Sleep Hygiene: 7 Rules For Better Sleep

There are many factors that affect how we sleep. From the temperature in our bedroom to what we ate for dinner. The study of these factors and their influence on sleep revealed what is known as sleep hygiene. A series of recommendations that aim at a healthy lifestyle and promote habits that favor a more regenerating and effective sleep.

Sleeping is one of the most important activities in our life. Hence the importance of getting up with renewed energy, rested and being able to remove our problems so as to reconcile sleep. Do you want to know how to achieve this goal? We propose 7 basic rules for correct sleep hygiene .

Tips for proper sleep hygiene

Maintain fixed times

Sleep is routine and appreciates stability. For this reason, if we get up and fall asleep every day at about the same time, including the weekend,  our body will benefit. It is useless to sleep only 5 hours from Monday to Friday and sleep 8 on Saturdays and Sundays, because sleep is not recovered, nor can it be compensated.

It is obvious that during childhood and adolescence we sleep more, while in old age we sleep less; each adult needs a different amount of sleep. Most people need 6 to 8 hours, but this varies according to personal and working conditions. The ideal would be to observe the reactions of your body for a few weeks to better understand how much we need to sleep to feel energetic.

It is better to wake up earlier than sleep late

Attention! The amount of sleep is very important, but also the quality. Even if we sleep 7 hours, it is not the same to go to bed at 6 am as it is at 11 pm. The body is programmed to know that when the sun comes out it’s time to get up .

The body secretes melatonin during the evening-night, which is why we begin to feel tired or asleep. But if we constantly force him to alter his circadian cycles, we can pay dearly for it. In fact, people who work nights have been shown to develop severe heart problems, which could lead to heart attacks.

Pay attention to what you eat from mid-afternoon onwards

When we think of exciting foods, we usually mention coffee. But it’s not the only drink that makes us more active: tea or other carbonated drinks can also prevent us from falling asleep. For proper sleep hygiene, we must be careful and avoid ingesting these products especially after eating and, above all, at dinner.

Likewise, chocolate is another stimulant that can prevent us from falling asleep or make us wake up prematurely. In addition, it is advisable to reduce the consumption of alcohol or other hypnotic substances.

In general, carbohydrates help us sleep, while proteins wake us up.  For this reason, in addition to being more easily digested, it is preferable to eat a salad for dinner rather than a steak.

Playing sports regularly

Sport improves fitness, fights sedentary life and is a wonderful way to relax and relieve tension. For this reason, another of the rules that promotes sleep hygiene is to practice it regularly and at a moderate intensity. Because sport not only keeps us fit, but also prevents worries from taking us away from sleep.

It is essential, however, to allow at least two hours to pass between when we finish physical training and when we go to sleep. The production of  endorphins keeps our body awake  and going to bed with such a high pulse is not advisable. It is best to calm down and go to sleep peacefully.

Avoid stimulating activities in the hours before rest

In addition to sports, going to sleep after watching an action movie or after getting fervently excited with some TV show affects the level of physiological arousal. Numerous experts have highlighted that  the habit of consuming audiovisual products increases the cases of insomnia, to a greater extent among young people aged 18 to 32.

It is advisable to do the exact opposite: opt for relaxing activities before going to bed to promote proper sleep hygiene. For example, background music, a warm bath, light reading, or breathing exercises. Our body, the next day, will feel the benefits.

The pillow is not the best advisor

Sleep hygiene does not see the bed as a psychological visit, nor the pillow as the therapist.  In other words, if we have concerns that prevent us from sleeping, it is preferable to get up and talk about it rather than staying for hours tossing and turning in bed without sleeping.

If it is a question of tasks that we have to do and that we cannot forget the next day, it is advisable to write them down in a notebook or notebook, so as to “free” our while from responsibility.

A room in perfect condition

The conditions in which our bedroom is found can have a decisive influence on the quality of our sleep. The most suitable conditions in which the bedroom must be found must be:

• Quiet and relaxed environment : it is recommended that all members of the house go to sleep at the same time. If we are in bed ready for sleep and continue to hear the fan of our child’s computer or the football game from the television in the living room, this tranquility will be interrupted.

• Neither too cold nor too hot: it is advisable to keep the room temperature at around 21º and it is better to be a few degrees below than above. In a humid environment, turning on a dehumidifier a few hours before going to sleep can be a good solution.

• It is preferable to sleep completely in the dark: although the advent of electronic devices makes this habit more difficult, the brightness of a screen or an LED is enough to affect our REM phase or the secretion of melatonin in our body.

All these habits that promote proper sleep hygiene have very positive effects, both in the quality and quantity of rest. However, they cannot resolve chronic insomnia on their own. In these cases, these recommendations act as adjuvants to other therapeutic interventions.