Sleep hygiene

Topic

The practice and habits surrounding sleep, discussed as a critical component of health and performance, based on insights from Bryan Johnson.


entitydetail.created_at

7/26/2025, 3:34:59 AM

entitydetail.last_updated

7/26/2025, 4:05:40 AM

entitydetail.research_retrieved

7/26/2025, 3:49:54 AM

Summary

Sleep hygiene is a set of behavioral and environmental practices developed in the late 1970s to aid individuals with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians often evaluate a person's sleep hygiene, especially those with insomnia or conditions like depression, offering recommendations such as maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, mindful napping, avoiding pre-bed strenuous activity, managing worry, limiting light exposure, and ensuring a conducive sleep environment. Despite being an established approach, its empirical effectiveness for the general population and insomnia treatment was deemed limited and inconclusive as of 2021. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) advises against prescribing sleep hygiene for insomnia, favoring more effective treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) due to its lack of proven efficacy and potential to delay better care. Its importance was recently highlighted in a discussion involving longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson on the All-In Podcast.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Developed

    late 1970s

  • Primary Purpose

    Assist individuals with mild to moderate insomnia

  • Recommended Practices

    Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, careful use of naps, avoiding strenuous physical or mental activity close to bedtime, managing worry, limiting light exposure before sleep, leaving the bed if unable to sleep, reserving the bed solely for sleep and intimacy, abstaining from alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants before bed, and ensuring a peaceful, comfortable, and dark sleep environment.

  • Effectiveness Status (as of 2021)

    Limited and inconclusive empirical evidence for the general population and insomnia treatment.

  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Stance

    Should not be prescribed for insomnia due to lack of efficacy and potential to delay more effective treatments.

Timeline
  • Sleep hygiene developed as a behavioral and environmental practice. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, DBPedia)

    1970s

  • Empirical evidence for the effectiveness of sleep hygiene for the general population and insomnia treatment is considered limited and inconclusive. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

    2021

  • The importance of sleep hygiene was highlighted in discussions with longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson on the All-In Podcast. (Source: Related Document)

    Recent

Sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically (or mentally) too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol (as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants) in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.

Web Search Results
  • [PDF] Sleep Hygiene - Centre for Clinical Interventions

    This document is for information purposes only. Please refer to the full disclaimer and copyright statement available at regarding the information from this website before making use of such information. See website www.cci.health.wa.gov.au for more handouts and resources. What is Sleep Hygiene? ‘Sleep hygiene’ is the term used to describe good sleep habits. Considerable research has gone into developing a set of guidelines and tips which are designed to enhance good sleeping, and there is much [...] of treating insomnia, either with other strategies such as medication or cognitive therapy or alone. Sleep Hygiene Tips 1) Get regular. One of the best ways to train your body to sleep well is to go to bed and get up at more or less the same time every day, even on weekends and days off! This regular rhythm will make you feel better and will give your body something to work from. 2) Sleep when sleepy. Only try to sleep when you actually feel tired or sleepy, rather than spending too much time [...] awake in bed. 3) Get up & try again. If you haven’t been able to get to sleep after about 20 minutes or more, get up and do something calming or boring until you feel sleepy, then return to bed and try again. Sit quietly on the couch with the lights off (bright light will tell your brain that it is time to wake up), or read something boring like the phone book. Avoid doing anything that is too stimulating or interesting, as this will wake you up even more. 4) Avoid caffeine & nicotine. It is

  • Sleep hygiene | Better Health Channel

    ‘Sleep hygiene’ refers to healthy habits, behaviours and environmental factors that can be adjusted to help you have a good night’s sleep. Some sleeping problems are often caused by bad sleep habits reinforced over years or even decades. Improved sleep will not happen as soon as changes are made. But if good sleep habits are maintained, sleep will certainly get better. If you have tried and failed to improve your sleep, you may like to consider professional help. [...] ‘Sleep hygiene’ refers to healthy habits, behaviours and environmental factors that can be adjusted to help you have a good night’s sleep. Some sleeping problems are often caused by bad sleep habits reinforced over years or even decades. In many cases, you can improve your sleep quality by making a few adjustments to lifestyle and attitude. Obey your body clock -------------------- [...] Don’t take long naps (e.g. greater than 30 minutes), especially in the evening, as these can make it harder to fall asleep (see the Sleep Health Foundation fact sheet on Napping for more information). Avoid caffeinated drinks (like tea, coffee, cola or chocolate) close to bedtime (see the Sleep Health Foundation fact sheet about Caffeine and Sleep for further information). Turn your alarm clock to the wall. Watching the minutes tick by is a sure way to keep yourself awake.

