Chapter 4: Stress Management and Sleep 90 Figure 4.7. Percent of College Students and U.S. Adults Receiving 8 Hours or More of Sleep per Night Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep As previously mentioned, sleep plays a vital role in effective stress management as well as the prevention and recovery of various emotional and physiological conditions. Provided below are six recommendations for improving your sleep hygiene (i.e., quality sleep habits): 1. Create a quality sleep environment. A quality sleep environment means that the bedroom should be quiet, dark, and cool. In terms of temperature, most individuals prefer their room to be around 65°F (Maas, 1999). 2. Establish a consistent bedtime and nighttime routine. Constantly changing one’s bedtime will affect the internal circadian biological clock thereby making one’s sleep cycle unbalanced and more difficult to regulate. 3. Whenever possible, use the bed just for sleeping. Using one’s bed to perform other activities such as eating, studying or watching tv sends mixed signals to the subconscious thus potentially making falling asleep more difficult. 4. Keep the cellphone out of sight and out of reach. The tendency for most individuals is to check their phone every time there is a notification of an email, text or social media post. Keeping the cellphone away from the nightstand can help to reduce or eliminate this temptation.
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