Simple isn’t my strong suit when it comes to sleep hygiene. I have a day-long sleep hygiene routine. I have some parasomnias which I need to manage in order to get a good sleep, and I need to get good sleep in order to keep myself out of mental health crisis!!
Cardio.
At least 20 minutes. Absolute must for me. Almost any time of day (so it’s usually morning). Reality is the periods of life I’ve had the best sleep are the times when I’ve had the most physically demanding daily habits. When I’m struggling most, I make sure I’m doing long runs. Even just a brisk 20 minute walk, though, pays off for me in better quality sleep that night. Overall it’s time-saved when I add up hours lost to insomnia.
Yoga. 15 minutes is enough for me most days. I use the Downward Dog app so I can control how physically demanding I want it to be on any given day, and I can do it anywhere. If I’m in a particularly bad space at night, I’ve been known to get out of bed in the wee hours, do 15 minutes of yoga on the floor, then go back to bed.
Good nutrition at steady intervals. Definitely my sleep is even
worse when I haven’t paid attention to the quality of my food, or whether I’ve downloaded at least 3 square ‘meals’ (a meal-replacement shake for at least 1 of those is fine). I avoid alcohol and limit caffeine (in time and quantity). There’s no massive sugar hits because that messes me up big time, especially my sleep. Slow-burning carbs at some point, and I drink 2-3 litres of water across the day. The nutrition is often my hidden gremlin when I find myself wondering “why is my sleep so shit right now!?”
Long shower before bed. I sleep better when I go to bed feeling and smelling clean and fresh. When I’m carrying a lot of tension, I make a point of making it hot as I can, and spending some time just having the hot water hitting the back of my neck and shoulders.
Reading. Last activity of the day when I’m curled up in bed. Helps me switch my brain off when I ultimately hit the hay. Sometimes that’s a 2 minute job, sometimes it’s over an hour. I read whatever I can disappear into. Sometimes that’s horror, sometimes it’s really light and fluffy, sometimes it’s textbooks! Nights when I’ve tried everything and still can’t sleep, I just lie there and read. At least I’m resting and not lying there stressing. I suspect that audiobooks would do the trick, but I’ve not converted - still go old-school.
White noise. My personal go-to for good sleep is sound involving water - lakes rather than rivers or waves, but any of them will do. I’d say that everyone will have their own strong personal preferences with this one based on past experience and learned sensory associations.
Guided relaxation. Originally a massive trigger (due to the similarities with being hypnotised). But so glad I worked through that. A good guided relaxation can work miracles for me. I try and don’t one every night, because it’s a good time to tick off breath-work, which done routinely, tends to pay off for me long-term. But I’ll add a longer one after I switch off the e-reader if reading hasn’t done the trick.
I’m pretty anal about some environmental stuff. I’m the demon that will swap pillows with people in hospital, or fold up a few towels for under the pillow if it’s not the right height. I have no qualms about people thinking my place is the local meth kitchen because of the kitchen foil blocking out the windows. I make my bed when I get up in the morning (there
is research backing that one!!). I like moving air, so overhead fans are usually on, even of it’s low speed during winter. I never eat in bed (smell - can’t deal with the scent of food where I sleep) and I make sure the linen is washed regularly for the same reason.
So…yeah, I don’t not exactly keep it simple
I think over the years I’ve just gotten so sick of shitty sleep that it’s potentially become an unhealthy obsession. But my sleep hygiene approach is about physicality during the day (what I’m doing with my body, and putting into my body), dealing with my headspace in the time
just prior to sleep, and taking care of the sensory experience that is my sleep-space.
