Sleep Hygiene: A Guide to Relaxation and Getting a Good Night of Sleep

BY NAWAILAH MAHOMED
Nov 15, 2024
7 min read

Another bad night of sleep? Same! Tossing and turning! Looking for a cold spot! Getting up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom! Realising you have many, many tasks that are still outstanding, and still need to be completed. Getting stuck in a black hole of junk food and binge watching to avoid the void that accompanies you right before sleep…

The common factor here is that we all struggle to sleep– in more ways than one. You might think that you are an excellent sleeper, and that there is nothing wrong with your hours clocked in for the night, and your bed time routine. Whilst this may be true, there is always something new to take away, and apply for self-betterment.

Being aware of your night time routines, and your sleep cycles can make you feel healthier, more energised, and motivated to take on the challenges the new day has in store. Keeping track of it may furthermore prompt you to actually enjoy getting into bed, and restoring and recovering from the stressors of the day.

Why is it Important to Have a Good Bedtime Routine?

Similar to how we implement consistency and dedication to sleep around babies and children, we should award that same privilege to ourselves. The coddling, the winding down, the quiet and peace that should be permeating the atmosphere.

Calm emphasises how, ‘a predictable bedtime routine helps signal to your body that it’s time to sleep’. If going from an intensive task such as completing a report last-minute, or watching television, to immediately sleeping, it can be difficult for your brain to make that shift in sync with your body: it still thinks you are working or watching television, and will resultantly keep on working, and focusing on that specific topic.

A bed time routine ensures that your brain is making those shifts accordingly with your body, relaxing your thoughts and your anxieties, or at least suppressing them until the next day!

6 Benefits of having a consistent bedtime routine:

Reduces stress and regulates moods
Makes it easier for your body and mind to fall asleep
Regulates anxiety
Beneficial for long-term health
Ensures daytime productivity is reached to a maximum
Improves relationships and communication with others

There are many ways one can prepare for bed in order to prepare the mind that it is going to sleep, too. Here’s a quick overview of minimal sleep hygiene tips, and a closer look at other significant factors to follow.:

Avoid stimulants, such as sugar or caffeine, close to your bed time.
Ensure the room is temperate and comfortable.
Use linen that is clean, and soothing to the body.
Work away from your bed: sit somewhere else!
Maintain naps during the day, and ensure they do not reach excessive heights.
Light a candle or burn some essential oils in scents that are relaxing and calming for you.
Avoid liquids, or keep intake minimal at least three hours before bed time.

These steps are essential for cultivating a calm and relaxed state before bed. But what happens when you’ve followed them all, and yet, you still find yourself staring at the ceiling, wide awake, with the clock ticking past 3:00 A.M.?

1. Breathe to Regulate and Relax

It is such a cliché, but no truer words have ever been spoken. By simply ‘just breathing’, you can make a noticeable difference in how relaxed and calm your body feels.

From a scientific standpoint, breathing encapsulates the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere on Earth, into our bodies, where it is generated and processed into our bloodstream.

If we find ourselves panicking or stressing about something, it can result in shallow breaths and hyperventilation. This sends signals to our nervous system that we need to take action, and can either promote the release of adrenaline or cortisol. In simple terms, it can trigger a flight or fright response, increasing energy levels.

When you counter panic with deep, intentional breathing, you’re actually triggering the opposite response in your body. ‘Deep breathing and relaxation activate the other part of your nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends a signal to your brain to tell the anxious part that you’re safe’, and you don't need to take action.

Breathing itself is so inherent and embedded. We breathe every second of every single day, but we aren’t conscious of it in the slightest. It is now time to become conscious of it, and transform it into a purposeful tool for optimal calm and regulation. Such calm can be stimulated through the parasympathetic nervous system by taking deep breaths.

Useful Breathing Techniques

There are many ways for us to take deep breaths and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system. As complicated as it sounds, it can actually be achieved through trial and error. It can, however, be more effective and beneficial if specific techniques are used.

Using a breathing technique can also be much faster, and can force you to focus on something completely separate to what you may be panicky or irritable about.

