Sleep Hygiene Quiz

Practices for Healthy Sleeping

• Sleep hygiene is a set of behavioral and environmental practices developed in the late 1970s, designed to help people with mild to moderate insomnia.
• Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol and other stimulants, and having a peaceful, comfortable, and dark sleep environment.
• Assessment of sleep hygiene is carried out using clinical interviews and self-report questionnaires, sleep diaries, and computerized assessments such as Sleep-EVAL.
• Sleep hygiene and knowledge of sleep hygiene practices can be assessed with measures such as the Sleep Hygiene Index and Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale.
• Recommendations for sleep hygiene include getting enough sleep, avoiding napping, and engaging in relaxing activities before bedtime.
• Exercise can facilitate or inhibit sleep quality; people who exercise experience better quality of sleep than those who do not.
• Avoiding nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants in the hours before bedtime is recommended, as these substances activate neurobiological systems that maintain wakefulness.
• Arranging a sleep environment that is quiet, dark, and cool is recommended, as noises, light, and uncomfortable temperatures have been shown to disrupt continuous sleep.
• The evidence that improving sleep hygiene improves sleep quality is weak and inconclusive, with some recommendations showing better outcomes than others.
• Sleep hygiene education is recommended for college students, shift workers, and individuals with breathing difficulties due to asthma or allergies.
• Sleep hygiene strategies include advice about timing of sleep and food intake in relationship to exercise and sleeping environment.
• Organizations such as the National Sleep Foundation and the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School have created public websites with sleep hygiene resources, tools, and instructional videos.