Sleep hygiene doesn’t mean that you need to take a shower before going to bed. It is a set of habits that will help you sleep better. Whether you have insomnia or just are a poor sleeper, then taking control of your sleep hygiene is going to help you.

When you are not sleeping well, you will end up with a myriad of health problems that can all be avoided by better sleep. For instance, when you are not sleeping well, you can end up feeling stressed out which raises cortisol levels. This will increase the chances of getting high blood pressure and heart disease.

To help you get better sleep we will go over what sleep hygiene is and how it can help you. You should also check out the people at snoozeuniversity.com for in-depth help.

Signs of poor sleep hygiene

If you are having a hard time falling asleep on a regular basis then this could be a sign that your problem is caused by not taking care of your nighttime habits to promote sleep. Being distracted when going to bed and often having racing thoughts can be why you are taking a long time to fall asleep.

Many people end up tossing and turning at night and have a restless sleep that is often interrupted. This results in waking up exhausted and feeling as though you are not getting enough sleep.

Sleep hygiene is going to be able to help you sort out those problems because you are setting yourself up to be able to get to sleep and stay asleep. Very often the problem lies in poor habits that are blocking your ability to sleep.

How to set up proper sleep hygiene

The first thing you should do to make sure you are setting up to sleep well is to make sure your mind understands subconsciously that you are going to bed and get into rest mode. An obvious place to start is to turn off any devices before going to bed. Don’t scroll through social media on your phone or tablet before bed. You should also avoid sitting in front of a computer.

Those devices will keep your brain active and make it harder to fall asleep. At least thirty minutes before you go to bed you should put the phone, tablet, and computer away.

The bedroom should be low-lit, cozy, and clutter-free. This makes it an inviting place to go to sleep. How it smells also plays a part. Put on an essential oil diffuser with oils that promote sleep. Scents like lavender, chamomile, and bergamot will send a signal to the brain to release melatonin and will start shutting down to get ready to sleep.

Changing some habits like avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed will also help you get a deep sleep. Alcohol will make you feel sleepy but will cause you to get restless sleep during the night.