Understanding Sleep Hygiene: Your Blueprint for Restful Nights

Namaste! We all know how wonderful a good night’s sleep feels, don’t we? It’s not just about feeling refreshed; sleep plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being. Today, Let’s explore what “sleep hygiene” means and how you can develop habits for better and healthier sleep.

You might have heard the term “sleep hygiene” before, and it’s simply what doctors call the habits that help you achieve good-quality sleep. What defines “good-quality” sleep, you ask? It means getting enough sleep that is also truly restful. Interestingly, the things we do throughout the day, and particularly before bedtime, can significantly impact how well we sleep, often without us even realising it. Improving your sleep hygiene is all about understanding the impacts and making small changes for big benefits.

Why is Sleep So Incredibly Important?

Sleep isn’t just a luxury; it’s a fundamental need for your body and mind. It’s essential for you to feel awake and alert enough to carry out your daily activities. Beyond that, sleep is vital for keeping your body healthy.

Here’s how sleep helps you:

• Boosts Learning & Memory: While you sleep, your brain actively processes and stores all the information and experiences from when you were awake. This is like your brain’s nightly clean-up and filing system!
• Strengthens Immunity: Adequate sleep can help lower your risk of getting sick, and if you do fall ill, it might even help you recover faster.
• Aids Growth & Repair: For babies and children, sleep is critical for growth because the body releases more growth hormone during sleep. For both children and adults, sleep helps build muscles and repair cells and tissues throughout the body.

On the flip side, not getting enough sleep can lead to some noticeable adverse effects:

• Feeling irritable, anxious, or depressed.
• Strained relationships, particularly for children and teens.
• An increased risk of serious health conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

The amount of sleep you need isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer; it depends on your age, lifestyle, and general health. Your doctor or nurse can offer personalised guidance, but here are the general recommendations for daily sleep hours:

Newborns (0 to 3 months): 14 to 17 hours 

Infants (4 to 11 months): 12 to 15 hours 

Toddlers (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours 

Preschool-aged children (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours 

School-aged children (6 to 13 years): 9 to 11 hours 

Teens (14 to 17 years): 8 to 10 hours 

Adults (26 to 64 years): 7 to 9 hours Older adults (65 years or older): 7 to 8 hours

If you consistently don’t get enough sleep, you start accumulating a “sleep debt”. For instance, if a school-aged child needs 10 hours but only gets 8, they have a 2-hour sleep debt. While people with a sleep debt might need extra hours to catch up, it’s often difficult. The healthiest approach is to consistently get the recommended amount of sleep each night, but if that’s not possible due to your responsibilities, try to catch up when you can. Remember, sleep debt can be hard to repay fully.

Remember, it’s not just about the hours! The quality of your sleep is just as crucial as the number of hours. As you sleep, your brain and body move through different “sleep cycles,” each serving a unique purpose. If you don’t sleep deeply, or if you frequently wake up during the night, you might not spend enough time in each important sleep cycle.

Tips for Better Sleep

Improving good sleep hygiene begins with simple habits. Here is a list of recommended tips for better sleep:

• Stick to a Schedule: Try to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every single day. This consistency helps regulate your body’s internal clock.

• Mind Your Stimulants:

1. Caffeine: Enjoy your coffee, tea, or other caffeinated drinks only in the morning.
2. Food: Avoid large meals close to bedtime. Aim for a healthy, filling, but not overly heavy meal in the early evening, and try to skip late-night snacking.
3. Alcohol: Avoid consuming alcohol in the late afternoon, evening, and right before bed.
4. Smoking: It’s best to avoid smoking, especially in the evening.

• Optimise Your Sleep Environment: Your bedroom should be your sanctuary! Keep it dark, cool, and quiet, and make sure it’s free of anything that reminds you of work or stress. Blackout curtains or an eye mask can block light, while a white noise machine or earplugs can help with sound.

• De-Stress Before Bed: Try to address and solve any problems or worries before you lie down to sleep. This helps prevent your mind from racing when you should be resting.

• Incorporate Physical Activity: Get plenty of exercise during the day, but avoid intense workouts right before bed. Exercising 4 to 6 hours before bedtime tends to have the best impact on your sleep.

• Limit Screen Time: Avoid looking at phones or e-readers that emit light before bed, as this can make it harder to fall asleep. The sources also note there isn’t good evidence that special “blue light-filtering” glasses work to improve sleep.

• Resist Clock-Watching: Keep alarm clocks, watches, or smartphones out of your line of sight at night. Checking the time in the middle of the night can make you feel more awake and hinder your ability to fall back asleep.

• Be Smart About Naps: If you struggle with nighttime sleep, avoid long naps, especially in the late afternoon. However, short naps (around 20 minutes) can be beneficial, particularly if your work schedule varies and you need to stay alert at different times.

When to Seek Professional Help for Sleep Troubles

We all have a night or two of bad sleep occasionally, and that’s perfectly normal. However, if you’re regularly experiencing sleep difficulties, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor or nurse. They can assess if you have a “sleep disorder” and work with you to find the right treatment.

You should reach out for advice if you or your child:

• Consistently don’t get the recommended amount of sleep.
• Have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning.
• Feel tired or struggle to focus during the day.
• Wake up frequently throughout the night and can’t get back to sleep.
• Have significant difficulty falling asleep at night.
• Experience other problems related to or caused by sleep.

Remember, healthy sleep is a cornerstone of a healthy life. By implementing these sleep hygiene tips, you’re taking significant steps towards a more rested, energetic, and healthier you! And if sleep issues persist, Stepcare, the primary healthcare in Whitefield, is here to support you.