A common issue that comes up in therapy is whether or not someone has good sleep hygiene. It’s not unusual to trace anxious or depressive symptoms back to irregular sleep patterns or simply not getting enough rest.
Many times, it’s a matter of too much screen time and scrolling before bed. Other times, it’s relying on an edible to help with sleep, only to wake up groggy and unrefreshed.
Often, it comes down to not having a routine at all, making our sleep quality vulnerable to the everyday stressors that pile up.
To make things more difficult, we live in a society that fosters a culture around success, where busyness is often equated with worth. In that context, rest and relaxation are undervalued or misunderstood, and our perceptions of both can dramatically affect the quality of our sleep.
The Benefits of Adequate Sleep
According to the CDC, sleep is essential for both our physical and mental health. The amount of sleep recommended daily changes by age, with adults needing 7 or more hours per night. Getting enough sleep has many health benefits such as a reduction in sickness, stress, chronic conditions and an improvement in metabolism, mood, heart health, attention and memory (CDC, 2024). Studies have shown that otherwise healthy people who have sleep deprivation have a substantially increased risk for anxiety and depressive disorders (Columbia Psychiatry, 2022). In turn, anxiety, depression and stress (even about getting enough sleep itself!) can drastically impair sleep quality, continuing a cycle that can be hard to break.
What Is Sleep Hygiene?
Sleep hygiene refers to the environment and habits that support healthy, quality sleep. While it’s important to make intentional choices to set ourselves up for rest, that’s often easier said than done. If our culture encourages the idea that busyness equals value, and wearing stress is a badge of success, then building routines that prioritize balance can be difficult.
While society is becoming more open to conversations around mental health, struggles like anxiety and depression are still often minimized, ignored, or compartmentalized—leaving them under-addressed in daily life. This is compounded by our intersectional identities. Factors like culture, race, gender, and socioeconomic background shape how we access rest. Many systems,such as school or work, fail to prioritize physical and mental health.
Busyness can be mistaken for status, and rest may feel like laziness or failure. So when balance is hard to come by (especially for new parents, people working multiple jobs, or single caregivers), sleep hygiene often takes a back seat, especially when mental health is already under strain.
How Your Thoughts and Beliefs Impact Sleep
So how can we challenge the thoughts and behaviors that keep us from prioritizing quality sleep?
A good starting point is to reframe how we think about self-care. Ask yourself: Where do my beliefs about rest come from? Do I associate self-worth with productivity? What does rest mean to me? Is sleep just something that happens when the day is over—or do I see it as fuel that allows me to live more fully and intentionally?
It might also be helpful to reflect on your values. Try keeping a thought record to examine how your thoughts influence your emotions and behaviors. Daily affirmations or mindfulness practices can also help you slow down and begin to place value on rest and self-prioritization.
How Nutrition Affects Sleep Quality
Sleep hygiene is influenced by multiple factors, commonly falling into the categories of nutrition, environment, and behavior (Staff, 2022).
Let’s start with nutrition. Diet plays a significant role in sleep quality. Diets that are low in fiber or high in saturated fat and sugar have been associated with poorer sleep. At the same time, diets lacking essential nutrients like healthy fats, carbohydrates, or protein can also negatively impact rest. Eating inflammatory foods like dairy, added sugar, or gluten may disrupt sleep cycles for some people.
On the flip side, foods rich in the amino acid tryptophan (like turkey!) promote relaxation and can support healthy sleep (Summer & Summer, 2024).
While stimulants like caffeine are known to interfere with falling asleep, depressants like alcohol may also reduce sleep quality by disrupting sleep cycles: reducing REM sleep, increasing deep sleep (N3), and leading to more time in lighter sleep stages like N1 (Bryan & Bryan, 2024).
This matters because REM sleep benefits learning, mood regulation, immune function, and even protects against cognitive decline (Levine, 2024). When we reduce REM sleep, our mood, memory, and overall health may suffer.
Creating a Sleep-Friendly Environment
How we set up our environment plays a pivotal role in our sleep hygiene.
