Sleep Hygiene

What do you do to improve your sleep?

National Wellness Month is observed annually in August. It’s a month meant to reexamine the elements that contribute to overall wellness. At the top of most lists is improving behaviors in diet and exercise, but what about getting a good night’s rest?

Research has shown that the quality of sleep matters. Lack of a restful night can have adverse effects on the human body. Some of those effects include:

• Mood disorders, including depression and anxiety
• High blood pressure and diabetes
• Safety risks, especially when driving or performing high risk functions at work
• Overall reduced lifespan by 4.7 years for women and 2.4 years for men

Now that you know that the quality of the sleep you get can affect everything from your health to your personal safety, what can be done to help improve the quality of sleep we get each night?

Sleep Hygiene

sleep hygiene – a set of behavioral practices, environmental habits, and dietary routines designed to promote high-quality, continuous nighttime sleep and alert daytime functioning

The first time I heard the term ‘sleep hygiene’ was during a doctor’s visit. One of the items on the health checklist paperwork I filled out inquired about sleep patterns. At the time I was having issues sleeping through the night that were caused by the onset of perimenopausal symptoms that were triggered by chemotherapy. I told my doctor that I had a nightly routine that included:

• No caffeine after 4:00 p.m.
• Avoiding use of my phone one to two hours before bed.
• Leaving my phone in another room besides my bedroom at night
• Drinking chamomile or a calming support tea before bedtime
• Reducing the temperature in my bedroom

After we went over the list, my doctor told me that I had great sleep hygiene.

She suggested adding a magnesium glycinate supplement to my nightly supplement routine. During perimenopause, estrogen levels drop, altering the body’s ability to absorb magnesium naturally. There are 4 different kinds of magnesium. Taking the right form in the correct amount of milligrams matters. Magnesium glycinate helps the body ease anxiety and stress which lead to a better night’s sleep.

I took her advice, and started taking magnesium glycinate. In conjunction with my sleep hygiene habits, it helped me get a more solid night’s rest.

But then menopause entered the chat a year later….and everything changed.

Essential Upgrades

I was close to menopause when I visited my doctor, but the symptom peak did not hit until the next year.

Hot flashes and night sweats became a major sleep interruption. Despite my attempts to keep my bedroom at an optimal temperature for sleeping, nighttime was a constant struggle to stay cool. The game of “covers on, covers off” kept me up during the night and when it was time to wake up I felt like I needed another couple of hours of sleep. By the end of the week it was noticeable that I was trying to function without proper rest.

I struggled with these symptoms and the lack of a quality night’s sleep affected my wellbeing. This was when I realized that changes needed to be made. I started with upgrading my bedding and sleepwear.

Bedding Essentials

Sheets

My first taste of bedding that was significantly better at keeping me cool at night was the result of a giveaway that I entered and won on Instagram. The prize was a complete set of cotton percale sheets and two graphite memory foam pillows. I was thrilled to read that the cotton percale sheets were ideal for anyone who sleeps hot. The pillows were designed for a cooler nights sleep and provided contoured support.

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The first night of sleeping on my new sheets with the pillows was incredible! I slept through the night because I stayed cool all night. I came to the realization that even with the best of intentions, I had been buying sheets that were soft, but not cooling. Sleeping on Saatva sheets was an eye opener! Live and learn.

After washing my sheets several times, I realized that one set of cooling sheets was not going to be enough for a year’s worth of better rest. I could have purchased another set of Saatva sheets but I wanted sheets in colors that are not offered by the company. That week the May/June issue of Good Housekeeping was delivered to my home. One of the teasers on the cover offered exactly what I needed. It read, “Sweet Dreams start here. The Best Bedding of the Year“. Good Housekeeping tested hundreds of products in their lab and sent products to more than 800 sleep testers to compile the list of bedding that earned a place on their 2026 Bedding Awards Winners.

The category of Bedding Awards Winners titled ‘Temperature-Regulating Treatment’ was of most interest to me. The winner in this category was Sleep Zone sheets. The tester who tried these sheets suffers from hot flashes and reported that they kept her cool throughout the night. I went to the website to read more reviews and get more details about Sleep Zone. It was a great time to make my purchase because there was a sale for the July 4th holiday. I bought 2 sheet sets and a duvet cover.

The sheets and duvet cover have changed my life! I’m sleeping cooler than I’ve ever slept before.

Mattress Topper

Another piece of bedding that I upgraded was my mattress topper.

The mattress topper I was using was over a decade old and at night it felt like it was absorbing the heat that my body generated at night and pushing it back to me. Due to its age, it also lacked proper support for my body. This combination led to some very uncomfortable and sleepless nights.

Because of my experience with Saatva bedding, I went back to the website to see what the company offered in the line of cooling mattress toppers. Saatva’s Graphite Memory Foam Mattress Topper offered “superb cooling and pressure relief”. In addition, it came with a 180-night home trial. What was there to lose? I immediately ordered the mattress topper, and being the savvy shopper that I am, I used a rewards program to get cash back on my order.

Like the sheet upgrade, my new mattress topper was a game changer. It was another layer in comfort that was necessary to enjoy a good night’s rest.

Pillow

The bedding upgrades I invested in would have been ineffective in attaining a solid night’s rest if I didn’t have the proper pillow. The correct shape and firmness of a pillow makes all the difference in the way your body is aligned for sleep. A few years ago I struggled with headaches and neck pain in the morning and realized that my pillow was the culprit. This is when I discovered the term ‘sleep alignment’ and more specifically ‘spinal alignment’.

