>> Hi everyone, my name is Allison and I'm one
of the nurse practitioners at student health services.
Today I'm going to be talking with you about a set
of practices we call sleep hygiene.
Sleep hygiene is a set of strategies that you can use
to help promote and improve your sleep.
Many people have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or find
that aren't well rested when they wake up in the morning.
Since sleep problems are so common and if this you,
hopefully by the end of this video you'll find new tips
or strategies to help you sleep.
If you're still wanting information
or still having any issues, please reach out to us
at student health services.
Let's begin.
So one of the first things that you can do
to help promote sleep is
to create a comfortable bedroom environment.
This is an environment where your bedding is fresh,
your mattress is comfortable.
You're minimizing noise and light in your bedroom.
And that the temperature is not too hot or not too cold.
While we're on the subject of the bedroom,
another recommendation for sleep is,
to keep your bed solely for sleeping.
The only exception to this is sexual activity.
Otherwise I would encourage you to avoid reading in bed,
watching TV in bed, those states are associated
with an active mind.
And what we want to create and that is a calm mind.
So keep your bed strictly for sleeping.
Another thing that you can do to promote sleep, is to relax.
Create a relaxing ritual before bedtime can help promote sleep
and relaxation.
Some people find that taking a warm shower before they go
to bed, drinking tea, listening to calming music,
meditating can help them get into that relaxing sleep state.
Another thing is, set a bedtime ritual.
Something that you do every night so your body gets use
to those cues that it's time to go to sleep.
Maybe it's that you brush your teeth, take a bath,
then get into bed and meditate, whatever it is
if you do the same thing every night consistently that'll cue
your body to know that it's ready to sleep.
Another helpful thing that you can do to relax,
is actually to get moving during the day, exercise.
We find that people who exercise during the day have a more
restful sleep at night.
So, 30 minutes of that cardio sweating activity,
three to five times a week, mid-afternoon
or early evening can really help you promote sleep.
We do want to mention that if you exercise right before bed,
it's actually counter productive,
your body is too wound up and it will take you a little bit
of time to go to sleep.
So make sure to get that workout in mid-afternoon, early evening.
Another thing that you can do
to promote sleep is sleep only when you're sleepy.
Don't force yourself to go to sleep.
If you can't go to sleep and you've been in bed for 20
or 30 minutes, get out of bed and force yourself
to do something boring.
Like read a section of the paper
that you don't really find interesting or read a manual
on how to set a clock.
Something like that, that is distracting,
you can meditate during this time,
but that just helps us not get frustrated
about not falling asleep.
Another thing that we can do to help sleep is
to establish a fixed awakening time.
Try waking up at the same time everyday in order to get use
to a regular sleep rhythm.
Another helpful tip to promote sleep,
is to avoid certain substances, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.
Caffeine and tobacco are stimulants.
And so those are not helpful we want
to promote relaxation and sleep.
Likewise, alcohol is not helpful, although we think
that it might relax us, it actually interferes
with our sleep later on in the night.
Another tip, one of our last tips is
to get some natural light.
Getting natural light, especially early
in the day can be helpful
for setting your body's natural awake and sleep cycle.
So there you have it, those are just some tips
to get you started to promote sleep.
Like I said, if you have any questions please reach out to us
at student health services, we'd love to help you.
Bye.