It’s time to get serious about your sleep. Why? Good quality, restful shut-eye has numerous benefits. Not least, it supports your overall health and well-being—both physical and mental—helps you lose weight, and even reduces your risk of developing debilitating diseases like diabetes.
So, how do you go about getting better quality sleep? Stay with us as we take you through the ins and outs of implementing a healthy sleep hygiene routine, and the key steps to getting your best sleep yet.
What is sleep hygiene?
While licensed medical professionals qualified with online MSW advanced standing programs would have an in-depth understanding of how healthy habits such as proper sleep hygiene can benefit our overall well-being, we may not all realize quite how essential these habits are to our general health.
Sleep hygiene is essentially the turn-down routine (or lack thereof) you typically perform before you go to bed. It incorporates your sleeping environment and the habits, actions, and behaviors that you engage in during the last waking hours of your day.
Most importantly, implementing a healthy sleep hygiene routine – by forming habits like going to bed at the same time every night, sleeping on comfortable bedding, avoiding blue-light electronics before bed, and ensuring that your bedroom is cool, dark, and optimized for restful shut-eye – can positively impact the quality of your sleep.
Benefits of Quality Sleep
What are the benefits of quality sleep? Some of the top reasons why getting good rest is essential include:
Uninterrupted Shut-Eye Supports Brain Health
Good sleep increases our ability to concentrate, maximizing our productivity and efficiency—both at work and in our personal lives. Getting enough Zs can also benefit our personal lives by regulating our emotions and reducing our stress levels, supporting us in our social interactions with others.
Good quality sleep is also key to maintaining and supporting our mental health. Conversely, not getting enough sleep can be dangerous – not only has it been linked to the development of depression, but sleep deprivation can also cause us to be less alert while performing tasks requiring our full concentration and alertness – such as driving, for example.
Restful Slumber is Physically Reparative
There’s no doubt about it: having a good, long sleep is enormously restorative for the body. That’s why our energy levels will usually bounce back when we are well-rested, even (and especially) on occasions when we feel extra tired, sending ourselves off to bed the night before.
As well as repairing and regenerating the body physically, studies have shown that quality shut-eye can also help us lose weight – or maintain a healthy weight – depending on what our body needs most.
Quality Sleep Reduces Risk of Developing Diseases
As well as promoting cardiac health and reducing inflammation in the body, being well-rested also supports the immune system in fighting off diseases like type 2 diabetes, for example.
On the flip side, research into sleep duration has found that getting fewer Zs can actually increase our risk of diabetes development by as much as 48%.
How to Get Better Sleep
Keen to get more rest? Some of the best strategies to help you get some seriously good shut-eye include;
Establishing a ‘Turn-Down’ Routine
What is a healthy turn-down routine? Essentially, this is a series of actions that help get you relaxed and ready for bed.
Some of these actions? Establish a ‘wind-down window’: up to 30 minutes before you get into bed dedicated to quietening your mind. Perhaps try some light stretching, peaceful music, a soothing skincare routine, or a guided breathwork meditation.
Optimizing Your Sleeping Environment
Now that you’ve got yourself ready for bed, it’s time to make sure your sleep space is optimized for the best quality sleep possible.
What does this look like?
Consider rest-inducing factors like choosing the most comfortable mattress and pillows you can afford, for example. Make sure your bed linen is also soothing to the touch – virtually nothing will disturb your sleep more than a scratchy quilt cover. Another tip? Block out excess light with heavy curtains, or if the street outside your window is especially noisy, try using earplugs.
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