Sleep has been proven to have various health benefits. These benefits include both physical and mental aspects. For example, sleeping well helps in conserving our body’s energy, memory functions, and emotional regulation. These are only a few of the many benefits that current scientific investigations have been able to reveal so far. There is a lot more that science is attempting to understand about this phenomenon.
Like any drive, sleep also has to be balanced in order to achieve maximum benefits from it. Sleep hygiene is about setting certain healthy guidelines for regulating sleep. Just like any hygiene protocol, sleep hygiene requires consistent efforts in the application and obtaining the best results.
The following guidelines are the basis of maintaining optimum sleep hygiene:
Maintaining a bedtime: The most fundamental step in sleep hygiene is to set a regular bed and wake-up time. Common mistakes made include;- staying up at odd hours on most weekdays and staying in bed most of the weekend days. This characterizes sleep deprivation and often leaves an individual tired and dull during the majority of the time on most days
Good sleep habits translate into health benefits over time. Thus, such habits bolster the functions of our bodies.
References:
·Mendelson, W. (2005). Sleep disorders. In Sadock, B.J. & Sadock, V.A. (Eds.), Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (pp. 2023-2035). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
·St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services. (n.d.). Sleep hygiene [Brochure]. Dublin; Ireland: Author.
