You need to sleep. You need to sleep well. You need to sleep well regularly.

You would think this is not something I would need someone to tell me. Turns out it was, and is still, a message I need to hear.

When the worldwide lockdown began, I was two weeks into a 4 week sleep class. I’ve had some “minor” issues sleeping for a couple years now. Still figuring it out though. Trying to do all the right stuff but still not where I need to be.

Here are some things relevant to everyone wanting to have good sleep hygiene:

1. Consistent Sleep and Wake Up Time – We need to set a bedtime for ourselves and a wake up time and stick to them…every day…even on weekends. This gives our bodies consistency and they should learn to stick to them.
2. Nighttime and Morning Rituals – There are things we can do at night to prepare to sleep. Once we create these rituals, they will begin to notify our bodies it is time to relax and go to sleep. In the mornings, it is the same thing. Morning rituals can prepare us for our day and let our body know it is time to wake up and get going.
3. Caffeine and Alcohol – These are not friends to healthy sleep.
4. Devices – It may be nearly impossible to convince you. I know. The evidence is overwhelming. All screens (smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs) are hurting our sleep patterns. We need to be off our devices 1-3 hours before bed. No exceptions.
5. Ambience – Cool temperature, lighting, some people even introduce smells and light music into their sleeping space. One other thing is to make your bedroom where you sleep…not work…not watch TV. It is a place to sleep.
6. Sleep Diary – Tracking is a great way to develop healthy sleep patterns. I don’t like to do ongoing tracking, but doing it for a few weeks helps you see unhealthy patterns. This is the best sleep diary I’ve found.

Here are some things I still need to work on:

1. Exercise – Especially as we are sheltering-in-place, I’m finding I am not getting enough exercise. My body is simply not tired enough to sleep well. So I’m working on more intense exercise and outside activities to help with this.
2. Consistency – Currently, I regularly allow work or entertainment to interrupt my evening ritual. This throws off my evening routine and my bedtime. These are both pretty basic to what all experts say are the keys to healthy sleep.

What do you do to get healthy sleep? Please share below. Thanks.