What Is Sleep Hygiene?

It’s all about modifying daytime and bedtime behaviours to help you get the sleep your mind and body need.

You know what happens when you don’t sleep well: You feel sluggish in the daytime, and your concentration suffers. Poor or insufficient sleep has been linked to other problems, too, such as declined immune function and an increased risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

In your struggle to find a better night’s sleep, you’ll try just about anything, from over-the-counter sleeping pills to herbal therapies. What you might not realize is that you probably can do more to improve your sleep quality just by making certain behavioural changes – what sleep specialists refer to as sleep hygiene.

“In today’s world, many people put sleep on the back burner, but making sleep a priority would help everybody,” says Harneet Walia, MD, with Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Centre. “Overall, truly good sleep hygiene makes a huge difference in people’s lives.”

So, educate yourself on what you can do to improve your sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy.

Improve Your Sleep Hygiene