Sleep

'Sleep hygiene' refers to the strategies you put in place to ensure you develop and maintain good habits, allowing you to have enough quality sleep.

Some basic strategies for ensuring a good night's sleep can include:

• turning off all technology before bed including mobile phones and television
• avoiding caffeine in the hours leading up to sleep
• getting some fresh air in the room, and
• starting a sleep routine and going to bed at the same time each day.

When you are trying to keep up with the demands of a busy schedule, cutting back on sleep may feel like your only option but over time, even minimal sleep loss can have an impact on your physical health, mood, energy, mental sharpness, and ability to handle stress. Lack of sleep can affect your judgment, coordination, and reaction times. The recommended amount of sleep for adults is 7 to 9 hours per day.

Read more in the Sleep Health Foundation's fact sheets.

Sleep deprivation can be particularly prevalent in people who do shiftwork. If you are a shiftworker you may like to read this Sleep Health Foundation Shiftwork fact sheet, which includes some helpful tips on getting enough sleep.

• fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
• moodiness, irritability and increased risk of depression
• relationship problems
• impaired learning and concentration, and memory problems
• reduced creativity, problem-solving skills and difficulty making decisions
• inability to cope with stress and difficulty managing emotions
• premature aging of the skin
• weakened immune system and frequent colds and infections
• weight gain
• impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents, and
• increased risk of serious health problems including stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and certain cancers.

If you are struggling with any of these you might want to talk to your general practitioner as a starting point.

Read some of our other articles on staying healthy:

• Mindfulness
• Exercise

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