  • Mastering Sleep Hygiene: Your Path to Quality Sleep

    Sleep hygiene refers to both your sleep environment and behavior. Poor sleep hygiene can negatively impact both sleep quantity and quality. Good sleep hygiene includes setting a strict sleep schedule, following a bedtime routine, forming healthy habits, and optimizing your bedroom for sleep. Sleep hygiene alone will not cure sleep problems, so talk to a doctor about concerns. [...] Good sleep hygiene is all about putting yourself in the best position to sleep well each and every night. Optimizing your sleep schedule, pre-bed routine, and daily routines is part of harnessing habits to make quality sleep feel more automatic. At the same time, creating a pleasant bedroom environment can be an invitation to relax and doze off. [...] Paying attention to sleep hygiene is one of the most straightforward ways that you can set yourself up for better sleep. Strong sleep hygiene means having both a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote consistent, uninterrupted sleep. Every sleeper can tailor their sleep hygiene practices to suit their needs. In the process, you can harness positive habits to make it easier to sleep soundly throughout the night and wake up well-rested. Is Your Sleep a Problem?

  • 12 Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene - Healthline

    Let’s get into what sleep hygiene is and the changes you can make to your daytime and bedtime habits to improve your sleep. What is sleep hygiene? ---------------------- Sleep hygiene refers to healthy sleep habits that help you get a good night’s sleep. Good sleep hygiene is important because of how crucial getting good sleep is for your mental and physical health, as well as your overall quality of life. [...] Sleep hygiene is about having healthy sleep habits. Your behaviors, both during the day and around bedtime, can affect the quality of your sleep. If you have a hard time falling or staying asleep, you can try several strategies to fall asleep faster — and stay sleeping for hours at a time. Most of these involve improving your sleep hygiene. [...] Developing certain habits, like keeping a consistent schedule and limiting blue light exposure before bed, can improve your sleep hygiene and promote quality sleep. Do you ever find yourself staring at the ceiling, wondering if you’ll ever fall asleep? Or maybe you wake up thinking it’s time to get up, but it’s actually 2 a.m.? If you’re in need of better sleep, it may be time to consider your sleep hygiene — and how your habits may be preventing you from getting the quality sleep you need.

  • What Is Sleep Hygiene? - WebMD

    Logo for WebMD # What Is Sleep Hygiene? Ever wonder why some people seem to always get a good night’s rest while you toss and turn for hours, or wake up again and again? Your sleep hygiene may be the problem. Good sleep hygiene is a combination of sleeping conditions and lifestyle habits that help you get consistent, uninterrupted sleep. ## Benefits of Good Sleep Hygiene [...] Good sleep hygiene can help you in a lot of ways. When you get enough sleep -- experts recommend 7 to 8 hours a night -- you may: Think about making changes to your sleep routine if you have trouble falling asleep, if you can’t stay asleep, or if you often feel sleepy during the day. These may be signs of bad sleep hygiene. infographic of good sleep hygiene ## How to Have Good Sleep Hygiene You can take simple steps to break bad habits and get better sleep. ## When to See Your Doctor

Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include: establishing a regular sleep schedule; using naps with care; not exercising physically or mentally too close to bedtime; limiting worry; limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep; getting out of bed if sleep does not come; not using bed for anything but sleep and sex; avoiding alcohol as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants in the hours before bedtime; and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment. However, as of 2021, the empirical evidence for the effectiveness of sleep hygiene is "limited and inconclusive" for the general population and for the treatment of insomnia, despite being the oldest treatment for insomnia. A systematic review by the AASM concluded that clinicians should not prescribe sleep hygiene for insomnia due to the evidence of absence of its efficacy and potential delaying of adequate treatment, recommending instead that effective therapies such as CBT-i should be preferred.