Weekly Wellbeing Activity: Healthy Sleep Hygiene
Weekly Wellbeing: Healthy Sleep Hygiene
This week's wellbeing is all about sleep, and looking at healthy sleeping hygiene/habits/routines.
Why is sleep so important?
Some key things you need to know about sleep:
- It helps your body and mind reset for the day ahead
- Sleep can help you feel more alert, attentive and present during the day
- Good sleep routines can help to improve your mental health and wellbeing
- Your brain processes information from the day and stores it into memory in your sleep- so it's a super important function
- A good night's sleep can help us with learning
- Good sleep is linked with better physical health, including reduced risk of health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure
How can I improve my sleep?
- Stick to a routine of setting your alarm for the same time each morning and going to bed at the same time each night.
- Lay off the alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine before bed, as they can make it harder to get to sleep or may disrupt your sleep.
- Turn off your television, mobile phone and laptop or tablet at least 30 minutes before bed. The light from these devices can trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime.
- Practise relaxation and meditation techniques to help you switch off your mind in the evenings. Smiling Mind is a free, modern meditation program with exercises that can help you reduce stress and relax.
- Try not to nap during the day.
- Exercise first thing in the morning, outdoors. Sunlight can help reset your body clock.
Activity:
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
Let us know how you go!
Comments
Great idea @Jess1-RO
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
An idea I heard about was focused on making the transition between sleeping and waking easier- it's called pre-waking. You set 2/3 soft alarms that lull you out of REM sleep, and turn on a soft light, and tense/release your muscles in whatever position you are lying in to wake your body. Then when your actual alarm goes off you aren't groggy, but conscious and able to move around properly. Hope that makes sense- it's really good if you wake up super groggy in the morning.
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
Definitely the above as well as trying to be asleep (ie. not just getting ready for bed) before midnight!
Heya, loving the ideas here! Great suggestions that seem simple and easy to utilise! 😄
If I can contribute to this discussion, here is what I have to offer:
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- Have lots of blankets. If you sleep in a cold room/environment, you are more likely to wake up at night, and feel more irritable during the day. So more blankets means more warmth. I would recommend less for hotter days hahaha. Learnt that the hard way 😛
- From everyone's suggestions on reading books, I would like to add to this by trying to read a book about a topic one might find boring and dull. They make for good topics that you want to sleep to haha.
- If need be, talk to someone who provides calm for you before going to bed. The reason I say this is when I'm stressed about things and people, I find it harder to go to sleep. So talking to someone whom I feel safe and calm with makes going and staying asleep easier to do.
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
Reading more topics I find calming... or boring ahahha
For me, recently I've been really struggling to fall asleep and when I wake up I am completely exhausted still.
I will try @Milkninja222 suggestion of reading, and being mindful to read slowly as well, rather then past paced and rushed which i think will keep my mind too active.
@Tay100 How interesting, I will definitely try this tomorrow morning. DO you have a specific alarm tone that is recommended for a soft tone?
I'm really loving reading through this thread, so many good ideas!
@Milkninja222 that's really interesting what you say about needing to be warm, I find that I almost always have to sleep with the fan on low, even in winter - I find I sleep better when I'm slightly cool, but I like having a doona to snuggle up under. I'm pretty sure the white noise from the ceiling fan helps me as well.
Avoiding bright lights and screens has helped me massively - I always have my phone or tablet on night mode after 8pm, so there's less blue light which apparently is terrible for your circadian rhythms, I do read a lot of books on my phone at night, but always with the screen light on really low.
@statuscaring will be interested to hear how you go with reading more slowly and mindfully at night - keep us posted on how it goes! I've always read at night, but I try and read books I've already read before, because I have made the mistake of reading a new book, getting carried away and suddenly realising it's 2am
And omg yess I agree book bingeing is the best kinda bingeing don't even @ me ❤️
4 consecutive days of reading slowly before bed and it is really helping! Managing to fall asleep much quicker. For me I think it is because it's distracting my mind from the other 10000 things racing around, so it is taking away the time laying in bed ruminating over my thoughts. Thank you so much for this advice!!
Let's beat the pesky rumination together!
@statuscaring that's great to hear, and feel free to adjust how/how long you wake up gently for!
I recommend a rhythmic tone with calming music- the ones in the settings are ok but if you want more meditative ones I'm sure Google has plenty!
@Milkninja222 environment can play such a huge role in quality sleep. Definitely agree with the suggestion around temperature!
It sounds like finding calm with the people you are around right before sleep has been a really helpful wind down to sleeping 🙂
Great activity, thanks @Jess1-RO! Quite relevant to me at the moment, as I have been struggling with my sleep! Definitely going to be taking some of the tips here 
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- Staying off your phone right before going to bed (I am guilty of this!). Time can really get away from you if you're playing games or just scrolling endlessly through social media.
- Try not to eat too close to bedtime. I find that when I eat too late at night, I have too much energy when trying to sleep.
