Time to go to bed...

I was on the phone this morning with my therapist (no, my mother isn’t to blame for everything) and I mentioned the book The Morning Miracle by Hal Elrod. The premise of the book is to develop a morning routine to get your day started. I told my therapist that I counsel my clients to consider a nighttime routine. I call these the “Power On Hour” and “Power Off Hour.” My therapist said there is a term for that, “Sleep hygiene.” I had never heard this (and no I don’t live under a rock, I hide under one to get away from the chaos in the world right now). Naturally, I googled the term and got back 138 million results. The first result is from the Sleep Foundation. If I may, I going to pick a bone and aim it at the Sleep Foundation, since they are result #1. The definition of hygiene is “conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing disease, especially through cleanliness.” Sleep Hygiene is about developing a routine that helps you sleep better which can help you maintain your health. But where is the “cleanliness?” No one I know is washing their sheets every day. My other issue…does routine/habit equal practices? When I think of practice, I think of the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.” And in my opinion, there is no such thing as perfect sleep, unless you think of death as one eternal nap. And the definition of hygiene includes the word “conditions.” What conditions are needed to make sleep health maintenance? A cold room.?Soft sheets? Blackout shades or a sleep mask? And for me, I would add a personal space heater, a dog that sleeps next to you? Does this mean that if I don’t have my dog, Marco, sleeping next to me, I won’t sleep as well as with him? I can tell you, I have proven this theory wrong on many a vacation. To be honest, I like my phrase better, “Power Off Hour” because it not only encompasses conditions and practices (a.k.a.routines), it reminds us of the point of sleep— to power down and recharge. By the time we get into bed, we could be like our phones at 20, 10, or even 0%. And also like our phones, we need to be charged. There is nothing to me about sleep that says cleanliness and everything to me that says R&R (rest and recharge).