The hygeine we never think about

When i get back a sleep report from our reading doctors it always suggest we talk about sleep hygeine.  Since most people have no clue what we mean when we state simply you need to work on yrou sleep hygeine I thought I would share a few thoughts about this.

Sleep hygeine is all about hw to make your enviornment ideal for sleep.  You can do it even if you work the night shift.  I knwo I work both days and nights and I still work to create a good eviornment for sleep. 

So what does your bedroom look like.  Is the bed comfortable?  do you have the right blankets and sheets and pillows for your body?  Those are just the basics.  Do you have a window covering to allow for your room to be dark?  Do you have a desk or television in your room.  Both of these should not be in there.  They destract the mind and do not allow it to relax and go into sleep.  Televisions even if the volume is off are designed to wake people by the way the way the light flashes during commercials this is especially true at 2-3 in the morning.  

Do you read or do work in bed?  Again the bed should be used for sleeping otherwise you are giving your body the wrong signals  about what you should be doing while in bed. 

Do you have a pet in your bedroom?  This could be another reason you are not getting a good night sleep.  They could be waking you with their movements.

Do you eat, drink, smoke or exercise right before bed?  All these will affect yoru body's ability to relax and go into sleep.  You should avoid thise prior to bed time.

Do create a routine.  You should wake and go to bed the same time every day.Do teh same activities prior to going to bed.  I will give you my routine as an example.  I finish doing the dishes ( I have a 16 year old bottomless pit so there are always dishes) brush my teeth, read for 15-20 minutes, turn off the lights and turn on my fountain and fan to block the noises from my upstairs neighbors.  If I can not fall alseep within 30 minutes I get up read for another 20 minutes then go back to sleep.

If you have any questions about sleep or sleep disorder or CPAP and it's use or issues please let me know I will be happy to help/