Sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically (or mentally) too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol (as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants) in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.

Assessment of sleep hygiene includes a clinical interview and self-report questionnaires and sleep diaries, which are typically kept from one to two weeks, to record a representative sample data. There are also computerized assessments such as the Sleep-EVAL system, which can be employed in the diagnostic process. It features 1,543 possible questions automatically selected according to the individual's previous answers.

Practice of sleep hygiene and knowledge of sleep hygiene practices can be assessed with measures such as the Sleep Hygiene Index, Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale, or the Sleep Hygiene Self-Test. For younger individuals, sleep hygiene can be assessed by the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale, the Children's Sleep Hygiene Scale, or Tayside children's sleep questionnaire.

Clinicians choose among recommendations for improving sleep quality for each individual.

Awakening around the same time every morning and keeping a regular sleep schedule tends to improve sleep.

Getting 7–8 hours of sleep can prevent various physical and mental health deficits, and therefore a top sleep hygiene recommendation is allowing enough time for sleep. Clinicians will frequently advise that these hours of sleep be obtained at night instead of through napping, because while naps can be helpful after sleep deprivation, in the longterm naps may be detrimental to nighttime sleep. Negative effects of napping on sleep and performance have been found to depend on duration and timing, with shorter midday naps being the least disruptive.

Exercise is an activity that can facilitate or inhibit sleep quality; people who exercise experience better quality of sleep than those who do not, but exercising too late in the day can be activating and delay falling asleep. Increasing exposure to bright and natural light during the daytime and avoiding bright light in the hours before bedtime may help promote a sleep-wake schedule aligned with nature's daily light-dark cycle.

Activities that reduce physiological arousal and cognitive activity promote falling asleep, so engaging in relaxing activities before bedtime is recommended. Conversely, continuing important work activities or planning shortly before bedtime or once in bed has been shown to delay falling asleep. Similarly, good sleep hygiene involves minimizing time spent thinking about worries or anything emotionally upsetting shortly before bedtime. Trying purposefully to fall asleep may induce frustration that further prevents falling asleep, so in such situations a person may be advised to get out of bed and try something else for a brief amount of time.