Most people associate the word “hygiene” with sanitary practices like brushing one’s teeth and washing one’s hands. But hygiene can actually be more widely understood to include any sort of practice that helps maintain a person’s health and safeguards them from disease.
This is where the rather interesting concept of sleep hygiene comes in. Though less familiar than hand hygiene or dental hygiene, sleep hygiene nonetheless fulfills a similar function of establishing a healthy routine for whoever practices it.
If you’ve never encountered the term “sleep hygiene” before, here’s what it means, what it entails, and why it would be good for you to observe good sleep hygiene habits like training your body to rest at a certain hour and investing in high-quality women sleepwear. With better sleep hygiene, you may be well on your way to improving your overall health and quality of life.
Defining Sleep Hygiene And Its Importance In Your Everyday Life
Though the ideas behind modern sleep hygiene have been around since the late 19th century, the term “sleep hygiene” was popularized in the 1970s among practitioners in the field of behavioural science. Back then, it pertained to newly emergent clinical approaches for treating mild or moderate insomnia. Today, it is most widely understood as the practice of observing good bedtime habits and setting up the ideal environment for deep, uninterrupted, and restorative sleep.
You may already know that sleep contributes to both your physical and mental health. Good sleep can preserve your immunity system and keep you from getting sick. It can also boost your energy levels, brain performance, memory, and general mood. Conversely, not getting enough sleep or having poor quality sleep can weaken your body and make you more susceptible to conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and strokes. Many scientific studies have also linked poor sleep to mental health problems like anxiety and depression.
What people often forget, however, is that a good night’s sleep rarely happens by accident. If you want to make sure that you get enough quality sleep, you’ll need to observe a consistent routine and configure your environment so that it truly facilitates rest. When you start working out your own sleep routine, you’ll find that one of the most effective ways to achieve good sleep is to be purposeful about it.
4 Tips For Observing Better Sleep Hygiene
Good sleep hygiene may differ from person to person, and what works for you may not necessarily work for someone else. It may take you a while to figure out the exact conditions for ensuring the perfect snooze. But you can start by doing the following:
Be Consistent about Your Bedtime
First, decide on the ideal bedtime based on factors like what time you need to be awake for work. Aim to get at least seven hours’ worth of uninterrupted sleep as often as you can. Try to stick closely to your bedtime, even on weekends. Doing so will cut the risk of oversleeping or starting the week on a bad note because you’re sleep-deprived.
Make It a Point to Wind Down Before You Sleep
Next, be sure that you give your body enough time to relax and wind down before you hit the hay. Being agitated or overstimulated will make it harder for you to fall asleep and will thus cut down the number of hours you actually spend sleeping.
At least thirty minutes before your actual bedtime, signal to yourself that it’s time to rest by having a soothing drink like hot milk, listening to calming music, or reading from your favourite book. In addition, avoid consuming heavy meals, sweets, alcohol, caffeine, and other food and drink items that could keep you awake.
Invest in Proper Sleepwear
Wearing proper sleepwear may also do wonders for your overall sleep hygiene. Good nightclothes will help you regulate your body temperature in both warm and cold weather, as well as protect you from insect bites and skin irritation—all of which can detract from your sleep quality. Invest in quality sleepwear and see the difference it’ll make on your nighttime routine.
Eliminate Noise and Light from Your Room
Your sleeping environment counts for a lot when getting a good night’s rest. On principle, the darker and quieter your environment is, the easier it’ll be for you to fall and stay asleep.
Set up your room to be more conducive to sleep by turning off all the lights and putting some shade over your windows. If you’re the type who’s easily woken up or kept awake by noise, consider investing in soundproofing additions like acoustic panels or sound-absorbing curtains.
Takeaway
At first, it may be hard to be consistent about your sleeping habits. But with discipline and mindfulness, you’ll be able to carve out a sleep regimen that serves you in all aspects of your life.
Practice good sleep hygiene by following the suggestions above—and see what good it will do to have such a healthy and restful nighttime routine.
