Simple Habits for Better Sleep and Better Days

Professionals are busy, often working long hours, different shifts, and having busy lives outside of work too. With so much busyness, it can be hard to get good sleep. While the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends adults get at least 7 hours of sleep or more in a 24-hour period, data from the National Health Interview Survey says that more than a quarter of American adults sleep less than 7 hours. Let’s explore why good sleep is important and how busy professionals can help their sleep with habits.

What is Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is often talked about in terms of sleep problems: trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, not getting enough sleep. Sleep health, though, looks at the wellness and performance expressed with healthy sleep. Sleep hygiene refers to the health practices and routines that help you get good sleep, focusing on what goes right to get those good 7 or more hours of necessary rest.

Why Sleep Matters for Busy Professionals

While sleeping, the body repairs damaged tissues, builds muscle, and heals injuries. The immune system cleans toxins from the day and regulates inflammation. The brain sorts through memories and flushes out waste built up in the day. This restoration and repair work helps with feelings of being refreshed and energized and creates a brain more equipped to manage stress, making it easier to show up in all areas of your life, even when feeling busy.

Why Sleep Matters for Us at Work

Losing sleep impairs the body’s ability to do all that restoration work, impacting the ability to function. With less than 7 hours of sleep, people are less alert and have slower reactions, leading to more workplace accidents or mistakes. Irritability, anxiety, and depression rise when the body cannot rest. A body continuously deprived of sleep leads quickly to burnout.

What are Healthy Sleep Hygiene Habits?

Let’s take a look at some healthy sleep habits that can help you get good sleep to show up creatively, alertly, and resiliently in a professional setting.

Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Your body is on a circadian rhythm, a clock that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. Keeping to a consistent sleep schedule (i.e., going to bed at around the same time each night and waking up around the same time each morning), ensures that this cycle isn’t disturbed. Operating on your circadian rhythm mitigates metabolic and mental health risks.

Create a Wind-Down Routine

Getting from waking to sleep can be hard. Creating a wind-down routine that lowers your heart rate and calms your busy mind signals to your body that it is time to rest. Dim the lights and try reading a book, taking a warm breath, doing light stretches, or practicing deep breathing.

Limit Screen Time Before Bed

Your circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle, is closely related to your body’s hormones. The blue light that comes from phones, TVs, and other screens suppresses the sleep hormone, melatonin. Stimulating content can also keep your brain alert. Turing off all screens before bed helps your body recognize that it is time for sleep.

Make Your Bedroom Sleep-Friendly

Adjusting the temperature, noise levels, bedding, and overall space in your bedroom can help with good sleep. Keep your room temperature set between 60° and 67° as this helps keep your body cool for deep sleep. Having soft rugs, fans, or noise machines can help cover up outside sounds that might pull you out of deep sleep. Maintaining a tidy room helps to stop anxious thoughts. Use your bed for rest only. Keep work items off the bed, teaching your brain that this space is safe and peaceful.

Watch Late-Day Stimulants

Be mindful of caffeine intake as you progress through the day. Stimulants later in the day can affect your body’s ability to fall or stay asleep.

Better Sleep, Better Well-Being

Sleep hygiene, like any habits, take time to build. Start small and give yourself grace.

If you have the Uprise Health app, check out our self-guided courses on Better Sleep like “Sleep Basics,” “Sleep and Relaxation,” and “Mindfulness for Sleep.”