Sleep Hygiene: 7 Expert Tips to Help You Improve Yours — and Get More Rest

Hygiene is any set of practices that promotes health and prevents disease. While you might normally associate good hygiene with habits such as sneezing into a tissue, washing your hands frequently, and brushing your teeth, it’s more all-encompassing than that.

When it comes to your sleep, developing good sleep hygiene simply means adopting practices that promote deep rest and breaking the habits that don’t. It also means controlling your environment in ways that encourage good quality sleep.

At Advanced Medical Care in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, our experienced team of cardiologists, neurologists, and sleep medicine experts emphasize the importance of good sleep hygiene. Without proper rest, every organ of your body suffers, including your heart and brain. 

We are committed to providing excellent care, and that includes helping you develop better sleep hygiene habits. Here are seven tips from our sleep medicine experts on how to get a better — and more healthful — night of sleep.

1. Sleep in a “cave”

The more closely you can mimic the environment that human ancestors slept in, the more likely it is that your body can fully relax into deep sleep. That means shutting out all possible light and staying cool, by:

• Installing blackout curtains
• Covering lights on electronics
• Keeping the temperature low (65-70 degrees) 
• Wearing minimal nightclothes
• Avoiding devices that cast blue light at least an hour before bed
• Using a sound machine or earplugs to keep things quiet

Ideally, you shouldn’t be able to see your hand when you hold it in front of your face in bed. To stay safe, you can use a red-light flashlight for bathroom trips or have a red night light to guide your steps.

2. Greet the sun

Morning light helps set your circadian rhythm. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that good sleep begins the moment you wake up. As soon as possible, look out the window at the morning sky (but don’t look directly at the sun) or get out and walk as the sun is rising.

3. Keep to a boring schedule

It might not be in line with your ideal jet-set lifestyle, but the more you can keep to the same bedtime and rise time each day, the more likely it is that you’ll fall into deep sleep. And, yes, that means getting up at your usual time on weekends, too, even if you partied late into the night. So don’t party all night long, if you can avoid it. 

Your body thrives on consistency. Organize your time in bed so that you allow up to 20 minutes to fall asleep and then 7-9 hours to sleep. 

4. Eat early

Although some cultures have late dinner times, try to eat your last meal of the day about 3-4 hours before you go to sleep. Digestion is active enough to disrupt your sleep. If you must have a snack before bed, keep it small, light, and protein-filled, such as unsweetened yogurt or almond butter.

5. Move it to snooze it

Your body needs to deplete its energy before you hit the sack. That’s yet another reason to incorporate physical activity throughout the day in addition to exercising regularly. 

6. Don’t multitask in bed

Use your bed for sleep and sex, not for catching up on email, playing games on your phone, or doom-scrolling the news. The more you associate your bed with relaxation and sleep, the sooner you’ll drift off to dreamland.

7. Take snoring seriously

Sleep apnea is a dangerous disorder that stops you from breathing multiple times a night. Each time you suffer a pause in your breathing (apnea), your body goes into panic mode — increasing your heart rate, raising your blood pressure, and releasing stress hormones. As you might imagine, such a state doesn’t promote deep relaxation.

Although sleep apnea’s main symptom is snoring, you don’t have to snore in order to have sleep apnea. That’s why you should consult our sleep specialists if you wake up in the morning feeling groggy or unrested or if you have trouble concentrating or staying awake during the day. 

Finally, the more you improve your health overall, the more likely it is that you’ll sleep healthfully and hygienically. Eat a whole-foods diet, exercise regularly, and reduce stress. And a warm bath or shower not only improves your personal hygiene, but it helps relax you before bed, too.

Are you stressed about sleep? Find out how to relax and improve your sleep hygiene by contacting Advanced Medical Care today. Call the location convenient to you, or book an appointment online.