by Masina Wright and Stephen Drapeau RPh, JD
he Greek Goddess Hygeia was
the Goddess of Good Health. Tus her name has be- come synonymous with preventative medicine prac- tices to improve the quality of life. Sleep hygiene refers to the common sense and environmental aspects that contrib- ute towards a good night sleep, and are oſten considered cornerstones of sleep medicine. Doing your best
to create a restful environment and a bedtime routine can improve the quality and duration of sleep. A restful environment includes the following:
• A darkened room. Te room does not need to be pitch black if that is uncomfortable for you, but ide- ally the windows should have shades to allow for early morning sleep. All red, blue and green lights must be covered up or out of direct eyesight from the bed. Sleeping in darkness allows the production of melato- nin, a key hormone to regulate sleep production. Try an eye mask if you cannot regulate your light easily such as in a hotel or guest bed. • A comfortable temperature. It is common to be woken up when a room becomes too hot. Most people sleep sounder in a cool sleeping temperature, with fresh air if possible.
14 Essential Living Maine
• Be comfortable. Update your pillows, bedding and mattress if needed. • Quiet. Wear ear- plugs if you live in a loud neighborhood, or have early morn- ing buses or trucks that may wake you up. Light sleepers are oſten disrupted by slight noises, interfer- ing with much needed REM hours.
Anyone who has children knows that a bedtime routine sig- nals it is time to wind down from the day. As adults, we are not as
different as we think from our inner 3 year-olds. With all that we do in a day, having a routine that signals “rest” (or to be technical, activates the parasympathetic nervous system) can be a key factor in settling down to real sleep. Some examples of bedtime routine include:
• a bath or shower • lighting candles in the bedroom while you undress and get ready for bed • a cup of tea with herbs to improve sleep • relaxing music • read a book or magazine • a meditation
Te National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recently an- nounced newly developed, age-specific recommended sleep durations based on a systematic review of the
July/August 2016
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