When sleep is good, it is amazing. It recharges you, it makes you feel like you can do anything, and your mood is better. When your sleep isn’t good, it can really ruin the entire day. You’re more on edge, kind of grouchy, have less energy, and are more susceptible to feeling more down or getting sick. Many people struggle with sleep and oftentimes, they can improve their sleeping patterns by just changing a few small things.

Here are a few habits to implement to get better sleep:

• Change the temperature in the room to be cooler than normal
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark
• Have a consistent bed time, even on the weekends 

• Limit screen time before bed; it can overstimulate your mind and can keep you up longer, also, aa few hours before bed, change your phone to nighttime mode to dim the lighting on it
• If anxious, write down all your current worries down an hour or so before bed to get them out of your head
• Make sure you don’t have any caffeine hours before bed 

• An hour or two before your bedtime, dim the lighting in the room to signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down
• Don’t lay in your bed unless your’e sleeping or being intimate. Too much time in bed send mixed signals to you brain and it no longer associates the bed with sleep

• Develop a bedtime routine as another mental signal for bedtime; example: showering, applying moisturizer/lotion, brushing your teeth, putting on pajamas
• If you’re having trouble falling asleep and it’s been 30 minutes, don’t jump on your phone. Get out of your bed to sit in another room and read or color, something that isn’t super stimulating. Then once you get tired again, go back to bed and try to sleep. Repeat until you fall asleep. 

Summary

The main point of sleep hygiene techniques is to develop the healthiest patterns as possible in order to get a good nights sleep consistently. If you’re still having issues with sleeping after implementing these techniques, there may be something else going on. Talk to your doctor and see what they can do to help you identify if there is a physical issue, like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea, that they can treat. You may be experiencing high anxiety or stress that is impacting your ability to rest. If so, consider seeing a therapist who specializes in anxiety or step hygiene. Sleep is so essential to your physical and mental health. Make better sleep a priority!