Sleep Hygiene: 7 Guidelines To Sleep Better

There are a large number of factors that influence how we sleep. From the ambient temperature of our room to what we had for dinner the day before. From the study of these factors and their influence on sleep, what is known as sleep hygiene emerged. A series of recommendations that advocate for a healthy lifestyle and promote habits that favor a more restful and effective sleep. 

Sleeping is one of the most important activities we do in our life. Hence the importance of waking up with renewed energy, rested and making our problems falling asleep more and more anecdotal. Do you want to know how to achieve it? We propose 7 basic guidelines to sleep better.

Maintain an hourly routine

Sleep is routine and he welcomes stability. This is why your body will benefit from getting up and going to bed around the same time every day, including weekends. It is useless that from Monday to Friday you rest only 5 hours and that on Saturday and Sunday you sleep 8, because sleep does not recover, nor can it be compensated.

Although it is true that during childhood and adolescence one sleeps more and in old age, less; Each adult needs a different amount of sleep. Most people need between 6 and 8 hours, but this varies depending on the personal and working conditions you have. Therefore, it is beneficial to observe yourself for a few weeks to better understand how much you need to sleep to feel energized.

It is better to wake up earlier than to fall asleep later

Eye! The quantity of sleep is as important as the quality. Even if you sleep 7 hours, it is not the same to go to bed at 6 in the morning than to go to bed at 23:00. The body is programmed to know that when the sun rises it is time to get up.

The body releases melatonin during the evening, which is why we begin to feel tired and sleepy. But if you are constantly forced to alter your circadian cycles, it can pay dearly. In fact, it has been shown that people who work nights can develop serious heart problems, which could lead to heart attacks.

Control what is ingested from mid-afternoon

When we think of exciting foods, we often mention coffee. But it is not the only drink that activates us: tea or other carbonated drinks can also prevent us from falling asleep. You have to be careful if they are ingested especially after eating and of course, avoid taking them during dinner.

In the same way, chocolate is another exciting that can make you either not get to sleep, or cause you to wake up early. In addition, it is advisable to reduce or avoid the consumption of alcohol or other types of hypnotic substances.

In general, carbohydrates make us sleepy, while proteins wake us up. Therefore, in addition to being more easily digestible, it is preferable to have a salad before a sirloin.

Do sports regularly

Sport is beneficial for improving physical fitness or avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and is also a great method of relaxation and stress relief. Therefore, another of the measures that promotes sleep hygiene is to  practice it regularly and with a moderate intensity. Because sport not only keeps us in shape but also makes it easier for worries not to steal our sleep.

Yes indeed. It is essential to allow at least two hours to pass from when we finish practicing sports until we go to bed. The generation of endorphins makes our body stay alert and going to bed with such high heart rates is not recommended. It is better to calm down and go to sleep peacefully.

Avoid stimulating activities in the hours before bedtime

In addition to sports, going to bed after having seen an action movie or getting passionately excited about a television program influences our level of physiological arousal. Numerous experts have shown that the habit of consuming audiovisual products increases cases of insomnia, mostly among young people between 18 and 32 years old.

Therefore, it is very favorable to do just the opposite: opt for relaxing activities before going to bed to promote sleep hygiene. For example, background music, a hot bath, a light reading or breathing exercises. Our body, the next day, will thank you.

The pillow is not the most suitable counselor

Sleep hygiene does not consider the bed as a psychological consultation or the pillow as its therapist. That is, if you have concerns that prevent you from falling asleep, it is preferable that you get up and talk about them with your partner than spend hours walking around without falling asleep.

If these are tasks that you have to do and not forget the next day, we advise you to write them down in a notebook or notebook and thus “free” your mind from responsibility.

A room in perfect condition

The conditions in which our room is located can have a decisive influence on the quality of our sleep. The most suitable (conditions) in which the bedroom should be must be:

• Calm and relaxed atmosphere : it is convenient that all the members of the house go to bed at the same time. If we are in bed ready to fall asleep and we continue to listen to the fan of the child’s computer or the football game on the television in the living room, this tranquility will be interrupted.

• Not too cold, not too hot: it is good to keep the room temperature close to 21º. It is better to sin a few degrees less than more. In a humid environment, turning on a humidifier a few hours before going to sleep can be a good solution.
• It is preferable to sleep completely in the dark: although the appearance of electrical devices makes this habit difficult, since only the brightness of a screen or an LED can harm our REM phase or the secretion of melatonin in our body.

All these habits that promote sleep hygiene have very positive effects on both the quality and the number of hours we sleep. However, by themselves they will not solve situations of chronic insomnia. In these cases, these recommendations act as adjuncts to other therapeutic interventions.