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Sleep Hygiene Tips
 The promotion of regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. The
following is a list of sleep hygiene tips which can be used to improve sleep.
Also included is a list of special relevance to adolescents, who may
experience sleep difficulties due to circadian rhythm changes
occurring during the teenage years and into young adulthood.
Adults:
- Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each
morning.
- Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment,
which is neither too hot or too cold.
- Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and
not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to
music. Remove all TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” from the bedroom.
- Physical activity may help promote sleep, but not within a few hours
of bedtime.
- Avoid large meals before bedtime.
Adolescents/Young Adults:
- Avoid caffeinated drinks after lunch.
- Avoid bright light in the evening.
- Avoid arousing activities around bedtime (e.g., heavy study, text
messaging, getting into prolonged conversations).
- Expose yourself to bright light upon awakening in the morning.
- While sleeping in on weekends is permissible, it should not be more
than 2–3 hours past your usual wake time, to avoid disrupting your
circadian rhythm governing sleepiness and
wakefulness.
- Avoid pulling an “all-nighter” to study.
Adapted From: Taheri S. The link between short sleep
duration and obesity: We should recommend more sleep to present obesity.
Arch Dis Child 2006;91:881–884.
Page last modified: September 10, 2007
Content source: Division of Adult
and Community Health, National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion |
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