5 Sleep Hygiene Tips

An upcoming term that is already being used by millions of people around the world is, also known as hygiene for your bed. Essentially, refers to an individual?s sleep habits.

The idea behind sleep hygiene is to establish a set of rules or guidelines that everyone should try to follow each night in order to sleep for the right amount of time as specified by the National Sleep Foundation (between 6 to 9 hours each night).

Unfortunately, many people do not have any rules or guidelines that they can follow for their bed and this result in cases of insomnia for many people. However, this can all change. All you need to do is simply follow the 5 hygiene tips for your bed mentioned below and see the difference yourself.

1. Avoid Naps

People should always try to avoid napping during the day or evening as napping ultimately reduces the sleep debt.  Sleep debt is essentially the level of required for you to fall asleep at night on time.

It is important to realize that every single person has their own sleep requirements and no matter how hard we try, we cannot those forego hours of sleep. People that nap, break the sleep cycle and end up decreasing the amount of sleep they need the next night.

So when they lay in bed the next night, they will not be able to sleep because their sleep requirements have been fulfilled. As a result, naps should be avoided.

2. Avoid Reading and Watching TV in Bed

Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of reading or watching TV while they lay in bed. Watching TV or reading while in bed should be avoided as over time, this little pastime can turn into a habit and cause you to subconsciously associate reading and watching TV.

As a result, when you read a book or watch TV in bed at night, you are telling your mind that you are fully awake and therefore disrupting the natural sleep cycle.

3. Do Not Stay Awake Lying in Bed for More Than 10 Minutes

A lot of people stay awake and toss and turn in bed each night trying to. If you find yourself awake in bed for more than 10 minutes, simply get up and sit on a chair in the room, in the dark. Just think about random, boring stuff until you feel sleepy and then return to bed./> It cannot be stressed enough that watching TV, reading a book, using the computer etc should all be avoided during this time period as doing any of these activities will only stimulate your brain to stay awake more.

4. Avoid Caffeine at Night

has lasting effects whenever it is consumed and as a result, can be in your system for hours. Drinking any caffeinated beverage at night will cause you difficulty while trying to. Drink caffeinated beverages only before noon and that?s it.

5. Sleep in A Quiet, Dark Environment

Sleeping in a quiet environment, according to the National Sleep Foundation is ideal. In this type of environment, your brain signals the body to start shutting down all the higher functions and to relax. When people listen to music while they sleep or have the TV on, this disrupts the sleep pattern and therefore causes people to be tired and lethargic when they wake up.

Sleep hygiene has become very important as a good night?s sleep ultimately determines the pace and motivation for the rest of the day.

Author Bio:

Allan has been blogging about sleep issues for a couple of years. Allan thinks that following a set of rules and having a good can help to solve sleeping problems. Allan has contributed several posts in various health websites.