What Is Sleep Hygiene? Plus 7 Tips for Healthy Sleep

Although the word “hygiene” might conjure up images of washing hands and keeping fingernails clean, there is another crucial subset of hygiene that is often overlooked: sleep hygiene. 

Sleep hygiene encompasses a wide array of habits, behaviors, and environmental factors that promote high-quality and restful sleep—and many people don’t realize how impactful some of these simple and free changes can be.

But what exactly does healthy sleep hygiene look like? And how can you start improving your sleep tonight? This in-depth guide breaks down the importance of sleep hygiene, including our top tips for achieving restful and restorative sleep. 

What Is Sleep Hygiene?

The scientific basis of “sleep hygiene,” as we know it today, was popularized in 1977 by Peter Hauri, although the term was first used in the mid-1800s.¹ 

Now, sleep hygiene is defined as the various behaviors, lifestyle habits, and environmental factors that play a role in how well—or poorly—we sleep.

Although you may just think that getting a good night’s sleep only affects your mood and performance the next day, the impact of chronic poor sleep goes much deeper than just needing a third cup of coffee. 

Research has found that chronic poor sleep (not just one night here and there) is linked to an array of health problems, including:

• Obesity²
• Cardiovascular disease³
• Cognitive decline⁴
• Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders⁵
• Depression and other mental health conditions⁶ 
• Weakened immune system⁷
• Infertility⁸ 

Therefore, taking steps to optimize your sleep hygiene—starting tonight!—can have significant benefits to both how you feel and your long-term health. 

Signs of Poor Sleep Hygiene

Some signs that your sleep hygiene is not quite where it should be include: 

• Constantly waking up tired or experiencing daytime sleepiness
• Often experiencing a lack of focus, irritability, anger, or emotional exhaustion
• Having a hard time falling asleep (regularly taking 30 minutes or more to fall asleep)
• Regularly waking up more than once in the night 
• Irregular sleep patterns or insomnia 
• Waking up gasping for air or choking (a sign of sleep apnea that needs to be evaluated by a doctor as soon as possible) 

Keep in mind that many causes of poor sleep are due to health conditions (such as sleep apnea, chronic lung diseases, narcolepsy, asthma, acid reflux, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain) and should be evaluated by a doctor.

7 Tips for Healthy Sleep

Now that we know how sleep hygiene affects health let’s dive into some easy ways you can improve your sleep at home.

1. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Babies and toddlers stick to strict sleep schedules to keep them healthy and happy—and adults should be no different.

A consistent sleep schedule—meaning you wake up and go to bed at similar times every day and night—is one of the best ways to improve your overall sleep hygiene. 

Although many people practice this during the work week, weekends can often have erratic sleep schedules—like staying up hours later than usual, which leads to a much later morning wake-up.

While it can feel good to catch up on sleep on the weekends, when Monday morning rolls around again, your body experiences something known as “social jet lag.” Social jet lag is a phenomenon created when you have two separate, distinct sleeping patterns (like the sleep changes made on weekends)—and it causes issues that are very similar to real, travel-based jet lag.

Therefore, going to bed and waking up at the same time daily (within a 30-minute window) can significantly improve sleep quality.

2. Have a Caffeine Cut-Off Time

A caffeine cut-off time—meaning the time of day that you stop drinking or consuming all forms of caffeine—can help with your sleep latency and quality. 

Caffeine has a half-life of five hours in the average adult’s body, indicating that half of the caffeine you consume will still be in your bloodstream five hours later.⁹ For example, if you have a latte at 5 pm, you could still have half of that caffeine keeping you awake at 10 pm.

While some people are fast metabolizers of caffeine and can eliminate it as quickly as 90 minutes later, others are slow metabolizers and will still be feeling the effects of caffeine up to 9 hours after drinking it.

Although caffeine metabolism varies from person to person, a good rule of thumb is to quit the caffeine six hours (or more!) before your ideal bedtime. If you know that caffeine affects you more than others, aim to stop drinking caffeine by noon.

3. Avoid Alcohol

Although many people think they sleep better after drinking that nightcap, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, alcohol can often make you fall asleep faster (it’s a sedative, after all), but your sleep quality will be highly disrupted.¹⁰

When you drink alcohol before bed, you are less likely to experience REM sleep, which is essential for our cognitive functioning. Alcohol can also wake you up later in the night (usually in the 2 to 4 a.m. range), causing light sleep with plenty of tossing and turning. 

According to the Sleep Foundation, even small amounts of alcohol (less than one drink for women and two for men) reduce overall sleep quality by 9.3%. Increasing those amounts slightly to more than one drink for women and two drinks for men impairs sleep quality by a whopping 39.2%.

If you typically drink every night, keep in mind that your first night off of the sauce may not be the blissful dreamland you’ve envisioned. It may take a few nights for your body to adjust—but after that, prepare to have deep, restorative, and significantly improved sleep!

4. Keep Your Bedroom Dark, Cool, and Quiet

Your sleep environment matters more than you may think—and a bedroom that is cool, dark, and quiet is the best way to support quality sleep.

Bedroom environments that are too warm can feel cozy, but a cooler temperature actually facilitates more deep and restful sleep. Sleep experts have found that optimal sleeping temperatures are as low as 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s also important to keep your room as dark as you can—no nightlights if possible, and use blackout curtains if the outside environment is too bright. You can also use a sleep mask to block out any lights. 

Lastly, a quiet bedroom or white noise can benefit sleep, with white noise or sound machines working particularly well if you live in a noisy city or apartment building.

5. Limit Screen Time Before Bed

The blue light that emanates from tech devices can impede sleep, as this wavelength of light blocks melatonin production.

A screen cut-off of at least an hour before bed is ideal (and this includes televisions).

Instead, take 30 minutes to an hour before bed to create a wind-down routine that is relaxing, such as reading a physical book, taking a warm bath or shower, or drinking herbal tea.

6. Get Morning Sunlight Exposure

How well you sleep at night can depend on what you did that morning. Natural sunlight first thing in the morning can help regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, pressing pause on melatonin production and getting you more alert. 

This helps to set the stage for the entire day, leading to melatonin production in the evening when you want to start feeling sleepy. Even if it’s not sunny out, a cloudy day can still do the job.

7. Avoid Heavy Dinners or Desserts

Eating a large meal before bed can mean that your body is still digesting a lot when you are ready to go to sleep, making it harder to fall asleep. You’re also more likely to experience heartburn, acid reflux, or indigestion, which also impairs good sleep. 

Try to have your last meal at least 3 hours before bed, if not more. 

Sleep Hygiene FAQs