Sleep Hygiene 101: A Guide to Waking Up Bright-eyed and Bushy-tailed
I decided to write this piece after pulling an all-nighter for college; a mistake I knew I was making while I was making it. The night was spent working while alternating between my sad song playlist and “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners (but mostly “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners). I went to bed at 6 am and woke at 8 for a 9 am lecture.
After deciding that college work was more important than basic self-care, I realised that I couldn’t let it happen again. Sleep hygiene has been on my mind and now was the perfect time to write about it, so long as I made sure to practice what I’m about to preach.
So what is sleep hygiene, and why is it important?
Sleep hygiene is the stuff you do to get the best possible night’s sleep. It’s important because, well, who doesn’t want a good night’s sleep? How else do you expect to function? Here are some tips for improving your night-time routine and overall quality of sleep.
Creating a proper night-time routine
First, you have to think about what an effective night-time routine looks like to you. What time would you like to be in bed by? When do you want to get up? How much sleep do you need to function properly during the day?
The foundations for a “hygienic” sleep routine include…
1. Going to bed as close to the same time every night as possible.
The same goes for waking up. Keeping your circadian rhythm (i.e. your body’s internal clock) aligned promotes restorative sleep, so try to be consistent with what time you go to sleep/wake up at. You already know that lack of sleep can make you grumpy and sluggish, but irregular sleep patterns can also weaken your immune system and put you at a higher risk for developing mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
2. Reducing your exposure to “blue light” (i.e. your laptop/phone or TV screen) before bed.
Blue light is notorious for messing with your body’s ability to produce melatonin (the hormone that makes you sleepy), so make a point of turning on the “night light” feature on your devices — or even better! Avoid technology at least an hour before bedtime altogether.
3. Making your bedroom as much a place for sleeping as possible.
Try not to spend too much time studying or on technology in your room if you can help it. Think of your room as your own little sanctuary; somewhere you feel at peace, rather than a place of work. Ask yourself what you can do to promote relaxation in your room (and keep reading for some ideas).
Investing in your night-time routine
This is me giving you the green-light to splurge on some cute bed sheets, blankets or (faux) silk pillowcases. Maybe a sleep eye mask? Some slippers? Pyjamas? The lot. Make getting ready for bed a fun activity.
Some other “hygienic” additions to your night-time routine can include:
1. Herbal tea
Especially chamomile tea. Chamomile flowers contain antioxidants that are thought to promote sleepiness, so having a cup of chamomile in the evening — or any caffeine-free herbal tea for that matter — is a great way to signal to your body that it’s time to unwind. My personal favourites are chamomile (obviously), ginger, peppermint, as well as this blend of chamomile, rose and lavender tea. The Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea is another worth mentioning, due to that iconic and adorable bear on the box. Oh, and get yourself a cute cup to drink it from too, to make it all the more special.
2. Lavender
I don’t know how you feel about lavender, but I can’t get enough of the stuff. Lavender is said to promote relaxation and deep sleep, so it’s something you should think about adding to your night-time routine. As the article says, putting a few drops of lavender oil under your pillow or on a cotton ball beside your bed can increase the amount of deep sleep you get. I personally like to hang a few pouches of fresh lavender around my room, off the curtain rails, on my bed frame, the coat hooks, etc. I also have an essential oil diffuser. A lavender oil roll-on for applying to pulse points is another good option. And if you don’t like lavender? Maybe skip this scent and find one you like better that also promotes healthful sleep.
3. Meditation/Yoga/EFT Tapping
You might be thinking meditation is booooring… and I knooow. It can be so hard to be still; to focus only on your breathing and the present moment, watching your thoughts come and go. But meditation has been proven to reduce stress and even change the way your brain is wired with regular practice. The Headspace app has some short free meditations you can try for starters, or the Calm app, which has the loveliest library of white noise you can listen to while you meditate. Belleruth Naparstek’s guided meditations and imagery are another favourite of mine. These guided meditations on YouTube are also great, but I would recommend listening to them through an app like Musi to get rid of those pesky ads that pop up at the most inconvenient times *cough cough* like mid-meditation.
Yoga is another pre-bedtime activity that can help release any tension from your body and get you into a peaceful state for sleeping. Yoga with Adriene and Yoga with Candace on YouTube have some short and sweet night-time yoga routines for beginners, so you should totally check them out.
EFT tapping is supposed to be like acupuncture for your mind. You do it by tapping on your body’s “meridians” aka pressure points or paths where energy flows while speaking affirmations and statements aloud to yourself. The idea is to acknowledge and release any unhelpful beliefs or emotions you have tied to certain situations (such as falling asleep). Once you have tapped on these feelings, you can begin to shift that energy and clear those blocks. There is definitely more research to be done on the effectiveness of this technique, but there’s no harm in giving it a go. To get you started, this video is one you can follow along with before going to sleep.
Worries keeping you awake? Try…
1. Putting them on the shelf
This. Trick. Works. The idea is to visualise yourself placing your worries into a box and then putting that box on a shelf, leaving them there for the night. If your mind keeps wandering back to them, you can remind yourself that those worries will still be there in the morning and you can worry about them then, but for now, it’s time to sleep.
2. Imagining a (non-scary) scenario
You heard me. Time to bust out that daydream universe and drift off to any narrative you can think of. Like, if you were a character in Harry Potter attending Hogwarts, what house would you be in? What would life be like in the dorms? Or if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go? What would an average day look like there?
Imaginary scenarios like these can be an effective distraction, giving your mind something to focus on other than worry. So if you’re not a resident daydreamer like me, I highly suggest creating some little plot to follow along with while you fall asleep and saying expelliarmus to those bothersome worries.
3. Writing it out
This tip is so basic but it’s a good one nonetheless. Keeping a notebook beside your bed to jot down anything that’s bothering you can help draw a line under your anxious thoughts. You can do this either before going to sleep or during the night if you find yourself awake and worrying. Hopefully, it will get those worries out of your mind and onto the paper.
Since writing the body of this article, I made the same mistake twice and pulled another all-nighter. I am aware of how hypocritical it is for me to write a piece on sleep hygiene while simultaneously being an absolute disaster in that department, but you know, you fall off the horse, you get back on again. It happens.
Obviously, my last sleep hygiene tip is to avoid all-nighters as best you can. And if you must stay up late or all night, make sure to mind yourself and catch up on sleep the next day. In the meantime, take the tips that resonate, practice your sleep hygiene and be on your way.
Sarah Diver is a nineteen-year-old writer and music student from Ireland. Her work has been featured on Rookie, Gurls Talk, and The Loud Journal. You can find her on Instagram @sarah.diver or Tumblr @allmybirdsofparadise