What is sleep hygiene?
“Sleep hygiene” refers to the daily habits and environmental conditions that support healthy, restorative sleep. The choices you make throughout the day — and especially in the hours before bed — can significantly affect how easily you fall asleep, how deeply you sleep, and how rested you feel the next day. Good sleep hygiene is about understanding these factors and adjusting them in your favor.
Why sleep matters
Sleep is essential for both physical and mental health. Quality sleep:
- Supports memory consolidation and learning
- Strengthens the immune system
- Helps regulate mood, anxiety, and emotional resilience
- Allows the body to repair tissues and balance hormones
- Reduces long-term risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity
Insufficient sleep is associated with irritability, poor concentration, increased anxiety and depression, and relationship strain. Both the length and the quality of sleep matter — fragmented or shallow sleep doesn’t provide the same restorative benefit as continuous deep sleep.
How much sleep do you need?
Recommended sleep duration varies by age. The chart below reflects general guidelines from the National Sleep Foundation. Your provider can help you determine what is right for you.
| Age Group | Hours Per Day |
|---|---|
| Newborns (0–3 months) | 14–17 hours |
| Infants (4–11 months) | 12–15 hours |
| Toddlers (1–2 years) | 11–14 hours |
| Preschoolers (3–5 years) | 10–13 hours |
| School-age (6–13 years) | 9–11 hours |
| Teens (14–17 years) | 8–10 hours |
| Adults (18–64 years) | 7–9 hours |
| Older adults (65+ years) | 7–8 hours |
Core Sleep Hygiene Recommendations
1. Keep a consistent sleep schedule
- Go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time every day, including weekends (within about 20–30 minutes).
- Even after a poor night, get up at your usual time. Sleeping in weakens your “sleep drive” and makes the next night harder.
- Set a bedtime that allows for 7–9 hours of sleep.
2. Build a calming pre-bedtime routine
- Spend 30–60 minutes before bed winding down with relaxing activities: reading, a warm bath or shower, gentle stretching, meditation, or a breathing exercise.
- Dim the lights in the hour before bed to support natural melatonin release.
- A predictable routine signals to your brain that sleep is coming.
3. Optimize your bedroom environment
- Keep the room cool — around 65°F (18°C) is ideal for most people.
- Make the room as dark as possible. Use blackout curtains or an eye mask if needed.
- Minimize noise. A fan or white noise machine can help mask disruptive sounds.
- Make sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable and supportive.
- Keep pets out of the bedroom if they wake you up.
4. Use light to your advantage
- Get exposure to natural daylight, especially in the morning. This anchors your circadian rhythm.
- In the evening, dim indoor lighting and limit bright light exposure.
- Limit screens (phones, tablets, computers, TVs) for at least 1 hour before bed — ideally 2 hours. Blue light suppresses melatonin and the content itself can be mentally activating.
- Evidence that blue-light–blocking glasses meaningfully improve sleep is limited.
5. Pay attention to what you eat and drink
- Caffeine: Limit caffeine to the morning hours. Try to avoid coffee, tea, energy drinks, soda, and even chocolate after noon. Caffeine can take 5–7 hours to clear from your system.
- Alcohol: Avoid alcohol in the late afternoon and evening. Although it may help you fall asleep faster, alcohol disrupts sleep architecture and leads to lighter, more fragmented sleep later in the night.
- Nicotine: Avoid smoking or vaping near bedtime and during the night. Nicotine is a stimulant that makes it harder to fall and stay asleep.
- Meals: Try not to eat a large meal within 2–3 hours of bedtime. Heavy, spicy, fatty, or acidic foods can cause reflux or indigestion. Don’t go to bed overly hungry either.
- Fluids: Limit fluids in the hour or two before bed to reduce nighttime bathroom trips.
6. Move your body during the day
- Regular physical activity supports better sleep — but the benefits often build gradually over weeks.
- Aim to finish vigorous exercise at least 3–4 hours before bedtime. Heavy exercise too close to bed can be activating.
- Time outdoors and gentle daytime movement (walking, yoga) can help, too.
7. Reserve your bed for sleep
- Avoid using your bed for working, scrolling on your phone, watching TV, eating, or extended conversations. It can be helpful to not have a phone or TV at all in your bedroom.
- Reserving your bed for sleep trains your brain to associate the bed with sleep, not wakeful activity — a behavioral technique called stimulus control.
8. If you can’t sleep, get out of bed
- If you’ve been in bed for about 20 minutes and you’re still awake (or you wake up and can’t return to sleep), get up and go to another room.
- Do something quiet and relaxing in dim light — read a paper book, listen to calming music, or practice a relaxation exercise. Avoid screens.
- Return to bed when you feel sleepy. Repeat as many times as needed.
- Maintain your usual wake-up time the next morning, regardless of how the night went. This protects your long-term sleep drive.
9. Don’t watch the clock
- Checking the time during the night tends to increase anxiety and makes it harder to fall back asleep.
- Turn alarm clocks away from view, and keep your phone or watch out of reach (or in a different room).
10. Limit daytime naps
- If you’re struggling with nighttime sleep, it’s usually best to avoid naps altogether.
- If you do nap, keep it short (about 20 minutes) and avoid napping in the late afternoon.
11. Manage stress and worry
- Address daily concerns earlier in the evening rather than at bedtime.
- Keep a notebook by your bed to “park” worries or to-do items for the next day.
- Practice relaxation techniques: diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, or guided imagery. Ask your provider if you desire more information on these.
- Try not to dwell on sleep during the day, and avoid “trying hard” to sleep at night — effort tends to backfire and increase arousal.
When to talk to your provider
Almost everyone has occasional poor nights. But please reach out if any of the following are happening regularly:
- Trouble falling asleep most nights
- Waking frequently and unable to return to sleep
- Loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in breathing during sleep
- Persistent daytime fatigue or sleepiness despite adequate time in bed
- Trouble concentrating, low mood, or irritability that may be sleep-related
- Sleep problems lasting more than 3–4 weeks
Persistent insomnia is highly treatable. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is the first-line, evidence-based treatment recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians, and it is effective for most people.
The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or the individualized advice of your physician or another qualified health provider, and reading it does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always talk with your own provider about your health, and never disregard or delay seeking professional advice because of something you read here. If you are experiencing a medical or mental health emergency, call 911, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), or go to your nearest emergency room.