The above photo was taken of me sleeping in my barracks room, on the top floor of the military police (MP) Provost Marshal Office (PMO) of Camp Kinser, when stationed in Okinawa, Japan as a Marine. I was out cold!
Apparently, my roommate thought it’d be funny to show me what he thought I valued most in life, as my right hand was placed in protection of my groin while in my unconscious state. This is one of the tamer sorts of pictures Marines could take of other sleeping Marines (i.e., no teabag).
In any case, on my rack (Marine word for bed), you may notice an open CD case and a thin wire running the length of the bulkhead (Marine word for wall). The wire was part of a hastily-assembled stereo surround sound system purchased at a military post exchange.
The CD case was open to the soothing section of my music collection. In particular, I used to frequently listen to Irish singer and composer Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, known mononymously as Enya, when unwinding from lengthy MP shifts.
To hazard a guess, I was listening to her 1995 album The Memory of Trees, although I owned a few of her anthologies and can’t accurately recall exactly which album was playing as I was sleeping in the photo. In heavy rotation in my PMO barracks room was The Memory of Trees.
Aside from sharing arbitrary information about my life, there’s a reason I think that the current blogpost has relevance for the readers of my content. For those who remain familiar with my work, you likely know that I advocate a holistic approach to wellness.
Along with practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) to address symptoms and the manner in which people conduct themselves regarding mental, emotional, and behavioral health, I advocate improvement of sleep hygiene. Are you familiar with this term and practice?
According to one source, “Sleep hygiene’ refers to healthy habits, behaviours and environmental factors that can be adjusted to help you have a good night’s sleep.” Admittedly, what constitutes a “good night’s sleep” varies from person to person. A separate source states of this concept:
Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically (or mentally) too close to bedtime, limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using bed for anything but sleep and sex, avoiding alcohol (as well as nicotine, caffeine, and other stimulants) in the hours before bedtime, and having a peaceful, comfortable and dark sleep environment.
As an MP, part of my sleep hygiene routine included listening to Enya. I found that her music soothed me and I had less sleep paralysis episodes when using this method than without the melodic intervention strategy.
What worked for me in the way of sleep hygiene may not work for you. In fact, even the concept of sleep hygiene may not be of clinically significant benefit to many people. For instance, consider the findings of one study:
Epidemiologic and laboratory research provide some support for the relationships between individual sleep hygiene components and sleep, and each recommendation is supported by plausible physiological and psychosocial mechanisms […] direct evaluation of the effects of following sleep hygiene recommendations is scant and inconclusive for many individual recommendations […] current recommendations are somewhat vague and inconsistent, and the evidence is often based on extreme circumstances […] the limited support for individual sleep hygiene recommendations in the general adult population is not the result of null effects, but rather the substantial need for replication and extension of current work.
One of the tricky components regarding the efficaciousness of sleep hygiene is that some people have medical conditions which impact their quality of sleep. As an example, despite the fact that listening to Enya seemed to reduce my episodic sleep paralysis, I was often tired when awake.
Many years after having served as an MP, which included constant shift changes from day- to nightshifts, I was diagnosed with severe and chronic sleep apnea. Notice that in the photo for this entry my mouth is open. I often would stop breathing while asleep and I snored quite a bit.
Even with sleep hygiene modifications, my diagnosable medical condition significantly impaired my sleep. Of course, some would argue that an environmental change, such as use of a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machine, is a component of sleep hygiene.
In any event, I advocate improvement of sleep as a necessary element of self-care – regardless of whether or not an individual terms this component as “sleep hygiene.” Concerning this matter, I suspect that my clients are likely tired of hearing me repeat the same phrase.
“If you can alter only one element of your self-care,” I generally encourage, “work on the quality of your sleep. It’s that important!” The benefits of sleep are many and I find that in my personal and professional life anecdotal evidence suggests that improved sleep leads to healthier outcomes.
Perhaps you don’t need a CPAP machine, though this medical intervention works for me. In your case, finding what works for you may be beneficial to your overall health. If you choose not to call this approach to well-being “sleep hygiene,” fine. Call it whatever you desire.
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Better Health Channel. (n.d.). Sleep hygiene. Department of Health, State Government of Victoria, Australia. Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/sleep-hygiene
Cultivating Health. (2023, March 15). Better sleep: Why it’s important for your health and tips to sleep soundly. University of California, Davis. Retrieved from https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/better-sleep-why-its-important-for-your-health-and-tips-to-sleep-soundly/2023/03
Demon Phoenix 1337. (2005, April 10). Teabag. Urban Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabag
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (2022, May 31). Holistic approach to mental health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/holistic-approach-to-mental-health
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2024, March 4). Mental, emotional, and behavioral health. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/mental-emotional-and-behavioral-health
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, May 6). Self-care. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-care
Hollings, D. (2022, August 8). Was Freud right? Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/was-freud-right
Hollings, D. (2024, September 29). Well, well, well. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/well-well-well
Irish, L. A., Kline, C. E., Gunn, H. E., Buysse, D. J., and Hall, M. A. (2014, October 16). The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4400203/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Enya. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enya
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sleep apnea. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sleep hygiene. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_hygiene
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sleep paralysis. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
Wikipedia. (n.d.). The Memory of Trees. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memory_of_Trees
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