Sleep Hygiene: What Is It & Why Do We Need It?
Let me introduce you to a fancy new therapy term that you can use at parties! The concept is called ‘Sleep Hygiene’. Ever since I’ve learned about this, I’ve been obsessed. We humans will spend an average of 1/3 of our lives asleep. Because of that, I’ve made it my mission to curate my own sleep hygiene routine in the hopes of being able to demystify it and to share tips and tricks with all my clients.
Sleep hygiene refers to the idea of creating a set of healthy habits around sleep. This does not mean that our sleep can be ‘dirty’, ‘clean’, or ‘unhygienic’. Instead, the concept encourages us to create a behavioral routine to help our brain predict when it should start secreting sleep hormones. Ever heard of the researcher Pavlov and his study with dogs? This is a commonly-cited example of how to pair learning between two seemingly random things. Pavlov was a researcher who wanted to train dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell. Pavlov and his team were attempting to have dogs learn to predict when they could experience a reward (i.e. food). Before every feeding, he rang a bell and then placed the food down for the dogs to eat. When the dogs saw the food, they began to salivate. Eventually, the paired-learning became so strong that he could merely ring a bell and the dogs would salivate. He trained the dogs brain to produce saliva at the sound of the bell showing that they were anticipating food.
We want to use this same hack to train our brains to produce hormones that ease us into sleep. Our job is now to curate our evening routines into a set of steps (behaviors) that show our brain, you guessed it, it’s time for sleep. Sleep routines or sleep hygiene can consist of some of the following behaviors:
o Hot shower or bath with lavender or calming-scented soaps/lotions
o Tea (non-caffeinated of course!)
o Reading (a physical book, no blue lights, please)
o Scented candles
o Aromatherapy
o Snuggling a pet
o Comfy clothes
o Calming music (think spa-vibes)
o Favorite non-stimulating television show/movie (Bob’s Burgers anyone??)
o Calming yoga routine/simple stretches (feet up a wall, assisted poses in yoga, yin yoga)
o Turning down lights, limiting blue-light exposure, limiting alcohol/substances
After we identify and curate list of activities we want to try, the next step in our routine is to practice them just about daily. When we regularly take a hot shower, put on comfy clothes, and use our favorite calming-scents before bed, our body will begin to pair this with sleep. Over time, the act of taking a hot shower at night will start to produce sleep hormones. If this list feels daunting or if you’re not a Type-A who thrives on routine, pick just one or two things to start with. Your routine doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated, just replicable (meaning you can replicate this no matter where you are). Considering that we spend 1/3 of our lives asleep, let’s make it an uncomplicated and enjoyable ride getting there!
With so much love & gratitude,
Kate ✨
