In a world where productivity is often prioritized over rest, the significance of a good night's sleep cannot be overstated. Sleep is not merely a passive state of inactivity or a lazy person’s favorite activity; rather, it is a crucial and purposeful time when the body undergoes vital processes for physical and mental wellbeing. Enter the realm of sleep hygiene (aka good sleep habits) — a set of practices and rituals that encourage a restful slumber. Sleep hygiene seems to be the secret to unlocking the full potential of this beloved nightly Ritual and in turn promoting overall health.

What Is Sleep Hygiene?

The definition of sleep hygiene may be subjective at best, meaning it is how each person defines it in the context of their sleep goals. Some experts might define sleep hygiene as a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations intended to promote healthy sleep. The goal or intention is to develop and utilize tools, resources, habits and behaviors that encourage sleep as a vital life force and ultimately a pillar of health. (1)

The importance of sleep hygiene is in its ability to be the foundation for a restorative and rejuvenating night's sleep. Having a quality sleep routine is integral to physical health because it can influence our body's systems and factors. Having well rounded sleep hygiene is beneficial for cognitive health, memory creation and retention, and learning. Beyond the physiological benefits, practicing good sleep hygiene contributes to emotional resilience because it helps regulate mood and stress levels. The conscious decision to prioritize sleep and sleep hygiene is key to our overall health, creating a harmonious balance between the body and mind.

The 4 Pillars of a Good Night’s Sleep

The foundation of sleep hygiene rests (see what we did there?) upon four pillars — Depth, Duration, Continuity and Regularity. According to Dr. Matthew Walker, PhD, a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Founder and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, each of these pillars play an essential role in ensuring a restorative and rejuvenating night’s sleep, and the development of good sleep hygiene.

As we’re all navigating the landscape of wellness, falling asleep and staying asleep can almost seem like a delicate dance too intricate to learn. These 4 pillars act as the centerpiece of sleep. In the symphony of our well-being, each pillar harmonizes to compose a restful melody, putting together the pieces of a rejuvenating night’s sleep.

1. Depth: Depth refers to the quality of sleep, meaning how well we progress through the various sleep cycles and stages (non-REM to REM). When we prioritize depth and quality, it ensures that the body is maximizing all the benefits of each sleep stage. This results in improved cognitive function, memory creation, stronger immunity and physical restoration.

2. Duration: Duration focuses on the total amount of sleep in a single night. On average, aiming for the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep for adults is the gold standard for optimal sleep health.

3. Continuity: Continuity refers to the consistent flow of sleep cycles throughout the night. Fragmented sleep or frequent periods of waking can disrupt the natural progression of sleep stages, preventing the body from reaping all the restorative benefits that sleep has to offer.

4. Regularity: Regularity emphasizes the importance of maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. Bedtime and wake up being as aligned as possible helps to regulate the body’s internal clock and balance the circadian rhythm. Yes, this includes weekends too because remember, our bodies cannot tell the difference between a Tuesday and a Saturday!

Acknowledging and nurturing these pillars will create the most serene sleep experience yet.

Good Sleep Hygiene Tips to Add to Your Daily & Nightly Ritual

Cultivating a profound sleep hygiene ritual means seamlessly incorporating helpful sleep practices throughout your day and into your bedtime routine. Adding these different sleep hygiene tips and healthy habits into your routine can help you support restful sleep.*

1. Take Ritual’s Sleep BioSeries™ Melatonin: Our BioSeries™ Melatonin was created to support the body’s natural circadian rhythm. Melatonin is released in phases, to support falling asleep and staying asleep to wake up rested. It’s meant to support a restful sleep and taper off by morning.*

2. Prioritize daylight sun exposure: Natural light influences the body’s circadian rhythm and early exposure to daylight can help align your sleep and wake pattern. As soon as you can after waking up, either go outside or open the blinds to allow natural light to enter your home. At least 30 minutes of exposure is where you’ll reap the most benefits.

3. Limit caffeine exposure after noon: Caffeine consumption close to or before bed can disrupt your circadian rhythm by revving up cortisol production and diminishing melatonin production. Enjoy your caffeine before 12pm and afterwards, sip on herbal tea or decaf coffee.

4. Use mouth tape: Humans generally prefer to breath through the nasal route during the daytime and while sleeping. However for some, they’ll unconsciously make the switch to mouth breathing, where both inhales and exhales are taken from the mouth. Mouth taping has been shown to train a person who is a habitual mouth breather to transition to nasal breathing.

5. Reduce alcohol consumption: Alcohol consumption close to or before bed can decrease sleep onset latency, the time it takes to fall asleep after the lights go out.

