Why Sleep Hygiene Matters
In the young adult intake form I send out to clients, one of the questions I ask is when they go to sleep, and when they wake up. I’m always surprised to read their responses. It’s not uncommon for a young adult to identify that they don’t typically go to sleep until after 2:00am, and then wake up far after 9:00am. Or, that their sleep cycle is not consistent. That response, coupled with their self-identifying tech overuse can partially explain why a young adult is speaking with me in the first place. Am I an advocate for going to sleep earlier? Absolutely. More importantly, I’m just an advocate in general for overall sleep hygiene.
So, what is sleep hygiene exactly? It’s a consistent and routine practice to help maintain healthy sleep habits.
If your child is struggling with academic performance, emotion regulation, and/or cognitive functioning their sleep hygiene could be partly to blame. Not to mention, depending on their age when sleep hygiene is an issue, it could impact healthy development, and their physical and mental well-being.
Good, quality sleep supports healthy development, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. If I want to really get specific, good sleep is essential for a number of reasons. Here is a non-exhaustive list of why sleep hygiene matters:
Immune system functioning. Poor quality sleep can weaken the immune system which can make the young adult susceptible to getting sick.
Hormone regulation. Believe it or not but inconsistent sleep can impact your hormones. For young adults, this is tremendously important to not overlook considering all the raging hormones that are happening during these transition years.
Stress Management and improving mood. For someone who hasn’t slept well, they can present as anxious or irritable and that will impact their resilience to challenging situations.
Emotional health. This includes emotion regulation to reduce impulsivity. Not to mention reign in unhealth social interaction.
Academic performance. This includes a student’s ability to focus, attention span, and memory.
Overall, increased energy levels!
The biggest factors that will impact sleep hygiene that I see frequently with the young adults I work with include:
Excessive caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco (read: vaping!) – especially before bed
Not having a bedtime routine, that includes relaxation activities (i.e. taking a bath)
Doom scrolling on tech while in bed
Lack of physical exercise. If a young adult is actively engaged in physical activity, they tend to have better sleep hygiene
Not having a comfortable and quiet sleep space.
If you are a parent of a young adult and are concerned about their sleep, let’s not be passive about this being a problem. Especially if your child spent a lot of sleepless nights in high school! And if they’ve tried at home or at college to change their sleep schedule and they’re still struggling, there are options available to help! Long-term sleep deprivation can have substantial consequences. It can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, or heart disease. This is not something we should sleep on.
For questions or comments contact Joanna.
