What Is Sleep Hygiene?

0:00Hello, this is Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky.

0:03I'm also the Medical Director of the Adore Center for Healing, and today we're going

0:06to talk about sleep hygiene.

0:10Sleep hygiene refers to a set of behaviors and conditions that we undertake to optimize

0:16our sleep.

0:18Sleep hygiene is important to everybody because sleep is as important as air and water to

0:26everybody.

0:28Lack of sleep or poor sleep can be very disruptive to not just productivity but to mental health

0:34in general.

0:35It can predispose to depression, it can lead to anxiety, it can decrease functioning.

0:40It is not good.

0:41It is not good for your physical health either.

0:45Optimizing sleep is just something we must do all for our mental and physical health.

0:50So here's how we do it.

0:53Sleep hygiene is a practice, a behavioral practice, that creates the conditions for

0:59optimized sleep, which is what you want.

1:02If you had good sleep, you're going to be more rested, you're going to feel better,

1:06you're going to have more energy, you're going to be more productive.

1:09This is what we want.

1:10It is really important to do this every day.

1:13So sleep hygiene, the first step, creating the proper conditions for sleep in your environment.

1:20This involves light, temperature, and sound.

1:26You want to be in a dark room because light tends to wake you up and activate your brain.

1:32So as much as possible, have your room be dark when it's time for you to sleep.

1:37If you need blackout curtains, they sell them everywhere.

1:40You can get them on Amazon, you can get them anywhere.

1:43There's all different options for blackout shades or curtains, but that matters if you're

1:48going to get good sleep.

1:49You want to create a good dark room.

1:52You also want it to be quiet.

1:54Now it can be hard sometimes to be absolutely quiet.

1:59If you have roommates, a spouse, kids, neighbors, an apartment upstairs or downstairs, absolute

2:06quiet might be difficult to find.

2:10So one way to mitigate that is using a noise machine.

2:14Noise machines have a kind of a low grade, like a fan or like a fuzzy noise in the background,

2:24and this helps kind of muffle sounds in the environment.

2:28Noise machines definitely work and makes it easier to sleep because it prevents the sudden

2:34sleep interruptions you might get from a sudden sound that you might hear when it had otherwise

2:39been quiet.

2:41Noise machines, they're called white noise machines, are easy to find.

2:45You can get those on Amazon or anywhere on the internet.

2:49They make lots of them.

2:50They're cheap.

2:51They do work.

2:52They help a lot.

2:53You can also get a white noise app on your phone.

2:56You can get free apps on your phone that will give you white noise.

3:00It helps a lot.

3:02And then temperature.

3:04You want it to be comfortable.

3:05People tend to sleep better when it's a little cooler.

3:07So maybe, you know, 71, 70, 69, 68 degrees on the cooler side, find the temperature that

3:14works for you, but generally a cooler temperature helps people sleep better.

3:20So those are the most basic conditions for the sleep environment.

3:25Next is your actual sleep equipment, if you will.

3:29Having a good mattress that is neither too firm nor too soft for you.

3:35Everybody has a different preference for different reasons.

3:38That also makes a difference.

3:40One of the things that are worth spending a little more on and definitely spending more

3:45time on researching and trying out is a quality mattress.

3:51I don't recommend just buying a random mattress.

3:53I recommend going to a mattress store, testing the mattresses, take your time to test them,

3:59try them out, see what they feel like, and find the one that works best for you.

4:04It will matter.

4:05You may hold on to a mattress for 10 years, 15 years.

4:09If it gives you good sleep, it is well worth the investment.

4:13That is money well spent.

4:15Same thing with the quality of your pillows.

4:17There's lots of different pillows.

4:19Invest in a good pillow.

4:21Those can make a big difference, not just for sleep quality, but also to help with neck

4:25pain or shoulder pain, you know, or even headaches.

4:30The right kind of pillow can help a lot.

4:32It's also worth investing in.

