Sleep Hygiene

How to Achieve Quality Sleep

Sleep hygiene is all about establishing healthy sleep habits, getting as much sleep as you need to feel refreshed and energised for the day's activities. This doesn't refer to becoming a sloth and sleeping at times when one should be active, but rather to introducing balance into one's life between the day's activities and sleep.

A regular sleep time should be adhered to as much as possible, this involves always going to bed at the same time, and waking at the same time each morning. No doubt there will be times, due to the demands of one's lifestyle, when this pattern may be broken, however it is importanmt to return to the regular time slot ASAP.

Waking at regular times in the morning will regulate the circadian rhythm leading to the facilitation of sleep onset times.

Regular exercise on a daily basis, as opposed to irregular exercise on a haphazard basis, will deepen sleep. Exercise is best done during the day, or if this is not possible, before dinner at night. Exercise just before sleep is more likely to prevent sleep, rather than induce sleep.

Bedroom temperatures are important for quality sleep, but the temperature requirements will vary with the individual. Some people demand windows be open on cold nights, whereas others want everything closed. Overheated rooms are unhealthy and dehydrating, this is important to be aware of for elderly people who are usually extremely sensitive to cold temperatures and will want the heat of the room increased.

Going to bed hungry will not induce sound sleep, by the same token going to bed on an overloaded stomach will prove equally disruptive to sleep.

Most people are aware of the role caffeine plays in exciting the nervous system, therefore, anything containing caffeine should be avoided.

Alcohol may help people to fall asleep quickly, and for this reason it is often sought to help those who suffer from sleep latency. Although it may appear to induce sound sleep, the sleep is fragmented and disturbed and sleep may be interrupted by trips to the toilet, snoring is increased, as well as sleep apnea.

Tobacco disrupts sleep, as well as general health, and is to be avoided by sleep apnea sufferers.

Sleeping pills do not induce quality sleep, the side effects associated with some popular sleeping pills are alarming. Far from inducing a sound healthy sleep, some of these pills are causing people to sleep walk, to drive their cars while they are asleep, and to create distrubances in the household by their erratic behavior. Some  have consumed massive amounts of food while they were asleep, and had no memory of their behavior the next day, the only evidence of the night's activities was the huge mess in the kitchen.

The bedroom should be associated with sleep and sex, not watching television, knitting, telephoning, and catching up on office work .

The upsets of the day should be processed before going to bed, if that's possible, taking the trials and tribulations of the day to bed with you guarantees disrupted sleep, or worse, no sleep at all.

Listening to relaxing music, or playing hypnosis tapes will help induce a sound restful sleep.

Try to avoid looking at the clock too often if you are experiencing difficulty falling asleep, it seems to make sleep less accessible for it tends to induce stress,  it reminds you that you now have less time to sleep.

Its, never a good idea to have a nap after dinner, it can almost guarantee that you will experience difficulty falling asleep when you finally do go to bed. Aside from this it's not really good for digestion to nap after dinner, it may indicate that you feel sleepy because you have eaten too much.

If you have difficulty falling asleep after about thiry minutes in bed, then instead of trying to sleep it's far better to get up and do something that will take your mind off trying to sleep, then when you do feel sleepy go back to bed. It is important that whatever activity you indulge in while waiting to feel sleepy be something non-stimulating, also the lighting in the room should be dim which might limit the pursuit of most activities, perhaps you could listen to relaxing music. Trying to sleep always fails, you have to relax and let sleep come naturally. 

Spending time in the early morning sun helps stimulate melatonin production, and regulate circadian rhythms. Practice  all of the above and you will achieve quality sleep.

Read more:Allergies and sleep problems