Why is Better Sleep Hygiene the Secret to Boosting Your Mental Health?

• Written by Jagriti Chakraborty

  Reviewed by Ritika Malik

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“ Sound sleep is the cheapest therapy your mind could ever ask for”

Sleep is not a luxury; it is a biological need. When we close our eyes, the brain opens its workshop, tirelessly repairing and refreshing both body and mind. During these silent hours, the body regains its power while the mind resets, leaving space for clarity the next day.

Yet, when sleep hygiene is ignored, it is characterised by endless screen time, excessive activity, or inconsistent routines, which causes this vital process to collapse. The brain finds it harder to manage emotions, opening the door to mood swings, restlessness, and depression. With time, inadequate sleep becomes more than just weariness; it silently triggers burnout, anxiety, and mental fatigue.

That’s why understanding the importance of sleep hygiene is so crucial. Research consistently confirms what we often ignore: Disturbed sleep can escalate mental health struggles, but a healthy sleep pattern can serve as an organic boost for mental well-being. Much like we fuel our bodies with a balanced diet, prioritising quality sleep keeps the mind vibrant and resilient.

About Sleep Hygiene

While” hygiene” implies physical cleanliness, sleep hygiene principles go beyond. This phrase refers to the everyday practices that prepare your mind and body for a restful night. It’s about designing a soothing environment that follows a consistent sleep routine and cutting out bedtime disruptors, such as caffeine or screen time, before bed.

The payoff? Waking up sharper, calmer, and healthier.

Core elements of sleep hygiene are:

• Consistent Sleep Schedule: Maintaining a consistent bedtime and wake-up time helps you stay fresh and active. Power naps are okay, but skip the long ones as they can steal your night’s sleep.
• Sleep-Friendly Environment: Another key element of sleep hygiene is creating a sleep-friendly environment. This involves keeping the room dark and quiet, maintaining a comfortable temperature of 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit, and using cosy bedding to ensure a truly restful sleep.
• A Relaxing Bedtime Routine: Winding down 20-30 minutes before bed with calming habits and skipping screen time helps your system transition toward restorative sleep.
• Diet and Lifestyle Adjustments: Sleep hygiene also involves avoiding evening stimulants such as nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol. Consuming heavy, fatty foods before bed and limiting fluids at bedtime are recommended to support uninterrupted sleep.

Think of sleep hygiene as more than a checklist; it's about protecting your mind. Let’s explore how sleep hygiene plays a crucial role in maintaining mental health.

Why Sleep Hygiene Matters for Mental Health?

Your mind heals while you sleep. A restful night refreshes your brain, brings focus and soothes the soul from within. Recognising the importance of sleep hygiene enables you to take charge of your mental wellness. Let’s see how:

• Regulates Mood: Your mood mirrors your sleep. Quality sleep rejuvenates your mind, fostering emotional stability and resilience through the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep. Without it, anxiety, irritability, and depression may quickly escalate.

Snooze insights: Using a screen in bed is associated with shorter sleep durations. For instance, one hour of screen use is linked to reducing 24 minutes from your sleep.

• Reduces Stress: Do you know that a good night's sleep is your brain’s secret weapon against stress? It balances cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, which is often activated by stress, affecting stamina, alertness, and immunity.
• Boosts Cognitive Function: Understanding what sleep hygiene is in psychology reveals how adequate sleep sharpens the mind by storing memories, cleansing toxins, and promoting innovative thinking.
• Enhances Productivity: As quality sleep regulates neurotransmitters and stabilises cortisol levels, these work together to enable clear thinking, focus, and stress regulation. These are the primary ingredients for achieving maximum efficiency and optimal functioning in both work and daily life.
• Regulates Hormones: Strong sleep hygiene, such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, limiting blue light exposure, and creating a calm sleep environment, helps your body’s “hormone symphony” stay balanced. Melatonin signals rest, while cortisol levels remain steady. Ghrelin and leptin are responsible for regulating appetite.

Snooze Insights: Quality sleep supports the pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which plays a key role in triggering the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), essential for ovulation and sperm production.

Common Sleep Hygiene Mistakes

Sleep isn’t just about hitting the pillow. Your bed might feel cosy, but you could be unknowingly sabotaging your sleep. Let’s see how?

• Over-Napping: As long naps can interfere with your natural sleep drive, they can also trigger sleep inertia, leaving you mentally unfocused the very next day. Over time, this creates a vicious circle: poor nighttime leads to more daytime sleeping, creating a loop that worsens sleep consistency and overall rest.
• Inconsistent Exercise: Consistent exercise can help tune your body for restorative sleep, ease stress, and release built-up tension. In contrast, inconsistent exercise can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, boost alertness and eventually become a sleep hygiene mistake which prevents deep sleep at night.

Snooze Insights: Engaging in cardio exercises, such as brisk walking, swimming, jogging, or cycling, improves the quality of your night’s rest.