In chiropractic care, spinal alignment is defined as maintaining a neutral spine position while lying down, where the head, neck, shoulders, and hips are perfectly balanced.

Depending on your preferred sleep position, acheiving spinal alignment is different for each person. For example, a back sleeper might need a pillow with medium firmness whereas a side sleeper might need a firm pillow. I’m a side sleeper and started my search for the right pillow with this in mind. I found a company called Honeydew Sleep Company. Ironically, Honeydew is a 2025 Good Housekeeping Bedding Awards Winner. I love that with each purchase Honeydew donates a pillow to someone in need.

After reading the description of The Scrumptious Side Sleeper Pillow that came with a Cooling Organic Pillowcase, I knew it was the pillow for me. The filling can be removed and adjusted, and the ergonomic shape is described as “a unique curve that cradles your neck and shoulders for ultimate comfort, and perfect alignment”. There was also a 60-night risk free trial that meant I had time to make sure that this was the right pillow for me. That was two years ago, and my spinal alignment has never been better.

Other Factors That Influence Sleep Hygiene

Now that I own the optimal bedding for a great night’s sleep, you might think that the book is closed on my sleep hygiene. However, there were still a couple of chapters to write in my sleep saga. What else could be affecting my sleep?

Pajamas

I always thought that pajamas that were 100% cotton were breathable and would help me sleep better. I was wrong, and the cooling bedsheets I purchased that were made of 70% Tencel and 30% viscose rayon proved that point. It was clear that my PJs needed an upgrade.

Soma Cool Nights pajamas were the perfect match for my needs. They’re made with lightweight rayon fibers that are cool to the touch. I’m kept even more comfortable at night because the fabric is incredibly soft and includes a touch of spandex for flexibility. Appearance matters in the clothing I choose, even if it’s only for sleep. Soma Cool Nights PJs come in fun prints and it’s a joy to wear them each night.

Air Quality

Enter another villain in the quest for rest: air quality.

Even though my nights were cooler and more comfortable, I found an unexpected and often unnoticed enemy working against me. No matter how much I clean my home, dust, microbial particles, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) swirl in the air around me. VOCs are emitted from objects that we live with every day: the paint that covers our walls, the perfume or cologne we use, and the furniture we settle into to relax at the end of the day. These indoor pollutants can lead to sleep problems including snoring and nasal congestion, both of which I have experienced at night.

I leaned into researching the best air purifier on the market. There were so many brands out there that claimed to have the best filter (which is the biggest cost after purchasing an air purifier). One particular brand, Sans, stood out above the rest. The company’s website provided the science behind their filters that use a 4-step filtration system to clean the air. The filtration system includes a UV-C light. UV-C has the highest energy of the 3 types of UV radiation and is commonly known as germicidal UV. By the time I finished learning about how a Sans air purifier works, my decision to purchase my first unit was a no-brainer. The offer of a 30-day in-home trial period didn’t hurt either.

The unit runs whisper quiet. During normal operation I can’t even tell it’s running. When it was time to replace the filter, the results of the work it was doing was right there in black and white. I eventually purchased a smaller Sans air purifier for my bedroom.

Window Treatments

Throughout the years, the blinds in my bedroom have served me well. What I didn’t pay attention to was how much light pollution and outdoor noise they were allowing into my bedroom each night. One morning I woke up much earlier than I should have because of light coming through the closed blinds. For several weeks I ignored the effects of waking up and trying to go back to sleep because of the light. When I realized that the constant disruption of my sleep-wake cycle was affecting how I functioned during the day, I decided to do something about it.

I searched for curtains that coordinated with the colors of my bedroom, and I was also looking for curtains with room-darkening properties. I found the perfect set of curtains at Costco. Sun Zero Theater Grade Blackout Curtains provide 100% blockage of outside light and they help improve energy efficiency. They have been a welcome addition to my room and have improved my sleep by blocking outdoor light and the brightness of the sunrise that was waking me up too early.

Another added benefit of adding these curtains was sound dampening. Sounds of traffic at night and songbirds outside my window in the morning are barely audible. I love birds, but I don’t want to wake up with them! These curtains were the icing on the cake of improving my sleep hygiene.

Tailor Your Sleep Hygiene Routine

The path to improving your sleep hygiene is not one size fits all. You will need to evaluate your needs, prioritize them, and put each one into action. Here are a few tips to help you get started on the road to a better night’s sleep:

1. Try swapping out just one less-than-ideal bedtime habit at a time. For example, if you’re in the habit of doom-scrolling on your phone before bedtime, put your phone in another room to avoid picking it up.
2. Replace a negative bedtime habit with one that helps you relax and prepare yourself for a good night’s rest. Doom-scrolling could be replaced with a relaxing bath or catching up on an article in a magazine or a reading a chapter of a book.
3. Use scents in your bedroom to help signal your brain that it’s bedtime. Scents like lavender (found in bedroom sprays and diffusers) have been scientifically proven to help improve sleep quality.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor is working on your sleep hygiene something that happens overnight. It took me almost 2 years to implement all of the measures that helped me improve my bedtime routine. Each improvement works with the other to provide the quality of sleep I need to feel my best each day. The investment I made in each product is worth it. I encourage you find out what works for you to help refine your night’s rest.

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