The Importance Of Sleeping Well And How Good Sleep Hygiene Could Help

We all know at least one person who's always perky and upbeat no matter what’s going on in the day. These people are likely to be more positive, productive, efficient and enthusiastic. They'll also probably deal with stress and challenges better. If you've ever wondered why we have the answer - sleep hygiene.
The importance of sleeping well cannot be ignored, and having good sleep hygiene is a huge part of that. But what exactly is sleep hygiene and how does it affect how well you sleep? In this post, we'll explain everything you need to know about the importance of sleeping well and how you can ensure you do just that.

The Importance of Sleeping Well
Sleep plays a huge role in making you feel good. We all know that it can help to boost your mood and reduce the appearance of dark circles under our eyes. But we often undermine just how vital a good night's sleep is. The importance of sleeping well goes far beyond just improving your mood or appearance, it can also benefit the health of your heart and brain. It even helps you maintain a healthy weight!
Whilst many people have, in the past, thought little of the great health benefits of a good night's sleep, more and more people are now starting to pay attention. These are the people who sleep well and you can be sure that these are the people who have a positive outlook on life and face challenges and stress with more effectiveness. These people will be practising good sleep hygiene.

The Key Benefits of Sleeping Well
Sleeping well has numerous benefits, but some of the biggest include:
- Giving your mind time to rest, which will help to improve your memory.
- Increased lifespan thanks to more time for your body to heal and fight illness.
- Improved quality of life as you'll have more energy to do the things you love.
- Reduce internal inflammation which lowers your risk of heart disease, strokes, arthritis, and diabetes.
- Spur on your creativity as your brain has plenty of time to revitalise and restructure your thoughts.
- Improved physical performance thanks to more energy.
- Better grades and mental performance thanks to sharper attention and ability to retain information.
- Maintain a healthy weight as it reduces snacking and controls appetite.
- Reduced stress levels.
- Improve your mood and reduce the risk of depression.

What is Sleep Hygiene?
Most of us understand what it means to have good dental or personal hygiene, but many are still unsure what good sleep hygiene really is. Put simply, sleep hygiene is a series of routine, rituals or habits you do each day in order to get a great night's sleep.

Why is Sleep Hygiene Important?
Now that you understand the importance of sleeping well and know a little bit more about what sleep hygiene is, it's time to look at what makes it so important. When you're asleep, your mind and body are extremely busy replenishing cells, restoring energy and rebuilding tissues which have been damaged or have simply worn out over the course of time. Without proper sleep, your body won't have enough energy to achieve all these goals, which will leave you unable to get through a full working day.
And as we know, a good night's sleep will also help to reduce your risk of a number of illnesses and diseases whilst also keeping your mood up and reducing the risk of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.

We all have what's known as an internal biological clock and this helps to regulate how your body functions over a 24-hour period. This is known as your circadian rhythm and tell your body when it's time to sleep or wake. If your rhythm is out of sync you may find you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or even staying awake. This can lead to insomnia and other sleep disorders or health problems.

Practising good sleep hygiene can help to tackle these issues and keep your circadian rhythm in sync.

How Do You Practice Good Sleep Hygiene?
Practising good sleep hygiene is easy and doesn't take much to get yourself into a positive routine. Here are just a few tips to help you get going.

1. Know How Much Sleep You Need
On average you should be getting seven to nine hours sleep a night, but everyone will differ slightly. Try experimenting and seeing how you feel after sleeping for different lengths of time. Once you know how much sleep you need to feel at your best, try to aim for those hours of sleep each night. 

2. Go To Bed And Get Up At The Same Time Every Night
Once you've worked out how many hours of sleep you need each night, make sure you keep those hours between the same time each day. Sleeping and waking at the same time every day, even on weekends, will help to regulate your circadian rhythm and help your sleep more naturally.

3. The Right Environment
To get the best night's sleep, you need the right environment. Remove any bright lights from your bedroom and try to reduce the level of noise in your room (or house if you can) to really improve your chances of getting enough, good quality sleep. You should also try to balance the temperature in your room. Ideally, aim to keep your room at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

4. Use The Right Mattress
Having the right mattress is crucial. You need a mattress that supports your body and distributes weight evenly so that you're not disturbed by the movement of your partner during the night. The Sonno mattress does exactly that. Plus with its breathability and temperature control it helps to create an ideal, clean and healthy sleeping environment.

To order your Sonno mattress of a 100 night’s free trial and see if it helps to improve your sleep hygiene and sleep quality, visit our website.