• Ignoring Stress Management: Neglecting stress management, sleep quality suffers, elevates anxiety and impairs memory. Prolonged stress paired with inadequate sleep can lower immunity, elevate anxiety, slow physical recovery, and reduce problem-solving ability.
• Sleeping Too Hot or Too Cold: Optimal Room Temperature highlights the importance of sleep hygiene, which supports the body’s natural thermoregulation and promotes deeper REM sleep. Neglecting it may lead to fragmented sleep and reduce overall sleep quality.
• Ignoring Natural Light Exposure: Regular exposure to sunlight regulates the body’s internal clock and controls melatonin production. Skipping natural light exposure can lead to insomnia or restless nights, which is key to understanding how to maintain sleep hygiene.
• Relying on Sedatives Frequently: Long-term sedatives can backfire by leading to worsened sleep, disrupted rest cycles, and a greater risk of dependence with adverse effects.
• Unmanaged Noise Pollution: Excessive noise disrupts the circadian rhythm and increases stress levels. This works against the principle of sleep hygiene. Although it is unintentional, it can be managed effectively with the use of earplugs and soundproof curtains.
• Overthinking in Bed: Racing thoughts at bedtime can keep the brain alert, disrupt the sleep cycle, trigger stress hormones, and worsen insomnia. Good sleep hygiene, such as relaxation techniques and stress management, can help break this cycle and restore uninterrupted sleep. So, stop tossing and turning. Catch quality Zzz’s by embracing sleep hygiene now.

Snooze insights: Chamomile tea is a natural sleep inducer. It soothes the mind and encourages restful sleep without causing side effects.

>> Read: 8 Unexpected Mental Health Benefits of Nature You Must Know

Practical Sleep Hygiene Tips

Grandmother’s saying, “A peaceful night brings a bright tomorrow”, carries a timeless truth. It teaches us that sleep is more than closing our eyes. However, even with the best intentions, distractions can pull your mind away. The following are some actionable tips to help make sleep hygiene achievable.

• Bedtime Journaling: Journaling at night is a powerful tool to calm overthinking. You can start by writing down to-dos, expressing gratitude, and releasing worries onto paper to reduce mental clutter. This activity can help you end your day with a calming ritual to unwind and prepare for a deeper sleep.
• Aromatherapy: This offers a natural way to relax the body, minimise stress, and improve sleep. Essential oils, such as lemongrass, lavender, and sandalwood, can be used through diffusion, in bags, topical application, or by placing oils near the pillow. However, one should see this as a supportive therapy rather than a replacement for medical care.
• Sleep-friendly Snacks: Bedtime snacks can be your soft lullabies, for instance, cherries, nuts, bananas, and yoghurt, as they supply a sufficient amount of magnesium, melatonin, and tryptophan. These sleep-inducing chemicals are the body’s gentle invitation to restorative sleep.
• Mindful Breathing or Box Breathing: Both techniques are often used to aid sleep. Box breathing involves counting your breaths in a set pattern, while conscious breathing involves simply paying attention to your breath. Either one can help you fall asleep.
• Bed Reserved for Sleep Only: Make your bed a sleep-only zone. Avoid work, electronics, and snacks in bed to help your brain associate with sleep. If you can’t sleep within 20 minutes, consider stepping out, relaxing, and returning only when sleepy.
• Hydrotherapy: From Epsom salt baths to hydromassages, warm water therapies can add a calming touch. These therapies create a spa-like experience at home, ease sore muscles, and promote mental serenity.

Do you know: Wellness increases when restful sleep is prioritised, just like individual health insurance that rewards your healthy choices with excellent wellness benefits. In terms of incentives and discounts, these benefits prioritise health in today’s fast-paced world.

>> Read More: 7 Hidden Benefits of Lemongrass You Cannot Afford to Miss

DIY Sleep Balm Hacks for Restless Nights

Turn bedtime into a ritual with natural ingredients and restful nights.

How to Make It

Melt the Shea butter and coconut oil together, then stir in a calming essential oil, such as chamomile oil. Mix well, transfer it into a jar, and allow it to cool into your own soothing sleep balm.

How to Use It (Hack):

Massage a little balm into your wrists, temples, or under your nose to signal your body to unwind.

Benefits:

This dual-purpose balm calms the mind, nourishes the skin, and creates a bedtime ritual to associate its soothing fragrance with restful sleep.

Pro tip: Use the same scent consistently so that your mind associates it with bedtime.

Sleep Sound, Health Bound

Sleep hygiene psychology teaches us that rest is the root of emotional resilience. Family health insurance preserves health and resilience for those you care about the most. It offers overall thriving health by providing financial protection, preventive care, and several wellness benefits. Together, good sleep and family insurance form a double of calm for body and well-being for tomorrow.

Disclaimer: All plan features, benefits, coverage and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus and policy documents carefully.