HOW'S YOUR SLEEP HYGIENE?

… Sleep hygiene??

Yep, it’s a thing, and that is its official name.…Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of it before either!

Sleep hygiene is defined as the “habits and practices that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis.” We all know how important sleep is for allowing the body to self repair and recover from illness and injury. Neglecting your sleep means hindering many of the processes which are vital to ensure optimal running of the body. Here I will share some tips and tricks to help you optimize your sleep hygiene and get the most out of your Z’s! But first… Some science!

Within each of us exists a 24 hour internal clock, known as our circadian rhythm, which tells us when it is time to get up and when it is time to sleep. Our circadian rhythms are what cause us to get jet lag when changing time zones, and what cause us to get sleepy at roughly the same time every day. The hypothalamus (the part of the brain which controls the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing us to ‘rest and digest’) receives signals from our eyes in response to lightness or darkness, which then stimulates the release of melatonin at the appropriate time of the day. This melatonin is what promotes the feeling of sleepiness. When we have good sleep hygiene, we are helping to keep our circadian rhythm regular, promoting better quality sleep and the ease with which we get to sleep.

To ‘clean up’ your sleep, see how many of these tips you can implement!

- Aim to get a full nights sleep, every night. The recommended number of hours for most adults is 7-8 hours, although some variation exists person to person.

- Try to establish a regular sleep / awake pattern, where you go to bed and get up at roughly the same time every day, weekends included. Just imagine how much easier it would be getting up at 6am on Monday morning if you hadn’t had the luxury of a 10am sleep in on Sunday! (That being said, listen to your body and go to bed early if you are tired!)

- Establish a good bedtime routine. Having a shower or bath at the end of the day, drinking a hot cup of (caffeine free) tea, light stretching, meditation, or reading can all help to relax the mind and body before bed.

- Avoid using your bed for non-bedtime activities, so that your brain associates your bed with sleep, rather than a second lounge. (I think we can all figure out what does and doesn’t classify as a bedtime activity!).

- Limit day time napping to 30 minutes, and before 3pm. There’s nothing wrong with an afternoon kip if you feel you need it, but too much of it will hinder your ability to fall asleep later in the evening.

- Improve your sleep environment by making sure that it is a comfortable temperature, dark, and quiet. The darker the room the better, as darkness promotes the release of melatonin. An eye mask may be an easy alternative if a change in curtains isn’t an option. If you can’t control the outdoor noises (i.e. cars driving past, dogs barking), you may want to consider ear plugs.

- Dim the lights and put away all electronic devices in the half hour lead up to bed. Devices that emit blue light (i.e phones, computers, tablets, T.V.’s, etc) are interpreted by the eyes as sunlight, tricking the brain into thinking that it is daytime and impairing the release of melatonin. You can download blue light filter apps on your phone, or some smart phones have it included as a ‘Night Time’ option.

- Avoid eating large meals in the 2-3 hours before bed. If you eat soon before going to bed, your body is still in the process of digesting the food, and this hinders the ‘shut down’ process of going to sleep.

- Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, cola, alcohol or nicotine for 4-6 hours before bed - put down the coffee, energy drinks, wine, caffeinated tea and dark chocolate! While alcohol may help you to fall asleep by making you feel drowsy, it actually disrupts your sleep rhythm later in the night and will make you feel less rested the next morning. Milk contains sleep promoting nutrients, so a warm milky drink before bed may help to promote quality sleep.

- For all the insomniacs out there, turn any clocks around so that you aren’t watching the minutes tick by while you stress out about the fact that you can’t sleep. If you have been trying to get to sleep for over 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing (I.e. read a boring book under soft lighting, listen to relaxing music - nothing too stimulating!) until you do feel sleepy.

- EXERCISE! A good workout during the day can help improve sleep quality, but you may want to avoid high intensity exercise in the few hours before bed.

- Magnesium supplementation - Magnesium is known to support deep, restorative sleep through it’s influence on the neurotransmitter GABA, responsible for quietening the nervous system.

- Get some sunshine in the morning. The natural lighting will reinforce your circadian rhythm, helping also when it is time to turn out the lights at the end of the day.

- If bed time discipline is an issue (I can relate!), it may be useful to try a sleep tracker app. I have recently been monitoring my sleep using my Garmin watch, and seeing those stats the next day definitely serve as extra motivation to get to bed on time!

Choose one or two of these tips and dedicate yourself towards implementing them for 2-3 weeks. How much better do you feel after getting a good nights sleep?