Improve Your Sleep Hygiene for a Good Night’s Sleep

Improve Your Sleep Hygiene for a Good Night’s Sleep

Do you yearn for a good night’s sleep, only to find that sleep does not yearn for you? Quality rest is an important part of getting through the daily grind, yet nearly 50% of Australian adults experience two or more sleep-related problems, including difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and daytime sleepiness.¹


While the occasional night of poor sleep is annoying, ongoing sleep disturbances can lead to bigger issues including emotional difficulties, brain fog, poor job performance, and even accidents or injury. Even more alarming, long-standing insomnia is associated with many chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and mood disorders.²


The good news is, catching more z’s may be as simple as changing your habits. For many people, bad habits in the lead-up to bedtime, also known as poor sleep hygiene, are a major contributor to a restless night. Sleep-supporting supplements can also play a role in securing a good night’s rest. Read on to find out if a sleep hygiene overhaul and supplements may help you get the sleep you need.

How do I Know if I Have Poor Sleep Hygiene?

Unfortunately, modern life predisposes us to poor sleep hygiene. A busy social calendar may keep you out late, high-stakes stress at work can cause sleepless worry, and a burning desire to stay up late binge-watching your favourite TV show may keep you on the couch into the wee hours. The occasional blowout is okay, but when these pastimes become regular patterns, it becomes harder to cement a consistent sleep schedule, making it difficult to sleep well.


If you spend every night struggling to sleep, you probably already know that your sleep habits need attention. However, if your issue is more subtle, or less frequent, you may be wondering whether it’s worth taking action. Use the checklist below to help you understand the factors that could be leading you to feel endlessly tired.

Regularly experiencing one or more of the following may be a sign of a disrupted sleeping pattern:

  • It takes over 30 minutes to fall asleep after getting into bed
  • You wake up more than once per night
  • You awaken for over 20 minutes during the night
  • You spend less than 85% of your time in bed asleep
  • You wake most mornings feeling unrefreshed
  • You rely on caffeinated beverages to get you through the day (ahem … 3pm slump?)

Adapted from the National Sleep Foundation³

Ways to Improve Your Sleep Habits

Sleep Aids - Sleep Tracker, Eye Mask, Herbal Tea & Supplements
If you are fed up with feeling tired, these simple tweaks to your sleep hygiene may help you shake off sleepless misery. Incorporate the following habits to help you fall asleep faster, sleep soundly through the night, and wake feeling refreshed and rested:
  1. Establish a sleep routine. This will help condition your body to feel sleepy at a regular time. This may be difficult initially, particularly if you don’t feel tired at the same time each night. However, you can help your body synchronise to a consistent schedule by going to bed at roughly the same time each night and waking at the same time each morning. Read this article to learn more about the circadian rhythm.
  2. Steer clear of electronic devices for at least 30 minutes before sleep and avoid using these in bed. Night-time exposure to blue light from digital screens is stimulating and can interfere with your brain’s production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for making you feel sleepy.
  3. Avoid using your bed as an activity centre. Your bed should be for sleeping and sexual activity only. Avoid other pursuits, such as watching TV or working from bed, to train your brain to associate bed with sleep and winding down.
  4. Steer clear of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine, which can keep you awake and disrupt your sleep during the night. You don’t need to ditch your morning coffee, but it’s a good idea to set a cut-off time (i.e. no caffeine after midday) to allow your body’s melatonin levels to rise from mid-afternoon as per your natural circadian rhythm.
  5. Create a pre-sleep ritual. Relaxing activities can help you unwind before hitting the sack and gradually transition your body from a wakeful state into a state of sleep. Your ritual may include stretches, breathing exercises, a hot bath, or sipping on a cup of herbal sleep support tea.
  6. Ditch the alcohol. Many people use alcohol to help them fall asleep faster. However, drinking alcohol inhibits restorative sleep and increases the likelihood that you will feel groggy the next morning.
  7. Get up. If you do not fall asleep within 20 minutes of lying down, get out of bed and perform a mundane activity until you feel sleepy enough to return to bed. There is nothing like a spot of ironing to bore you to sleep. Boredom is key; avoid activities that may stimulate you, such as watching TV, and avoid the use of bright lights or devices which emit blue light, which suppress melatonin production.

Can Sleep Supplements Help?

Changing your habits can take time, particularly if they have been months or years in the making. While you make changes, sleep support herbs can fast track your journey to snoozeville. Remedies such as lavender, passionflower, zizyphus, California poppy and Jamaica dogwood found in NeuroCalm® Sleep can enable you to fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.

These herbs achieve their sleep-inducing effects by stimulating your body’s production of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). A neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) produced by your brain, GABA sends signals among your brain cells that reduce their activity. It also carries signals to other cells in your body, such as your muscles, helping them to relax. GABA is involved in your body’s sleep cycles, with increased levels during the evening reducing stress, promoting calmness and relaxation, and helping ease you into sleep.

Magnesium is another important sleep support as it assists muscle relaxation, nervous system function and helps restore the natural sleep-wake cycle. SleepX provides magnesium in combination with other calming ingredients including Sensoril™ (AKA Withania or Ashwagandha) to help establish healthy sleeping patterns.

As an added bonus, unlike many pharmaceutical sleeping agents, herbal sleep supplements minimise the “hangover” effects often experienced the next day.
Straightening out your sleep hygiene can help you say “goodbye” to clock-watching and “hello” to a great night’s sleep. While you work on changing your habits, sleep supplements can help you quickly get the rest you need. For more advice on how to achieve sound sleep, or for guidance around which herbs are best suited to your needs, speak with a Healthcare Practitioner. Explore our map tool to help you find a practitioner near you, so you can start feeling well-rested.

References

  1. Adams R, Appleton S, Taylor A, McEvoy D, Antic N. Report to the sleep health foundation, 2016 sleep health survey of Australian adults. Adelaide (AU): University of Adelaide, Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health; 2016. p. 55. Report.:2
  2. Adams R, Appleton S, Taylor A, McEvoy D, Antic N. Report to the sleep health foundation, 2016 sleep health survey of Australian adults. Adelaide (AU): University of Adelaide, Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health; 2016. p. 55. Report.:2
  3. National Sleep Foundation. 5 signs that your sleep quality is poor (and how to fix it) [Internet]. Arlington Virginia: National Sleep Foundation; 2019 [updated 2019; cited 2019 Nov 13]. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/5-signs-your-sleep-quality-poor-and-how-fix-it.
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