The term “sleep hygiene” is still a bit of a strange one to a lot of us, but if you’ve been having trouble sleeping recently, then it’s something you might want to get familiar with. Fundamentally, sleep hygiene refers to the practices and habits that are essential to having a good night’s sleep. Whether it’s setting up your room for sleep success or simply minimising the number of naps you take, we’ll be covering it all in this little guide.

Avoid caffeine in the evening

If you’re an avid coffee drinker, you’ll know that caffeine is a stimulant that stops you feeling sleepy. To ensure that these effects don’t interfere with your bedtime routine, you should aim to stop drinking caffeine around 4-6 hours before you want to go to sleep. Of course, these are just guidelines; some people may be able to nod off straight after an espresso, others might feel restless 12 hours later. With this in mind, it’s important to work out exactly when you should cut coffee out for yourself.

Limit naps

Ideally, if you were really trying to improve your sleep hygiene, you would eliminate naps completely. However, if you really do insist on a post-work nap, make sure that it’s 30 minutes or less. This should help you feel more alert when you are awake, but also not interfere with your ability to sleep at bedtime.

Exercise

Daily exercise is fantastic for helping you sleep. In fact, as little as ten minutes of exercise can help improve sleep quality. However, if you are going to do some exercise, we would recommend keeping it to either the morning or afternoon. Evening exercise can end up making you feel more awake when it’s time to nod off.

Guiding your sleep/wake cycle

One of the most important things that you need throughout the day to ensure a good night’s sleep is natural light. Natural light and darkness informs our sleep/wake cycle, ensuring that we feel tired at the right times. 

Of course, the problem with this is that our modern lifestyles require us to be inside a lot, and too much natural light can create glare on our computer screens. To combat this, we would recommend purchasing a set of Venetian blinds for your office/living room. The ability to tilt the slats to the desired level allows you to have full control over how much light enters the room, helping you find the right balance to promote healthy sleep.

Setting up your room for success

• Mattress and pillows: finding the right mattress and pillow to suit your personal needs is extremely important. Whether you want something soft and comfy or firm and supportive is entirely up to you.

• Temperature: Ideally, for sleep, you want your room to be cool but not cold. Being too hot can make for an uncomfortable sleep, so leave your window open for a bit in the summer if you need to.

• White noise: If you want to drown out any outside noise, or any frustrating nighttime thoughts, try white noise. Whether you use a fan or an app, this will help you introduce a consistent, calming noise that will help you drift off to sleep.

• Blackout blinds: while natural light is important during the day, it’s important to minimise light when you’re trying to nod off. That’s where blackout blinds come in. Fitted with a special lining, blackout blinds help keep your room completely dark – the perfect setting for a good night’s sleep.

If you’re looking for high-quality blackout blinds to help you catch a good night’s sleep, turn to Fraser James Blinds. We’ve been supplying and installing roller blinds, vertical and Roman blackout blinds to customers throughout Leicester, Coventry, and Northampton for years, so you can rest assured that you’re in safe hands with us. For more information about the different fabrics we use, or if you would like to arrange a no-obligation home visit, get in touch today.