1. 4-7-8 Breathing

Exhale deeply
Inhale through the nose for four seconds
Hold breath for seven seconds
Exhale for 8 seconds, making a ‘whooshing’ sound
Repeat, and gradually increase repetitions every day

2. Bhramari Pranayama Breathing

Gently close your eyes by placing your index fingers over your eyelids.
Use your ring and small fingers to lightly press your mouth closed, and place your thumbs on the cartilage of your ears.
Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, filling your lungs fully.
As you exhale, make a deep humming sound, like the buzz of a bee. Focus on the vibrations that resonate in your head and chest as you release your breath.
Continue inhaling deeply and exhaling with a hum for 5-10 rounds, or longer if it feels good. Let the sound and vibrations bring you a sense of peace.

3. Three Part Breathing

Inhale deeply through the nose
Exhale fully with an awareness of the body, and how it is feeling in the current moment
After a few repetitions, slow, and drag out the exhale, making it longer than the inhale

2. The Importance of Light Exposure

Our exposure to natural and blue light within the span of a day, and even just before bed also plays a role in how peaceful and relaxed our body feels as it winds down.

Natural light, no pun intended, will naturally make us feel alert and motivated to work and go about our days as soon as they commence. As soon as it gets dark, we acclimatise, look inwards, and get ourselves ready to turn in for the day.

As experts have discussed and argued, ‘light influences the body’s natural 24-hour biological clock that controls the timing of sleep…When it is light outside, the body knows it is time to be awake, and when it is dark, the body gets ready for sleep’. Exposure to natural light is therefore an essential component to tick off, and pack in, every day, in order to ensure regular and healthy functioning of the body.

What About Blue Light?

A spanner gets thrown into the works with the advent of technology, and all of its different features. A somewhat new phenomenon and emergence is the existence of blue light.

Blue light is seen to be the biggest factor that affects one’s sleep, mood, and overall health. Artificial blue light is especially harmful, and it is sadly what we expose ourselves to excessively, and almost daily before bed in the form of ‘fluorescent light, LED TVs, computer monitors, smartphones, and tablet screens’.

Over-exposure to artificial blue light before bed can be straining to the eyes and exhaust cognitive functioning. It is therefore crucial that it is closely monitored, and consumption is kept to a minimum as your bedtime, and bedtime routines approach.

Light is also an extremely important factor when measuring and tracking one’s circadian rhythms.

3. Circadian Rhythms

Circadian Rhythms refer to the manner in which our bodies function and operate according to light exposure. For every single human being, this light exposure is best suited or exemplified with direct sunlight.

It is a ’24-hour internal clock that coordinates a wide range of processes in the body, including sleep. This rhythm is controlled by a small part of the brain, known as the circadian pacemaker, that is powerfully influenced by light exposure’.

This means that when we look at light, especially natural light, our brain interprets it, and sends signals to different parts of our bodies, that it is now time to wake up and get going for that specific period of time during the day.

Our exposure to natural light within the day and night cycle of the day sends signals to our bodies on when it is suitable to be awake, and when to go to sleep. Due to progressions in technology, however, our exposure to light extends beyond the setting of the sun.

This is why it is ideal that exposure to artificial or blue light beyond the setting of the sun, and especially right before bed can be detrimental, and even counterproductive. Exposure to blue light can even hinder our ability to rest, and promote motivation to stay awake and be productive. Knowing when to wind down, and unplug is absolutely key in this regard.

Useful Apps and Measurement

Sometimes, not everything we do needs to be documented. This, I believe, is one of those things that should, and needs to be kept track of in order to maintain a healthy, and consistent sleep schedule.

Of course, remembering what time you went to sleep, and your average hours for the week can be difficult to remember off the top of your head. There are many useful apps available that assists with not only tracking sleep, but provides white noise, podcasts and audiobooks, paid and free, to assist you in winding down, and feeling relaxed at the end of a busy day.

Some apps that may be useful and beneficial include, but are not limited to:

Whilst these are helpful, and can make a difference, it is important that you don’t become overly dependent on them. It is okay if there are few changes to your schedule here, and there– perfection is not the end goal, consistency is.

It is also worth noting that the above tips and guidelines are suggestive. It is quite holistic, but not tailored to the individual and their specific contexts. It is therefore important that one seeks the advice and recommendations of a medical or health professional first, before attempting any of the above remedies.