Sleep Awareness Week 2022 Top Expert Tips & Essentials

Hold back a yawn because of daylight saving time? We are there with you. Luckily, this week is National Sleep Week, so you can catch up on all the zzzs your alarm clock stole from you last night. The National Sleep Foundation launched Sleep Week in 1998 to coincide with the first day of daylight saving time and to raise awareness of the importance of sleep and rest. Sleep Foundation medical review expert Dr. Abhinav Singh suggests trying to wind down earlier this week to give yourself an opportunity to get eight hours of sleep. “Be prepared to feel tired and sleepy this week,” he says. “Take a short nap of 15 to 20 minutes if possible.”

But if you need many more than a nap or a week to celebrate, you have the rest of March to make the best night’s sleep a healthy habit. So that means taking a break from your blue light exposure to replenish your body with high-quality sleep. If you’re worried about your environment interfering with your sleep (whether it’s your bedroom design or your back pain), there’s hope for your sleep issues! We reached out to Dr. Michael Breus, Purple’s Chief Sleep Advisor, to share the life-changing tips that will improve your sleep. Dr. Breus shares, “I believe that sleep is a performance activity, similar to running. When you have the right mattress, pillow, linens, lighting, sound, and temperature, you’ll sleep better. It’s all about the environment. Here’s a guide to your best sleep yet, plus the products we’ve tested ourselves that improve our nighttime routine.

Healthy rest habits for sleep week 2022:

1. Get into good habits: “Better sleep is all about prioritizing and creating healthy habits in the right environment,” says Dr. Breus.

2. Avoid caffeine mid-afternoon: “Who doesn’t like a good cup of coffee in the morning? But unfortunately, drinking it too late in the day can have a negative impact on your sleep. Caffeine has a half-life of about six to eight hours. This means that 50% of the caffeine is still in your system after eight hours. Since it can take your body eight hours to clear half of the caffeine from your system, even if you don’t notice it, the caffeine is still there and will disrupt sleep.

3. Daily exercise: “Moderate exercise can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep. Many of my patients who exercise regularly sleep better and feel more alert and rejuvenated the next day. Exercising during the day will not only help you fall asleep faster, but will also lead to longer, deeper sleep with fewer awakenings during the night.”

4. Don’t drink alcohol too close to the bed: “Drinking alcohol too close to bed can prevent you from achieving deep sleep by reducing your REM and stage 3 or 4 sleep. It can also dehydrate you, making you thirsty when you wake up. And that can cause snoring.”