Good sleep doesn’t start when your head hits the pillow – it’s built from the habits, routines and environment that surround your night. Together, these are called sleep hygiene.
What is sleep hygiene?
Sleep hygiene is the set of behavioural and environmental practices that support consistent, uninterrupted, good-quality sleep. It covers when you go to bed, what you do in the hours beforehand, and the conditions of the room you sleep in.
Poor sleep hygiene rarely announces itself. It shows up as difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, or feeling unrefreshed in the morning – symptoms that are easy to normalise and live with for years.3
Why sleep hygiene matters
Sleep affects nearly every system in the body – memory, mood, immunity, weight and cardiovascular health. And poor sleep is far more common in Australia than most people realise.
A 2019 report commissioned by Australia’s Sleep Health Foundation found almost 60 percent of people regularly experience at least one sleep symptom. Reynolds et al., Sleep Health Foundation, 20193
For many people, improving sleep hygiene is the first – and sometimes only – step needed to sleep better. For others, persistent symptoms can point to an underlying condition such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), where habits alone aren’t enough and a sleep study is the right next step.1
Tips for better sleep hygiene
Daily routines
- Keep a consistent wake time – even on weekends
- Get natural daylight early in the day; it anchors your body clock and supports vitamin D
- Exercise regularly, but finish vigorous activity a few hours before bed
- Limit caffeine after midday, and avoid smoking – both disrupt sleep architecture
Before bedtime
- Wind down with a regular pre-bed routine – reading, a warm shower, dim lights
- Avoid screens in the last hour; blue light suppresses melatonin
- Skip heavy meals and alcohol close to bedtime
- If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something quiet until drowsy
Your bedroom
- Keep it cool, dark and quiet – around 18°C suits most sleepers
- Reserve the bed for sleep, so your brain links bed with rest
- Invest in a supportive mattress and pillow
- Put clocks and phones out of sight to avoid clock-watching
- Deleanu O, et al. (2016). Influence of smoking on sleep and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Pneumologia, 65(1), 28–35.
- Peters B. (2020). How to meet your vitamin D needs and improve your sleep. Very Well Health.
- Reynolds AC, et al. (2019). Chronic insomnia disorder in Australia: a report to the Sleep Health Foundation. Sleep Health Foundation.
