Q&A: Experts offer tips for good sleep hygiene
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- Reading a book avoiding screen time and going to bed at the same time each night can improve sleep.
- A physician may need to be consulted if changes are made and there is no improvement in sleep quality.
Research supports an association between sleep and brain health, and suggests that people who have consistent difficulty initiating and staying asleep may be negatively impacted.
Recent findings reported at SLEEP 2023 showed that daytime sleepiness was linked to worse sleep-dependent memory consolidation in women. However, there’s also evidence of how better sleep hygiene — an important part of treating sleep disorders like insomnia — can positively impact several facets of people’s lives.
Findings from a survey study showed that “night owls,” people who spend more time awake at night, had increased risk for recent suicidal ideation, but more time awake in the morning reduced this risk. Research published in Pediatrics reported that teenagers can improve their sleep duration with an earlier bedtime. In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, was linked to changes in cognitive performance and white matter integrity over time, but suggested that timely intervention could help preserve brain health.
To get some tips on improving sleep habits and learn more about sleep hygiene from both a pediatric and neurology perspective, Healio spoke with Nilong Vyas, MD, a pediatrician, sleep consultant for Sleepless in NOLA and medical review expert at the Sleep Foundation, and Douglas Kirsch, MD, FAAN, FAASM, medical director of sleep medicine at Atrium Health and clinical professor in the department of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Healio: What’s the connection between the brain and sleep?
Vyas: The brain regulates sleep-wake cycles by managing the secretion and inhibition of a variety of chemicals and hormones to promote sleep and wakefulness.
Kirsch: The brain houses all the sleep neuronal circuitry and broadly dictates the timing of sleep. When we get insufficient quality or amount of sleep, it impacts brain function: we feel tired or sleepy, our mood frays, and our concentration is poor. Chronically insufficient sleep appears to lead to worse health, including increased risk of heart disease.
Healio: What would you say are ideal sleep conditions?
Vyas: The ideal sleep conditions include a room which is cool and dark with bedding that is comfortable and conducive to sleep.
Kirsch: Quiet, very dark, comfortable and cool.
Healio: What advice do you give patients who have trouble sleeping?
Vyas: If you are experiencing difficulty with initiating sleep or staying asleep, take a look at your sleep hygiene practices to ascertain if there is room for improvement there, for example, reading a book instead of an electronic device before bed, getting to bed at the same time every night, ensuring adequate sleep conditions are present, etc.
Kirsch: There are broad recommendations that apply to everyone, what is commonly referred to as good sleep habits or sleep hygiene. Part of the meeting with a sleep clinician is to review your sleep habits, sleep schedule and sleep environment to ensure that they are appropriate. One of the most common issues when people have difficulty sleeping is sleep time consistency: going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time every day with a goal of 7 to 8 hours (that includes weekends too!). Another problem is that people often are using devices (TV, computers, tablets, phone) late into the night, getting light in their eyes when they should ideally be in the dark. Napping is another challenging area; long naps late in the day or dozing watching TV in the evening can be very disruptive to obtaining good sleep at nighttime.
Healio: What do you say to patients about smartphone use?
Vyas: Eliminate smartphone use at least an hour before bedtime and avoid using it in bed.
Kirsch: Our bodies are very sensitive to light. When researchers took volunteers to a rural mountain area, away from electric lights, the research subjects’ body clocks shifted quickly, going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. Using light-emitting devices when the sun is down tells our bodies that it’s not time to go to bed yet. Ideally, I recommend to my patients to space their device use timing away from bedtime (at least an hour) and try to make the house/room dimmer (less light) in the evenings to help them get ready for sleep.
Healio: Does sleep hygiene looks different for men vs. women?
Vyas: Sleep hygiene can look the same for men, women and children, which includes doing the same thing every night so the body knows it is time for sleep, including getting into comfortable pjs, offloading the events of the day, reading a book and going to sleep.
Kirsch: Broadly, the recommended sleep habits are not different between men and women. Of course, fixing someone’s sleep can be very person-specific; what works for one person may not work for another. Women have several instances where their bodies change (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause) that men do not have; in some of those circumstances, sleep is impacted and there may be specific recommendations to help improve sleep.
Healio: Any last sleep hygiene tips?
Vyas: Many people will see a significant improvement in sleep initiation and duration by simply addressing sleep hygiene. If adjustments to the bedtime routine are unsuccessful in improving sleep patterns, consider seeking advice from a physician and if no medical causes are identified for poor sleep, a sleep coach may be a valuable resource.
Kirsch: Keep your eyes off the clock during the night. Knowing when you wake up at nighttime is not helpful and tends to increase stress. Set the alarm (at the same time every day) and then cover up your phone/clock.