6. Play brown or white noise: Brown noise is deeper and stronger noise without the high frequency sounds of white noise. A noise that evokes brown noise are ocean waves crashing against the shore. Whereas white noise is more broadly spread across the sound spectrum, producing both low and high frequency sounds. It sounds similar to the flow of water. Playing recorded brown or white noise has been shown to help break out any external noise such as traffic.

7. Reduce blue light exposure: Blue light exposure emitted from our phones, computers and televisions disrupt our circadian rhythm, resulting in reduced melatonin production and disrupted cortisol production. Reduce exposure by putting a filter on all devices that reduces the blue light shown or wear blue light blocking glasses with a red lens at night.

8. Utilize red light therapy: Where blue light diminishes melatonin production, red light actually helps to increase it. If investing in a red light panel is outside of parameters or budget, simple red lightbulbs from the hardware store do the trick as well. Switch out the lightbulbs in the bedroom to red ones and elevate your sleep environment.

9. Treat your bedroom like a sanctuary: Try to keep your bedroom to the space meant for sleep and intimacy only. Try not to use your bed as your office or dining table. If your space doesn’t allow for physical separation, consider putting up a standing divider to separate your bed from the rest of the space and keep the space around you clean and neat, so bedtime does not feel chaotic.

10. Practice sleep breathing techniques: Breathing techniques like alternative nasal breathing can help improve resilience and limit the impact of stress on sleep.

11. Journal or read a book before bed: If you find that your mind races at night, try developing a practice where you write down all your thoughts, worries, concerns and anything else that is taking up space in your mind. Reading a physical book is also helpful as the back and forth movement of the eyes across the page tire the eyes. But keep the psychological thriller novels for the daytime hours!

12. Utilize sleep tracking devices: Biotech aficionado? If data entices you, utilizing sleep tracking devices can be useful to assess how you’re sleeping and what, if anything, might be impacting the quality of your sleep.

13. Keep the bedroom dark and cold: Sleep disruptions are more likely to happen if the bedroom is too hot, or too cold. The ideal bedroom temperature is between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Use blackout curtains or wear an eye mask to block out any artificial light from disrupting your sleep consistency and continuity.

14. Sleep on jersey cotton or bamboo sheets: The materials from both jersey cotton and bamboo keep the body temperature cool and regulated no matter the season. And they’re really comfortable too!

15. Diffuse essential oils often: Find an essential oil scent that you prefer most and diffuse it each night before bed to evoke a sense of calm. Our memory will eventually sync the scent to relaxation, which will overtime promote deeper relaxation and improved sleep. Scents to consider include lavender, rose, ylang ylang, geranium and chamomile.

16. Keep a consistent sleep and wake time: As we’ve learned, keeping a consistent sleep and wake schedule is beneficial to our overall health. The “golden hour” or best time to go to sleep is between 10pm - 11pm. (4)

The profound impact of sleep hygiene on the quality of our sleep cannot be overstated. It acts as the master key, unlocking the secrets to a restful night—a lullaby for both body and mind. By embracing the four pillars of sleep and practicing good sleep habits we can nurture the delicate dance of sleep. The composition to a restful night's sleep is just one blissful snooze away.

References:

1. Irish LA, Kline CE, Gunn HE, Buysse DJ, Hall MH. The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2015;22(1):23-36.

2. Colten HR, Altevogt BM, Research I of M (US) C on SM and. Extent and Health Consequences of …. National Academies Press (US); 2006.

3. Better Health Channel. Sleep hygiene. Vic.gov.au. Published 2012.

4. Is there a “golden hour” to go to sleep …?. www.bhf.org.uk. Accessed October 10, 2023.

5. Pacheco D. How Sleep Latency Impacts the Quality of Your Sleep. Sleep Foundation. Published August 26, 2021.

6. Healthy Sleep Habits: The Ultimate Sleep Improvement Plan. Sleep Foundation. Published September 22, 2022.

7. Ebben MR, Yan P, Krieger AC. The effects of white noise on sleep and duration in individuals living in a high noise environment in new york city. Sleep Medicine. 2021;83.

8. Lee YC, Lu CT, Cheng WN, Li HY. The Impact of Mouth-Taping in Mouth-Breathers with Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Preliminary Study. Healthcare. 2022;10(9):1755.

9. Zhao J, Tian Y, Nie J, Xu J, Liu D. Red Light and the Sleep Quality and Endurance Performance of Chinese Female Basketball Players. Journal of Athletic Training. 2012;47(6):673-678.