How loud is your sleeping space? Is the space too warm, too cold, or too humid? Are you a light sleeper and share space with someone who snores or moves around while sleeping? What types of light have you been exposed to prior to bedtime?
The quality of light exposure can affect your circadian rhythm, your internal clock that oversees your sleep-wake cycle. If you are not getting enough natural light, particularly in the morning, your circadian rhythm can be delayed, suppressing melatonin (the hormone that regulates your circadian rhythm) production which can lead to difficulty falling asleep later. If you are exposing yourself to artificial lights, particularly blue lights that come from screens, prior to bedtime then you are likely to struggle to fall asleep due to a reduction in melatonin and the light tricking your brain into thinking that you need to stay up longer than you do.
Daily Habits That Support Better Sleep
Our daily behaviors play an enormous role in sleep quality.
Exercise, for example, can improve mood and increase the amount of deep sleep we get. But because it releases endorphins and raises core body temperature, exercising too close to bedtime can actually delay sleep. That’s why it’s best to work out at least 1–2 hours before bed (Hopkins Medicine, 2024).
Napping during the day can also confuse your circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep at night.
In the end, a consistent sleep routine is key. When your brain and body know when to expect rest, it’s easier to unwind and stay asleep through the night. Staying up late to work or game may feel productive or fun in the moment, but it can confuse your internal clock and lead to restless or incomplete sleep.
When stress, stimulation, or even internalized pressure to “do more” dominates your evening, it becomes that much harder to achieve deep, restorative rest.
15 Therapist-Recommended Ways to Improve Sleep Hygiene
Here are 15 strategies to prioritize for better sleep:
- Enforce a regular bedtime to stabilize circadian rhythms
- Avoid eating inflammatory foods before bed (or any big meals!)
- Exercise earlier in the day and no later than 1-2 hours prior to bed
- Minimize screen time 1-2 hours before bed
- Maximize exposure to natural light during the day (or use a therapy lamp if natural light is not as accessible!)
- Be mindful of when you are consuming caffeine (not around bedtime!) and how much
- Limit drinking any fluids to at least 2 hours before bed
- Create boundaries around how you spend time in your bed such as designating tv and work time to another room.
- Skip napping during the day
- Develop a relaxing sleeptime routine such as: taking a relaxing bath/shower; stretch, do yoga, or meditate; listen to soothing music; or read a book.
- Adjust the temperature in your room to optimize sleep
- Invest in a comfortable mattress, pillows, and bed linens
- Consider earplugs or a sound machine, particularly if you are in a noisy environment.
- Put up blackout curtains or wear an eye mask, particularly if your room gets flooded with too much light
- Challenge automatic thoughts that equate busyness with self worth
At Wildflower Center for Emotional Health, our therapists can support you in understanding the deeper patterns affecting your rest and well-being. If you’re ready to feel more balanced, grounded, and restored, we’re here to help. Reach out to learn more!
References
Bellezza, S., Paharia, N., & Keinan, A. (2017). Conspicuous consumption of time: when busyness and lack of leisure time become a status symbol. In Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw076
Bryan, L., & Bryan, L. (2024, May 7). Alcohol and sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition/alcohol-and-sleep
CDC. (2024, May 15). About sleep. Sleep. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html
Columbia Psychiatry. (2022, March 16). How sleep deprivation impacts mental health. Columbia University Department of Psychiatry. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-your-mental-health
Hopkins Medicine. (2024, June 20). Exercising for better sleep. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better sleep#:~:text=Exercise%20also%20raises%20your%20core%20body%20temperature.&text=Elevation%20in%20core%20body%20temperature,decline%20helps%20to%20facilitate%20sleepiness
Levine, H. (2024, September 9). REM sleep: What is it, why is it important, and how can you get more of it? Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/rem-sleep-what-is-it-why-is-it-important-and-how-can-you-get-more-of-it
Staff. (2022, November 29). Understanding sleep hygiene and mental health | Counseling@Northwestern. NU-MAC. https://counseling.northwestern.edu/blog/sleep-hygiene-mental-health/
Summer, J. V., & Summer, J. V. (2024, May 10). Nutrition and Sleep: Diet’s Effect on Sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition
