Are you getting enough quality sleep each night?  Getting eight hours of sleep per night apparently isn’t enough, according to Dr. Michael Breus from WebMD.com. Breus says we need to focus on our “sleep hygiene,” the practices, habits and environmental factors that are important for sound sleep.  He says by gaining control of your behavior throughout the day, you can help yourself get a better night’s sleep, feel refreshed when you’re awake, and remain alert throughout the day.

Breus says there are four general areas important to sleep hygiene:
* Our circadian rhythm, or 24-hour cycle
* Aging
* Psychological stressors—those factors can cause difficulty falling asleep and disturb the quality of your sleep
* Common social or recreational drugs like nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol
Circadian Rhythm - Our circadian rhythm is a day-night cycle of about 24 hours that greatly influences when we sleep and the quanitity and quality of our sleep. Breus says the more stable and consistent our circadian rhythm is, the better our sleep. The timing of various factors can alter our circadian rhythm, including naps, bedtime, exercise, and especially exposure to light.
Aging - Breus says after the age of 40 our sleep patterns change because we have many more nocturnal awakenings than in our younger years. These awakenings directly affect the quality of our sleep, as well as interact with any other conditions that may cause arousals or awakenings, like the withdrawal syndrome that occurs after drinking alcohol close to bedtime. Breus warns the more awakenings we have at night, the more likely we will awaken feeling unrefreshed and unrestored.
Psychological Stressors - Things that stress us out in our daily lives may prevent us from falling asleep or wake us from sleep throughout the night. Breus says it takes time to “turn off” all the noise from the day. He says if you con tinue to work right up until the moment you turn out the lights, you simply cannot just “flip a switch” and drop off into a deep sleep.  Breus recommends a “pre-sleep” ritual to break the connection between daily stresses and a good night’s sleep. He says this is extremely important for children. These rituals can be as short as 10 minutes or as long as an hour. Some find relief in making a list of all the stressors of the day, along with a plan to deal with them, as it serves to end the day. Combining this with a period of relaxation, perhaps by reading something light, meditating, or taking a hot bath can also help you get better sleep. And don’t look at that clock! That tick-tock will tick you off.
Social or Recreational Drugs - Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol may have a larger impact on your sleep than you realize, Breus says. Caffeine can stay in your system as long as 14 hours and could increase the number of times you wake at night, not to mention decrease the total amount of sleep time. Breus says this may subsequently affect daytime anxiety and performance. The effects of nicotine are similar to those of caffeine, with a difference being that at low doses, nicotine tends to act as a sedative, while at high doses it causes arousals during sleep.  Although alcohol may initially make you tired, making it easier to fall asleep, it causes arousals that can last as long as two to three hours after it has left your body. Breus says these arousals disturb sleep, often causing intense dreaming, sweating, and headache. He especially warns against smoking while drinking caffeine and alcohol, which can affect your sleep dramatically, making you feel unrefreshed, groggy or hungover when you wake up.
Breus says it’s important to realize that not getting the proper amount of and the best quality sleep may have serious short-term and long-term consequences and adversely affect performance and alertness. For example, reducing sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night reduces daytime alertness by about one-third. Excessive daytime sleepiness impairs memory and the ability to think and process information, and carries a substantially increased risk of sustaining an occupational injury. Long-term sleep deprivation from sleep disorders like apnea have recently been implicated in high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Breus offers some sleep hygiene tips to help you relax, fall asleep, stay asleep and get better sleep:

1. Avoid watching TV, eating, and discussing emotional issues in bed. The bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If not, we end up associating the bed with other activities and it often becomes difficult to fall asleep.
2. Minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes during sleep with ear plugs, window blinds, or an electric blanket or air conditioner, and keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature.
3. Try not to drink fluids after 8 p.m.
4. Avoid naps, but if you do nap, make it no more than about 25 minutes about eight hours after you awake. If you have problems falling asleep, nix the naps altogether.
5. Do not expose yourself to bright light if you need to get up at night. Use a small night-light instead.
6. No nicotine before bed! Having a smoke before bed, although it may feel relaxing, is actually putting a stimulant into your bloodstream.
7. Caffeine should be discontinued at least four to six hours before bedtime. If you consume large amounts of caffeine and cut yourself off too quickly, you may get headaches that could keep you awake.
8. Although alcohol is a depressant and may help you fall asleep, the subsequent metabolism that clears it from your body when you are sleeping causes a withdrawal syndrome. This withdrawal causes awakenings and is often associated with nightmares and sweats.
9. A light snack may be sleep-inducing, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime interferes with sleep. Stay away from proteins and stick to carbohydrates or dairy products, like milk, which has been shown in research to help people go to sleep.
10. Don’t exercise just before bed, especially if you are invigorated by exercise. If this is the case, it may be best to exercise in the morning or afternoon.
11. Don’t let your pet sleep with you. Breus says this may cause arousals from either allergies or their movements in the bed.

Breus strongly believes that good sleep hygiene can have a big impact on you getting a better night’s sleep, leading you to wake up feeling refreshed and alert, not sleepy during the day. Breus says that while poor sleep hygiene may be your problem if you’re not getting a good night’s rest, it could also be that you have an unrecognized sleeping disorder, and stresses the importance of seeing your doctor should you continue to have problems.