In my grad year 2017 I experienced really bad insomnia and because of which I learned quite a bit about sleep hygiene. Some things worked for me while others didn’t. Sleep hygiene is essentially sleep training yourself. Here are the basics and my experience.
Disclaimer: These tips are from my personal experience. If your sleep or lack thereof is affecting your mental or physical health along with your everyday life please talk to a health care professional.
No Phone
Blue light is so bad for your sleep among other things. Doctors recommend not using your phone for at least half an hour before bed. I found my phone use didn’t affect my sleep personally yet I know many people who can’t use any electronics before bed. Some people read during this time yet I find reading too distracting. I’m notorious for saying ”just one more chapter” until I hear the birds singing. My best options when I was testing to see if my phone affected my sleep was to either color or journal before bed. Coloring is a great mindless activity to help de-stress before bed that I would highly recommend. If you are someone who lays in bed for long amounts of time overthinking while trying to sleep I would recommend journaling. Specifically try a mind dump journal page. This will help get out all your anxious thoughts rather than stewing until morning.
Avoid Lying in Bed
This piece of advice has two different meanings. One means avoiding laying in bed throughout the day if you are not sleeping, the second being that if you are having trouble sleeping don’t just lay there. The purpose of this is to associate your bed with sleep. When trying to sleep you should only lay in bed awake for 20 minutes at a time. If you are unable to sleep for more than 20 minutes you are supposed to get up and try one of the blue light free activities above until you become sleepy again. Although I didn’t always use this first strategy in the middle of my insomnia it did help to get up when unable to sleep as it also relieved the stress that comes with lying in bed awake. As for not hanging out in bed this was difficult for me as a teenager as my room was one of the most private places for me and so I wasn’t able to test out this theory as well, though as an adult living on my own I have been able to do this more naturally and I simply enjoy having a space only for sleep.
Have a Nightly Routine
Having a nightly routine triggers the brain to get tired once you start taking part in your usual activities. This routine is fairly easy to establish as it can be as easy as brushing your hair before bed. When I started with sleep hygiene I would wash my face and brush my teeth as my nightly routine yet these days I have started washing my face earlier in the night as to avoid getting face products on my pillow. Now I only brush my teeth and go to the bathroom yet that seems to be enough for my body to know that sleep is near. Many people will also include their no electronics time in this nightly routine.
Be Consistent
Not only do you need consistency for all the other tips to really work, you also need consistency in your sleep schedule. Going to bed and getting up at the same time trains your body when it should be asleep. Consistency in all these routines will be the basis of how well they work. This entire process will take time to take effect so don't lose hope.
Overall what I've noticed about sleep is the more anxious you are either in life or about sleep in general the worse your sleep will be. This unfortunately makes sleeping pretty difficult if you are already sleep deprived. I recommend looking into other underlying causes with your doctor of insomnia if it is affecting your everyday life. My insomnia was not really helped by sleep hygiene until my anxiety was treated. Since my anxiety has been helped, sleep has been much easier and sleep hygiene has been helping me fix my schedule. If you have any advice for others who may be struggling feel free to comment your tips below.
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