A sufficient sleep is one that lasts long enough to feel it (defined in Mayo Clinic). In the US National Sleep Foundation study (2000), 65% of respondents declared that sleeping did not meet these criteria, and 50% complained of poor performance and creativity at work due to sleepiness. All these changes in overall quality and total sleep time in society are probably the result of socio-economic development – the pursuit of professional success, the priority treatment of work and the imbalance between work time and private time. Sleep deprivation is a price that many people pay for these changes because they think it is a small part of life. The effects of this price, often serious, are felt much later when it may be too late. Meanwhile, adequate sleep improves learning and problem solving. “Sleep is for the weak” this trend is slowly losing its importance, but it is still a very slight change. To achieve a balance between sleep and other spheres of life, you need to find out what is the appropriate sleep hygiene and what affects its quality. Knowledge about the hygiene of sleep turns into sleep practice, and thus improves the quality of sleep.
Sleep hygiene can be disturbed by two factors:
– irregular sleep and wakefulness schedule,
– disturbing sleep behavior and environment.
The following issues should be taken care of in order to maintain proper sleep hygiene:
1. A comfortable physical environment in which a person sleeps (bed, mattress, pillow, adequate bedding, bedroom – properly illuminated, optimal room temperature);
2. We do not do any important work before bedtime (payment of bills, learning, etc.);
3. We limit the stimulation of activity just before bedtime (e.g. playing video games or surfing the Internet);
4. We do not use substances such as tobacco, alcohol or caffeine within 4 hours before sleeping;
5. We do not plan anything in bed;
6. We do not eat in bed;
7. We do not do tiring exercises within 1 hour before going to sleep;
8. We are not stressed out, furious, upset.
It is worth taking these few points regarding sleep hygiene to heart and try to implement them. This way we increase our effectiveness and give a good example to children that sleep is important at every stage of human life.