Sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene involves making your environment and daily habits conducive to a good night’s rest. For instance, what you drink and eat before bedtime can affect your sleep.  Even small changes to your routine can have a positive impact on your ability to sleep.

Sleep Hygiene Tips
1. Try to have a regular ‘sleep routine’. Going to bed and waking at roughly the same time each day will help your body maintain a rhythm

2. Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet and cool.

3. Make sure your mattress, pillow and doona are clean and in good shape to enhance comfort.

4. Use your bedroom for sleeping and sex only. This means your brain will make the automatic connection between bedroom and sleep.

5. Remove potential distractions such as computer games, internet and television.

6. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and even chocolate 4-6 hours before bedtime. The stimulating effects of caffeine in coffee, colas, teas, and can take as long as 8 hours to wear off fully.7 Try drinking herbal tea such as camomile or a mug of hot milk before going to sleep. Milk contains tryptophan, a protein which promotes sleep.2

7. Don’t go to bed hungry, have a small carbohydrate based snack such as toast. On the other hand don’t eat a heavy meal too close to bedtime as this will upset your digestion and sleep.

8. A hot bath or shower before bedtime will relax you.

9. Try to exercise everyday, but not late at night. Heavy exercise late at night will only wind you up. Try doing some light stretching or meditation instead.

10. A few drops of lavender scent on your pillow could help you sleep.

11. Turn the alarm clock away from you so you don’t watch it all night.

12. Don’t nap during the day.

13. If you can’t sleep within the first 30 minutes, get up and do something quiet and relaxing in another room until you feel sleepy again. Keep the lights dim.