What is Sleep Hygiene?

...And How to Establish Good Sleeping Habits

Sleep hygiene is a term used to include just about anything related to your sleep habits. It has nothing to do with taking a shower before you go to bed (unless that helps you sleep better). Ranging from your before-bedtime rituals to how you wake up, sleep hygiene includes:

• Your activities prior to going to bed
• The time you go to bed at night
• When you wake up in the morning
• How many hours you sleep in between
• Your bedtime routine
• Your sleep environment (your bedroom), including the quality of your mattress
  
  
• Your diet and exercise habits

Life vs. Sleep

Society as a whole doesn't put enough emphasis on the importance of a good night's sleep. Today's hectic, high-tech lifestyle is not geared towards allowing people to get enough healthy, restful sleep. Grueling 60-hour work weeks, 24 hour shopping and exercise facilities, and continual access to television and the internet make getting ample sleep a challenge.

Physical and emotional illness, relationship difficulties, loss of work-based productivity, accidents, drug and/or alcohol dependence are often linked to sleep deprivation.

Although everyone is different, research shows that most adults need between seven and nine hours sleep every night. Children and teens need more.

Of course, there are those rare individuals who exuded energy and can effectively function on as little as four or five hours of shut-eye a night. Yet, the vast majority of people will suffer physically, mentally and emotionally with such a minimal amount of sleep on a regular basis.

How to Determine Your Sleep Needs

You can identify how much sleep you need each night by thinking about how you feel when you wake up after a specified number of hours asleep. You know you have benefited from the right amount of sleep when you can easily awaken feeling alert and ready to get out of bed. You will also feel energized and ready to start your day.

Duration and quality of sleep are directly related to the quality of your sleep hygiene. If you believe you can benefit from improved sleep habits, begin by evaluating your current sleep habits and environment and then commit to making changes that will promote healthier sleep patterns.

Acquiring Better Sleep Habits

The following links provide valuable information to help you improve your sleep hygiene.

• Making Sleep A Priority
  Tips to help you establish a regular sleep schedule that suits your individual needs and lifestyle.
• Improving Your Sleep Environment
  Learn how to avoid the sleep stealers in your bedroom and increase the potential for a good nights sleep.
• Benefits Of A Bedtime Routine
  If you thought this was just for kids, think again. A regular, relaxing pre-sleep ritual can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep for longer.
• Diet & Exercise Habits
  What you eat or drink, and when and how you exercise can have a direct impact on the length and quality of your sleep. Find out if you're sabotaging yourself here!