Updated October 19, 2021
The alarm on my phone is chiming. Time to get up! The tone I picked because it seemed like the best, least annoying one, now reminds me of nails on a chalk board. “Okay, okay, okay! I’m up!” I mutter under my breath. It was a restless night of tossing and turning and my eyes are heavy with lack of sleep. I stayed up too late watching TV, drank coffee after dinner and read the news on my phone just before bed so that my dreams were colored with the apocalyptic orange of the California fire skies. By the time I fell asleep, I had broken at least four of the cardinal rules of sleep hygiene. Sound familiar?
First off, sleep hygiene. I’m not a fan of that expression. It makes me feel as though there’s something wrong with me or my “hygiene” when I can’t get it together well enough to get 8 hours of sleep a night. That said, I must admit there are days when my sleep habits could definitely use a little tune up and that my insomnia is worse when I break all the “rules”.
Sleep hygiene has nothing to do with your personal hygiene. It’s a set of recommendations or practices that were developed in the 1970s to help people with mild insomnia. You’ve likely heard of most or all of these practices – they range from turning devices off at least an hour before bed to exercising and limiting worry. The idea with sleep hygiene is that implementing a set of healthy behaviors can improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. It’s called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT and it’s touted by some, as one of the most effective long-term treatments for people with chronic insomnia.
Here’s a list of these ideal behaviors and some the coping techniques that have helped me and others navigate and implement them.
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1. Maintain a regular sleep schedule
Easier said than done. I know. For many of us, the thought of maintaining a regular sleep schedule sounds great – in theory. In reality, we have little people waking us up in the middle of the night or schedules that are so filled with activities and unfinished projects that when it’s time for bed, we need to deal with the day’s to-do list or simply want to have a little me-time before turning in. And well, we stay up way too late.
According to the CDC, a third of adults report getting less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Ways to compensate for that sleep deficit include catching up on weekends and napping. Unfortunately, catching up on sleep on weekends only works to a point. You may feel rested on Monday mornings, but you quickly start a new sleep deficit as the week wears on.
One way to work your way up to getting enough sleep, is to back up the time you go to bed every night by 15 minutes until you get your 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Of course, that implies a perception shift where “me-time” doesn’t have to be “awake-time” and can be replaced by more sleep time. But, if going to bed earlier really isn’t an option, try napping. In fact, according to a 2020 study of 2000 Americans conducted by One Poll on behalf of Mattress Nerd, people who regularly take naps are happier and more productive.
The study found that napping may be the key to becoming a more productive person, as 93% of nappers were more likely to identify as a productive person versus only 65% of non-nappers.
But like with all good things, if not done in moderation, napping can backfire.
2. Use naps with care
Nappers tend to fall into two categories. Those who swear by them and those of us who wake up feeling groggy and disoriented. I used to fall into the latter group. On the few occasions I tried napping, it took me so long to fall asleep that by the time I did, I slept too long and woke up feeling horrible. Turns out I was doing it all wrong. According to the Mayo Clinic, naps should only last between 10 and 20 minutes and happen before 3 p.m. And, if you’re like me, choose a high traffic area in broad daylight to rest your eyes. You’ll be less likely to fall into a deep slumber that will throw off the rest of your day and mess with your circadian rhythm. So, the next time you feel that midday slump give into it, close your eyes for a few minutes and get that much needed boost.
Obviously, this one’s a bit tricky when you’re at work or in a public place. So when you take a coffee break, sit in a corner, put your sunglasses on, close your eyes and try not to drool on yourself. “I’m not sleeping, I’m just resting my eyes.”
3. Exercise regularly but not too close to bedtime
Who wants to exercise when they’re overtired and cranky? You’d be surprised. Many chronic insomniacs are also chronic worriers and overachievers. You go, go, go all day, working, homeschooling, generally keeping it together and pushing through your fatigue and by the time your work and/or school day are over and that everyone’s been fed (more or less), the living room looks like a bomb went off and the kitchen’s a disaster.
You could spend an hour cleaning it all up, crash on the couch and watch some mindless TV or go out for a run and achieve your step count for the day. A little exercise will do you some good, right? Technically, yes. Problem is, after a vigorous workout, the adrenaline is flowing and your heart rate is up. The brain is very active after a workout, and your body temperature is up, which can make it tough to fall asleep.
That said, it’s no secret that exercise is good for you. According to the American Heart Association, most adults should try for at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) a week of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes of intense activity. That’s about 20 minutes a day which is literally a walk in the park or around your neighborhood after dinner. If you opt for a more intense workout and the end of the day is the only time you can fit it in, take a cold shower after to lower your body temperature.
4. Limiting worry
Ha! Being told to stop worrying is like having someone tell you to “chillax” when you’re freaking out. Wildfire season now seems to be year-round, we’re two years into a global pandemic that has killed close to 5 million people worldwide, 26% of those who were infected and survived still suffer from “long-Covid” and vaccine opposition is causing division everywhere from schools to police forces. Some people can turn it all off and drift off to sleep, but many of us can’t. These are extraordinary times. And with all that turmoil, it’s easy to feel powerless and overwhelmed.
Stop. Take a deep breath. And focus on finishing one thing you started today. Once that’s done, reward yourself with something that brings you joy. Managed to get the kids fed and off to school? Reward yourself with a cup of coffee and spend a good 5-10 minutes enjoying it. Got through another day of virtual hell, er, I mean, school/work/life? That’s huge! Take a break and savor that win. Sometimes, you need to give your mind a chance to wander and free-associate to recharge your creativity.
5. Limit your exposure to light in the hours before bedtime
Turn the lights down and turn off your devices one to two hours before bed. I don’t know about you, but I find this one’s the hardest of all. First off, I often only have an hour or two of me-time at the end of the day and there’s usually some TV series or movie I really want to watch before hitting the sack.
