Sleep Hygiene Handout

How to Improve Sleep Hygiene

• Keep a consistent sleep-wake schedule: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including on weekends, to stabilize your body's internal clock.
• Cut caffeine in the afternoon and evening: Avoid caffeine, especially from mid-afternoon onward, since it can remain in the body for hours and interfere with sleep onset.
• Limit alcohol: Alcohol may feel sedating initially but disrupts sleep architecture later in the night, leading to lighter, more fragmented sleep.
• Avoid daytime naps if they worsen your nighttime sleep: If napping is reducing your natural sleep drive at night, skip it or limit it to a short nap earlier in the day.
• Reserve the bedroom for sleep only: Avoid working or using screens in bed, so your brain associates the bedroom specifically with sleep rather than wakeful activity.
• Get out of bed if you can't sleep after about 20 minutes: Lying awake and frustrated reinforces the bed as a place of wakefulness. Get up, do something calming in dim light, and return when sleepy.
• Get daytime physical activity and natural light: Regular exercise and morning light exposure help reinforce a healthy circadian rhythm and strengthen nighttime sleep drive.
• Wind down before bed: Keep a calming pre-sleep routine and avoid bright screens in the hour before bed, since blue light can delay the body's natural melatonin release.