Sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene is the set of daily habits and bedroom conditions that support regular, sufficient and good-quality sleep.

The concept covers a consistent sleep and wake schedule, a dark, quiet and cool bedroom, limiting caffeine and alcohol in the hours before bed, keeping screens and bright light out of the evening, getting daylight and physical activity during the day, and reserving the bed for sleep rather than work or scrolling. These practices act on the two systems that control sleep: the circadian clock, which responds to light and routine, and the homeostatic sleep drive, which is undermined by long daytime naps and stimulants.

Sleep hygiene education is often the first step when someone reports poor sleep, and it is included as one component of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia alongside stimulus control and sleep restriction. On its own it is generally considered helpful for mild, habit-related sleep problems but insufficient for established insomnia, which usually needs the more structured behavioral methods. Clinicians assess sleep hygiene through interview or short questionnaires that ask about schedule regularity, evening routines and bedroom environment. Cannabinoids sit outside this framework; they have been studied for sleep complaints, but evidence is early and no such product has an approved use for sleep.