- You feel well rested throughout the day.
- You feel fresh when you get up.
Unfortunately, this is not the situation with most of our sleep cycles. So what do we need to do to improve our sleep quality ?
Sleep hygiene means creating healthy practices that will improve the quality of your sleep. It involves habits, environmental factors, and behaviors.
Sleep hygiene techniques help you improve your sleep and positively impact your health in the long run.
So how do you practice it ?
Here are some sleep hygiene techniques for you
1. Sleep schedule:
So the very first thing you need to get in place is a sleep schedule. You need to schedule a wake-up and go to bed time for you.
Practice waking up and going to bed at the fixed times that you have set. Getting your body into a fixed time to rest is very important to ensure the quality of sleep that you get.
2. Unplug and disconnect:
Make sure that you are wrapping up all your work for the day and avoiding your devices an hour before bed.
This is an important step.
When we are scrolling through reels or watching Netflix, our brain is overstimulated.
We need to get it to calm down and get ready for rest before we go to bed. This helps with the restlessness or racing thoughts you feel when you close your eyes.
3. Ambience:
The place where you sleep is equally important. Make sure you sleep somewhere relaxing. It may seem like a lot of work to clean your room, but make sure that it is as clean as possible.
A clean room does help you sleep better. When your bed is made and your sheets are fresh, going to sleep can be very relaxing.
Make sure you are comfortable with the temperature and that there is adequate darkness.
Sleeping in the dark and cosy is actually better than sleeping with a nightlight.
4. Eating or drinking before bed:
Avoid going to bed immediately after eating dinner. Also, replace any caffeine you drink at night with tea or warm water. Caffeine does the job of keeping you up. Therefore, consuming it immediately before bed will cause you to toss and turn for an extended period of time.
Avoid soda and sugar before bed. Your mom was right. It does not help with sleep. Make sure you are fed properly. Midnight snacking might be fun at sleepovers, but it is not for your sleep schedule.
5. Make a bedtime routine:
Practice a bedtime routine to unwind before going to sleep. This is my personally recommended sleep hygiene advice to you. You need a routine to keep yourself in check.
Do something relaxing before bed. Take a hot shower, read your favorite book, and listen to soft music or ambience sounds to help you sleep.
For some people, humidifiers and aromatherapy help immensely. If that is not what you are into, that is totally fine as well.
You could personalize your routine to your tastes and what relaxes you. The point is to get your body into a routine so that it recognizes that when you do this routine, you are getting ready to sleep.
A bedtime routine reinforces your sleep schedule.
Having proper sleep etiquette is crucial to your health and well-being. Your body works for you all day.
Even if you don’t realize it, all your little organs and cells are working continuously. To keep them functioning properly, along with good care and nutrition, you NEED to give your body proper rest.
Sweet dreams do mean sound health!
Reviewed by
Neuro Psychiatrist