4:34On these sheets and comforters, you want them to be comfortable.

4:37You want your bed, your beddings, all of it to be comfortable.

4:39The more comfortable it is, it will be conducive to sleep.

4:43It is worth the trouble.

4:45It is worth the investment.

4:48Next thing is the routine.

4:50Trying to go to sleep at the same time and waking up at the same time helps.

4:55It gets your body into a certain rhythm.

4:58It helps you from day to day to try to go to sleep at around the same time.

5:03Your body will do so more easily if it's used to that routine.

5:07It will also then help you wake up at the same time, and you'll feel more refreshed

5:11and more energetic by doing this.

5:14Ideally, you would do a wind down, like a 20-minute wind down at the end of the evening,

5:19kind of just cool down, slow down, slow down your mind, slow down your body, so you can

5:25go to bed calmer and more comfortable.

5:27That helps you fall asleep, again, at that predetermined regular time each day.

5:34It's worth going through the trouble.

5:35It makes a difference.

5:36It really helps.

5:37It really helps.

5:40Now avoiding things like caffeine.

5:42Caffeine can be disruptive to sleep.

5:44If you have sleep issues, ideally you would be on no caffeine, but definitely no more

5:49than a cup a day of coffee or the equivalent in the morning, and then no caffeine for the

5:55rest of the day.

5:56Any evening or afternoon caffeine can be very disruptive to sleep.

6:00Even caffeine at lunch can be disruptive to sleep, so try to keep your caffeine in the

6:04morning.

6:05It works better that way.

6:06Nicotine also, avoid it four hours at least before sleep.

6:10I mean, ideally, you're not consuming any nicotine, but if you're caught with a nicotine

6:14addiction, avoid it for the four hours before sleep because that can disrupt your sleep.

6:20Also, late meals, they're not healthy because it can lead to a lot of reflux, a lot of kind

6:26of acid shooting up in your esophagus.

6:29If you find yourself where it was unavoidable, a late meal, sleeping on your left side can

6:35help mitigate that due to the curvature of the stomach and the esophagus as it goes up.

6:41Mechanically, it'll be a little more forgiving if you're sleeping on your left side if you

6:46had too much to eat and you had a late meal to help kind of mitigate the reflux.

6:50So that is a practice that's well known, that's worth doing.

6:56Also, alcohol.

6:57Alcohol, people sometimes take for sleep, which is a horrible practice.

7:02It might make you sleepy, but it will give you very poor quality sleep.

7:07And the last thing you want to do is to let yourself get dependent on alcohol, let your

7:12sleep state become dependent on alcohol because that is really not good.

7:16That will require professional intervention.

7:18So try to avoid alcohol as much as possible within four hours of sleeping.

7:25Also, exercise.

7:27Exercise, if you do it earlier in the day, can actually help you sleep at night.

7:31It allows you to rest better.

7:33But late exercise right before sleep might stimulate your brain and or your body too

7:38much and it might make it harder to sleep.

7:41So again, exercise, do it earlier in the day, just not too late, and that will actually

7:46help your sleep.

7:47These are the components of sleep hygiene that will help create the optimal conditions

7:52for sleep.

7:54This may be enough to avoid the use of sleep medications, or at the very least, it might

7:58reduce the amount of sleep medication you need to use, or at the very least, it may

8:03help optimize how much and how good sleep you get using whatever medication you have

8:09been prescribed.

8:10I hope you find this helpful.

8:12Please implement this.

8:13I implement these practices myself.

8:16It makes a big difference for me.

8:17Sleep is very important for me.

8:18It's important for everybody, really, for their mental health and their physical health.

8:23So proper sleep hygiene is very important to follow.

8:26I hope you find this helpful.

8:28If you like my content, please like, follow, and subscribe here on Healing Sky.

8:32If you would like to see me as a psychiatrist, you can find me at delraycenter.com.

8:37Please look for my podcast in the fall of 2026.

8:41Thank you.