What is Sleep Hygiene?

Sleep hygiene and sleep health are essential for achieving your best night’s rest. Interested in learning more about how to improve your sleep? Explore the articles below to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of sleep hygiene, the effects of light, the ways your sleep environment influences rest, and much more!

What Exactly Is Sleep Hygiene?

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine defines sleep hygiene as “a series of healthy sleep habits that can improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. These habits are a cornerstone of cognitive-behavioral therapy, the most effective long-term treatment for individuals with chronic insomnia.”

In other words, sleep hygiene refers to the behaviors and routines that someone should or should not practice in order to achieve sufficient sleep and maintain stable energy levels throughout the day.

It makes perfect sense, right? Still, the recommended habits can vary from person to person, based on factors such as work schedule, how much sleep the individual typically needs each night, and whether they are affected by a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea. Additionally, new research continues to introduce updated strategies designed to support better sleep health.

7 Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene

Transform your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary

There are many adjustments you can make to your bedroom environment to help support a restful night’s sleep.

Here are a few examples:

• Set the room temperature to the optimal range. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic recommend maintaining the bedroom between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit for ideal sleep conditions.

• Keep the space dark and quiet. If necessary, consider using blackout curtains or an eye mask to block out light. Additionally, white noise can help drown out disruptive sounds and create a more calming atmosphere.

• Use the bed only for its intended purposes. Ideally, the bed should be reserved for sleep and sex. When you begin answering emails, working, or scrolling on your phone in bed, the brain may start to associate the bedroom with stress, which is the opposite of what you want when trying to create a peaceful, restorative sleep environment.

Create a consistent bedtime

Those who are able to maintain a consistent nighttime routine will find that their bodies naturally begin to recognize when it’s time to sleep. It’s important for individuals to establish a bedtime routine that works well for them and then aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This consistency helps reinforce the body’s internal sleep-wake rhythm and promotes more restful sleep.

Avoid consuming too much caffeine or alcohol

Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently, but experts generally recommend avoiding caffeine in the late afternoon and evening (assuming a standard 9–5 schedule, rather than night-shift work). Consuming caffeine too late in the day can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night. While completely eliminating caffeine may not be realistic for many people, consider stopping caffeine intake after 2 p.m. to support better sleep.

Likewise, it is wise to be cautious with alcohol consumption.

While alcohol acts as a depressant and may help someone fall asleep more quickly—a fact many have noticed after a few cocktails or glasses of wine—it does not improve sleep quality. In fact, experts report that alcohol may disrupt sleep.

Drinking excessively can interfere with the circadian rhythm, increasing the likelihood of waking during the night. Alcohol also acts as a diuretic, which often leads to nighttime bathroom trips. Additionally, heavy alcohol consumption can disrupt REM sleep, an essential stage linked to learning and memory processing.

Avoid watching TV, reading, or working while in bed

Doing this can train the brain to associate being in bed with being alert and active, rather than relaxed and ready for sleep. Ideally, the bed should only be used for sleep and sex.

Research shows that turning off phones (or at least putting them away) and reducing TV screen time before bed can actually improve sleep quality. This is because studies have found that the blue and white light emitted from many electronic devices can interfere with the brain’s release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for signaling the body that it’s time to sleep.

This kind of light exposure at night disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm, which serves as our internal clock. The circadian rhythm helps determine when it is daytime (reminding the body to stay awake) and when it is nighttime (signaling the body to rest).

Keep the naps short

According to the Mayo Clinic, people should aim to keep naps brief—ideally 10 to 20 minutes. “The longer you nap, the more likely you are to feel groggy afterward.” However, they note that young adults may be able to tolerate longer naps without experiencing as much grogginess.

Engage in regular exercise a few hours prior to going to bed

There are numerous benefits to exercise for our overall health, including its positive influence on sleep health. Along with supporting weight management, experts emphasize that physical activity plays an important role in promoting high-quality sleep. Working out a few hours before bedtime may also help improve one’s sleep experience.

“The reason we want to [work out] three to four hours prior to going to sleep is because when we exercise we have an increase in our core body temperature. And after about three to four hours that increase in our core body temperature starts to drop,” Dr. Robert Oexman, Director of the Sleep to Live Institute in Joplin, Missouri, told Newsweek. “That’s one of our natural cues to fall asleep—a decrease in core body temperature.”

Meditation

Meditation is a well-known form of mindfulness practice, widely recognized for its ability to help people fall asleep, and there is research to support its effectiveness.

In a 2015 study conducted in the Netherlands, participants were introduced to four different mindfulness techniques: a three-minute mindful breathing practice, a loving-kindness meditation, a body scan exercise, and mindfully focusing on an everyday task. Participants were instructed to practice mindfulness twice daily for two weeks. Following this period, those who engaged in the mindfulness routines reported improved sleep quality as well as longer sleep duration.