Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentist

Sleep Hygiene

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Sleep Hygiene

How many times when you are at a dental office does your dental hygienist or dentist remind you of the need to floss and brush to maintain good oral hygiene? Of course you know how important is to do all the things necessary to preserve a healthy mouth, but what about sleep hygiene, your sleep habits?

The purpose for sleep is to allow our bodies to recover, regenerate and heal. Without the appropriate amount of sleep we increase the risk of disease and illness. Our quality of our sleep is affect by many factors and there are things that we can do to improve our sleep on a nightly basis. By improving your sleep habits, you can increase your chance of falling asleep fast, staying asleep and sleeping between seven to nine hours each night.

Some suggestions from the experts to improve the quality of you sleep.

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This will train your body to sleep on a schedule. Create a nightly ritual to signal that it is time to sleep.

The bedroom should be used only for sleep and sex. Don’t put that book by your bedside and be tempted to open it. Men, keep that remote control away from your reach. That means no reading in bed and no TV in bed. Doing these things will just send the wrong signals to your body and make it difficult to fall asleep.

Alcohol before sleep is a non-no. That small glass of wine can make it more difficult to stay asleep. That drink may feel good going down and you might fall asleep just fine, but you will likely wake up in the middle of the night. This effect is caused by a rebound in blood sugar and withdrawal from the alcohol after it is metabolized.

Don't Smoke, the nicotine in cigarettes is a stimulant that will keep you awake. Exercising is of great benefit to enhance your restful sleep. Lastly, keep your bedroom dark!

If you are having difficulty sleep, improving your sleep hygiene may help. If not this may be your body’s way of telling you that you may have a sleep disorder. If you have any questions regarding the hygiene of sleep or sleep disorders, please give us a call at 561-394-9000. We will try to answer your questions and get you on the right path to better a healthy better night of sleep.

Kenneth A. Mogell, D.M.D.