As for the lights, that’s not a problem per say. We live in an open concept place and usually dim all the lights as soon as our daughter goes to bed. My husband finds it really hard to stay awake in the dark and often doses off while we watch TV. Unfortunately, whether the lights are on or off, TV winds me up. My pulse goes up and I experience every emotion, daredevil stunt and car chase as if I were riding shotgun with the main character. It makes for a great viewing experience but isn’t conducive to sleep. Then when my head hits the pillow, my mind starts racing, replaying the day’s triumphs and challenges and I have to resist the urge to grab my phone to read the news, scroll through Instagram or sort through the photos I took over the past few days. I am not alone.
According to a reviews.org survey, 65% of people sleep with their smart phones next to their bed and 79.5% use their phones as their alarm clock. I’ll admit, I am one of those people. If having your phone next to you makes you feel safer, more connected or is simply a matter of convenience (it’s the device that wakes you up in the morning), all is not lost.
Rather than scrolling through the news, or doing anything that involves staring at your screen, opt for listening to a podcast or an audio book. There are narrators and journalists out there with soft, comforting voices that will lull you to sleep, apps with wonderful soundscapes ranging from white noise (my least favorite) to evening crickets (love!), mediations for drifting off with gratitude and bedtime stories narrated by celebrities with dreamy voices like Matthew McConaughey. (Watch for my full list of favorite podcasts, sleep apps, soundscapes and soothing narrators in my next post.)
6. Get out of bed if sleep does not come
I am a big fan of this one. Rather than toss and turn obsessing about how little sleep you’re getting or doing sleep math every half hour to figure out how much sleep you’ll get if you fall asleep right now, get out of bed. Write, read, doodle, make lists and declutter your mind. According to a 2018 study by the Journal of Experimental Psychology, writing a to-do list for tomorrow in a journal for five minutes before bed “helped people fall asleep an average of nine minutes faster — in about 16 minutes versus 25.”
I’ve found that the simple act of writing things down helps me let go of them and drift off to sleep. Plus, you’ll get the added bonus of feeding your creativity.
I’m especially fond of this sleep journal. Not ready to invest in a sleep journal? Start by downloading my free 7-Day Sleep Journal printable to see if journaling is for you.
7. Don’t use your bed for anything but sleep and sex
Well, that’s pretty self-explanatory. No one wants to be reminded of work when they walk-into their bedroom. Unfortunately, with millions of people working from home, many of our bedrooms are doing double duty.
One way to deal with this situation, is double duty furniture. Some beds can easily be transformed into desks and vice versa. They are not cheap, but if you factor in all the money you’re hopefully saving from not having to commute or pay for parking all over town, these can be a solution. If your ceilings are high enough, loft beds are also a great solution for kids.
That said, we all can’t or don’t want to have to order new beds when we have perfectly good, comfortable beds, already. A cheaper solution is to invest in an interesting room divider or privacy screen and simply hide away your desk when the work day is over. They can be quite beautiful and basic ones start at around $50.
8. Avoid alcohol and nicotine
You’d think alcohol would help since it mellows you out but that’s not the case. Drinking alcohol before bed shortens REM sleep and increases deep sleep and our bodies need an equal amount of both.
And so even though drinking alcohol might help you fall asleep quickly, it backfires after. Once you’re asleep, your body adjusts to the alcohol running through your blood stream. And by the time the second part of the sleep cycle begins, your body has metabolized or eliminated the alcohol from your system, and it tries to return your metabolism to normal levels. That’s when a “REM rebound” happens. Instead of going back to normal levels, your body over-compensates and that wakes you up.
As for nicotine. Just quit. It’s one of the hardest habits to break, (I feel your pain, I smoked for years) but it is absolutely worth it.
9. Avoid caffeine after 2 p.m.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you likely know how much I love coffee. I love the smell, the taste, I’ll drink it hot, cold (even if it’s been sitting out for hours) and ingest it in any form. Coffee ice cream? Yes, please! Coffee cake? Bring it on! Chocolate covered coffee beans? Just leave the bag. That said, it does affect my sleep. Even though I drink copious amounts of it.
So, if I’m going to have coffee after 2 p.m., I switch to decaf. When a product is touted as being decaffeinated, it means they’ve removed at least 97% of the caffeine from the beans. Now that means there is still a small amount of caffeine left. Some people are especially sensitive to caffeine. If you are one of those people, a great alternative is Postum. If you grew up in the 70s, there’s a good chance you drank it as a kid. Postum is made with a blend of wheat bran and sweet molasses. If you’re looking for a wheat-free alternative, try Ayurvedic Roast. It’s made with a blend organic products that include barley, roasted rye, and roasted chicory and medicinal herbs that support immune function, and help relieve stress.
And last but not least…
10. Have a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment
This is kind of a no-brainer. We all strive to have temperature controlled, comfortable rooms, free of noise and light pollution. The reality is that many of us live in cities where there’s so much light pollution it’s never completely dark, we have noisy neighbors, barking dogs, sleepless children, busted air conditioning units, the works.
There’s no lack of products out there to counter all of the above nuisances. Some of my favorites include black out curtains, noise cancelling headphones, weighted blankets, dimmable lights, motion-triggered night lights and cooling blankets.
In a perfect world, we would all have impeccable sleep hygiene and wake up rested and refreshed. In reality, most of us have busy lives, worries and an endless to-do list on which we add two items for every one we cross off. But with a little planning and slight adjustments to your routine, you can eek out a few more zee’s and wake up feeling a bit more rested and in control of your sleep regimen.
Which one of the sleep hygiene tips do you find the hardest to stick to?