- Make sure you have a comfortable and clean space to sleep in. I find it a lot easier to get to sleep when my bed is clean and made. Also if you can, invest in a good quality pillow!
- While I really love the idea of going to bed at the same time every night and setting an alarm for the same time every morning, I work different shifts and cannot always do this! For anyone else in this position, I find it useful to keep sleep as consistent as possible!
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
I have been trying to stay off my phone and instead read a book before going to bed. I find reading really helps me relax and puts me in a mood to sleep. I just have to remember to stop checking my phone right before I go to bed! 
I love this topic because I do love my sleep haha. Even though I wish I got more of it.
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
While I need to do this more often, I find that reading a book right before going to sleep is really effective, because it always makes you feel really tired. I have also discovered that eating right before bed isn’t a good thing because your body will be trying to work to digest that food and this may disrupt you getting to sleep. So try to eat 30-60mins before getting ready for bed.
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
I am going to try @Jess1-RO suggestion to set my alarm at the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time every night. While I somewhat do this, on days where I don’t have to be up as early, I tend to stay awake later the night before and as a result I’m just as tired or even more tired even though I’m getting the same hours of sleep. So I think that’s really contributing to my constant changes in my body clock.
I've always been one to fall asleep pretty easily but earlier this year I had a bit of a stressful time where I found myself needing to implement some useful sleep hygiene improvement techniques, and they really do help!
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- If you have been tossing and turning, don't stay in bed as it can make you more and more frustrated. Try getting up, walking around the house, getting a drink, or maybe doing a quiet non-technology based activity in a different room for a while.
- Keep the phone plugged in across the room, not next to your bed, as it will remove that distraction when going to sleep while also forcing you to get up to turn off your mobile alarm in the morning!
- Don't have a light-up clock with the time visible from your bed, you'll start fixating on it rather than relaxing and getting to sleep.
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
- I've been getting up and going for a walk along the creek near my house first thing in the morning lately and it makes me feel so good! I'm going to put in a real effort this week to keep that activity going.
Great idea for a WW activity @Jess1-RO ! 😄 
Especially with the semester getting started again soon/already started for lots of people!
Time to get a sleep schedule happening again! haha 😛
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
One i've heard is trying not using your bed as a work space (guilty!) and using a desk/table instead when you're working or studying etc. Otherwise it becomes a place you associate with work and it makes it harder to wind down when you want to sleep (plus alllll the back issues as well!).
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
I think I might seize the excuse to start getting up as soon as I naturally wake up in the morning on days i don't need to set an alarm. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep which just leaves me groggy and means I go to bed later than is probably wise for my routine.
Fingers crossed I keep up with this one! 😄
What a great topic @Jess1-RO!
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- Don't stare at the clock during the night.
- Don't use your bed for anything other than sleeping.
- Develop your own 'sleep rituals' before bedtime. For example, you can listen to some ambient sounds or music. I used to have a glass of warm milk before bed to help me wind down.
- Sleepovers can be very useful because family and friends can see if you do anything unusual and involuntary while you sleep. Some things to look out for is a person sleeping with their eyes open (this can damage their corneas if left untreated) or moving or jerking their legs a lot in their sleep (this can be a sign of a disorder that can interfere with sleep).
- If you can't go to sleep, get up and read something boring until you feel sleepy. Don't turn on the TV.
- Sometimes, adjusting your body temperature can help with sleep. Some people take a hot bath 1-2 hours before bedtime.
- I recently discovered earplugs. They were really helpful when I was travelling and there was a lot of noise.
- Some sleep tracking apps can be inaccurate or actually keep you awake. I don't take my phone to bed.
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
I'm going to try to sleep earlier at the same time each night and try to wake up earlier instead of sleeping excessively.
@Jess1-RO Loving this WW activity!
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- Keep a tidy space in the area where you go to sleep because it can help you feel fresh and not sluggish in the morning when you wake up
- Try a low amount of light when you are about to fall asleep; instead of bright white lights, opt for a dim yellow light before bed
- If you are finding it hard to fall asleep, maybe try drinking some water and walking around a bit before going back to bed
- Meditating right before bed can help relax your mind and prepare your body for rest
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
I'm going to try and go to bed a little bit earlier and maybe use a headspace sleepcast to relax while I'm in bed. I'm also going to put more effort into getting out of bed as soon as my alarm goes off instead of staying in bed slightly longer.
This activity is great as I can be a bit hit and miss with my sleep. I play a lot of soccer and that either leaves me wiped out so I am fall asleep quickly or wide awake as I am buzzing!
Do you have any tips for improving sleep hygiene?
- I just got a google home, so I have been listening to rain forrest noises before I go to sleep to calm me.
- I also listen to audio books as it helps my mind to be focused on what I am hearing rather then me replaying my soccer game in my head haha.
- I make sure that I have everything packed for the next day and my clothes already selected 
What will you try this week to improve your sleep?
- I like the idea of setting the alarm for the same time every morning and trying to go to bed at the same time at night.
