Sleep hygiene is daily habits, routines, and practices that trigger naturally occurring biological processes in your body to help regulate your natural sleep wake cycle.
Much like brushing your teeth, sleep hygiene is a commitment to habits that help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
The major player in these processes is your circadian rhythm, this is your sleep wake cycle.
Good sleep hygiene
People with good sleep hygiene often follow certain practices which help them increase the quality, quantity, and regularity of their sleep cycle.
These practices include early morning sunlight exposure to regulate circadian rhythm, naturally increase cortisol levels, and increase dopamine levels. Neurons in your eyes when viewing sunlight trigger metabolic processes that essentially help you fall asleep later in the evening.
Another sleep hygienic practice is going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday to lock in your circadian rhythm.
What does having good sleep hygiene mean, and why does this matter?
Maintaining good sleep hygiene is boring.
You go to sleep at the time each night following the same routine to keep your circadian rhythm in check. You avoid eating, drinking, or blue light and sleep in your bed in a cool dark room.
Why does it matter?
Without these conditions it makes you more prone to wake up throughout the night.
Without a routine and proper sleep conditions you'll be plagued with waking throughout the middle of the night and groggy the next morning.
Your body is resilient but if you're serious about maximizing the effectiveness of your sleep then you must follow a sleep routine in prime conditions.
How can good sleep hygiene impact sleep?
Having good sleep hygiene will improve your sleep in every statistical category: larger quantity of sleep, better quality of sleep, and a more refreshed state of mind upon waking.
More REM sleep is a product of having sound sleep hygiene. It helps you feel more rested and refreshed when you wake up.
Having quality sleep will also increase testosterone, dopamine, serotonin, and increase your naturally occurring melatonin levels allowing your body to naturally wind down when it’s time for bed.
What is poor sleep hygiene?
Poor sleep hygiene is caused by drinking alcohol, caffeinated beverages, or looking at blue light before bed.
It shouldn't be a surprise that scrolling social media before bed isn't sleep hygiene. How many times have you been stuck scrolling endlessly for hours?
These poor habits disrupt your circadian rhythm. These habits make it harder to fall asleep and prevent you from quality sleep.
Eating or drinking in excess an hour before bed is considered poor sleep hygiene.
Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium and glycine when used together is magnesium glycinate.
A diet rich with magnesium and glycine will help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Foods rich in glycine are fish, meat, and dairy. Yogurt, leafy greens, nuts, and beans are all rich in magnesium as well.
An alternative to getting magnesium and glycine through diet is to supplement magnesium and glycine.
Important note: Magnesium, glycine, and melatonin are not band aids that will fix poor sleep hygiene.
If you want to use these supplements properly you must build a good sleep routine to maximize their effectiveness.
How can you develop good sleep hygiene?
Good sleep hygiene is a commitment to habit. The more often you can build and follow a routine the better your sleep hygiene will become.
If you want to take it a step further small doses of melatonin can help.
From our research, we found that magnesium glycinate works best to promote deep REM sleep that keeps you from waking up and prolongs deep sleep cycles.
What are the best habits for good sleep hygiene?
These practices include early morning sunlight exposure to regulate circadian rhythm, naturally increase cortisol levels, and increase dopamine levels.
Neurons in your eyes when viewing sunlight trigger metabolic processes that essentially help you fall asleep later in the evening.
In addition to this is regulation of your core body temperature, exercising daily, avoiding blue light one hour before bed, etc.
Sleep Hygiene: Putting it All Together
If you want good sleep hygiene, you must follow the same boring routine each night. Ensure you're getting sunlight during the day.
Limit eating food and drinking 2 hours before bed. Avoid drugs, caffeine, alcohol, and blue light as well. You should be sleeping in a cool and dark room.
If you want to take it a step further, you can add a scoop of PreSleep in a glass of cool water and sip an hour before bed until empty.
PreSleep is made of amino acids and trace minerals to prepare your body for a good night's rest.