Do you wake up every morning and doubt if you’ve even slept?

What is it that makes you so lethargic throughout the day, just craving a cup of coffee or two extra hours in bed?

Despite getting 6-8 hours of sleep, some of us just cannot reach our full energy levels. While some may call this the reality of modern work culture, we disagree.

As per sleep foundation data:

• Between 10% and 30% of adults struggle with insomnia.
• 2% – 9% of adults are affected by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
• Women typically report poorer quality and more disrupted sleep across various life stages than men.
• 9% of adults and 75% of children have at least one electronic device in their bedrooms.

It’s the year 2023 and specialists are increasingly pointing out the importance of sleep hygiene, simply because of the effect it has on the rest of our day.

Let’s find out what sleep hygiene means, how to aim for good sleep hygiene as well as some basic dos and don’ts for good sleep.

–> SEE ALSO: Herbal Solutions For Insomnia

What is Sleep Hygiene? Isn’t Sleeping Just Enough?

Sleep hygiene is simply about a set of habits and practices that helps your body sleep better and improve the quality of your time sleeping.

The ability of sleep to influence your physical and mental health is one of the biggest reasons for sleep hygiene to become so important these days.

And no, just hitting your head on the pillow and waking up the next day is not enough for your body, especially if your day is highly demanding.

Sleep hygiene includes a number of practices including:

• Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule.
• Avoiding activities before bedtime that can stimulate your senses.
• Creating a comfortable sleeping environment.
• Limiting exposure to screens before bedtime.

The ultimate goal of sleep hygiene is this: provide conditions for your body to fall asleep without difficulty and stay asleep without interruptions.

What Happens If You don’t have Good Sleep Hygiene?

Do you notice yourself having frequent mental breakdowns, mood swings, digestive issues and a bunch of other health problems? Sleep hygiene basically protects your physical and mental health from going haywire.

When you don’t take care of your sleep, these things happen:

1. Forgetfulness

Having a foggy brain occasionally is natural, but imagine that becoming a part of your personality?

Not getting enough sleep can make your brain’s work of locking new information into the memory increasingly difficult. There is also enough research on the link between sleep and tasks like learning and memory.

–> SEE ALSO: Understand Your Body’s Sleep Language And Its Problems

2. Lowers Sex Drive

When your body can’t rest enough, your libido diminishes.

Even minor lifestyle changes that interrupt your rest can result in a change in overall mood and sexual vigour.

A study also found that sleeping 5 hours or lesser reduced sex hormone levels by as much as 10 to 15 percent.

3. Weight Gain

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Ever noticed how a weight loss plan is not effective for you, but seems to be working for others? While our body types can be a factor for this, not getting enough rest can make it very difficult to lose weight.

Moreover, a study found that you can also eventually become obese or overweight if you sleep less than 5 hours on a regular basis.

4. Skin Problems

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A study conducted among middle-aged people found that people who had a habit of getting lesser sleep showed more fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin colour, and looseness of skin.

Forget long-term effects of sleeplessness on skin.

Remember how dry, dull and tired your skin can look even when you’ve had just one rough night?

5. Reduces Immunity

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It’s as simple as this: you fall sick easier if you sleep less. Your body’s natural ability to ward off illnesses depends a lot on its ability to get enough rest.

Cell repair, body maintenance and defense against disease is stronger with enough sleep.

6. Sleep Disorders

Yes, that’s true. Not sleeping enough can introduce a range of sleep related disorders into your life.

Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome are some sleep disorders

Now are you ready to introduce some sleep hygiene into your life?

Dos and Don’ts for Good Sleep

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Good sleep is heavily dependent on a number of careful lifestyle changes and habits.

Following some simple Dos and Don’ts can make sure that your body produces enough of the sleep hormone, melatonin, which helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.

This way you can make sure that your sleep and daily performance is not affected.

Dos:

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• Follow a Proper Sleep Timing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a weekday or weekend, try to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day. You’ll find yourself magically yawning at a healthy hour in no time.
• Fix a night routine you can easily follow. This can be any winding down activities like light reading, stretching, a skincare routine or simply wearing nightclothes.
• Make sure you get enough light exposure during the day, especially sunlight.
• Unplug electronics atleast 30 minutes before going to bed. The blue light from the screens of devices decreases melatonin production, causing mental stimulation and making you think it’s not time for sleep yet!
• Dim your indoor lights as the evening progresses. Bright lights also hinder melatonin production.
• Associate your bed with sleep. Doing this increases your psychological link of sleep with your bed, helping trigger sleep as soon as you lie down. The only exception to this rule could be sex.
• Try out relaxation techniques like Progressive Relaxation or Visualisation, so that your body can gradually come down from the stress of the day and move into a sleep mode.
• Consider Herbal sleep supplements that can help increase the production of melatonin in your body.
• Stay active. Most times we are mentally exhausted, but our body needs to physically tire out in order to sleep well. Nothing helps the body wind down at night like some good old exercise.

GudSlep by Sava Herbals is a safe and effective ayurvedic sleep supplement made of naturally obtained ingredients that can improve your sleep hygiene.

It is also non-addictive, and is not habit forming – a rare quality with sleep aids.

It has Ashwagandha, Jatiphala and Shankhapushpi which relieve stress, enhances concentration and memory, inducing sleep at night.

It makes a great option for the best over the counter sleep aid because of its herbal ingredients.

DON’Ts:

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• Don’t take long naps during the day. Short naps can boost your energy levels, but sleeping during the day can make you toss and turn at night.
• Don’t toss and turn if you can’t sleep immediately. Stretch a bit, maybe walk around, read a book and then come back and try again.
• Don’t smoke. Nicotine is a great stimulant and this makes it even more difficult for your body to fall asleep.
• Avoid that evening drink. While alcohol is bad for sleep hygiene, drinking towards the evening can make you sleep easier but disrupts your rest later at night.
• Cut down caffeine consumption. Coffee during the day can keep you alert at work, but does not help you calm down at night. Caffeine jitters can keep you awake for long hours.
• Don’t eat late. Eating late dinners, especially heavy and spicy meals can cause indigestion and disrupt restful sleep.

–> SEE ALSO: Why Should Ashwagandha Be a Part of Your Lifestyle?

By following a few basic lifestyle choices, you can feel less tired and lethargic during your day.

It is always up to you to make the decision to invite sleep hygiene into your life for not only better days, but also relaxing nights.