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Sleep Awareness Week: The Importance of Healthy Sleep Habits

Did you know that the Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital has a state-of-the-art sleep lab? As the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Awareness Week® (March 14-21) nears, we want to raise awareness of the importance of healthy sleep habits and put a spotlight on the services of our sleep lab!

Sleep Awareness Week starts at the beginning of Daylight Saving Time when most Americans will lose a full hour of sleep. And while the NSF recommends 7-9 hours of sleep per night for most adults, the annual Sleep in America® poll shows Americans feel sleepy an average of three times per week.

Here are some tips the NSF recommends for getting a good night’s sleep, so you can wake up refreshed and be fully productive throughout your waking hours.

Tips for a good night sleep

First up, try to maintain a consistent bedtime. This will train your body to wind down consistently, and will help you structure the end of your day around a routine. This will help you fall asleep when it’s time to hit the pillow.

Next, try to avoid bright light at night, but seek it out first thing in the morning. This will help your body’s circadian rhythms, which can naturally promote restfulness and alertness when it’s appropriate for each one.

Another is to look for the optimal sleep temperature, between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Not too hot, not too cold — it’s that “Goldilocks” range to promote good sleep!

Finally, your body needs time to prepare for sleep. So, try to spend about an hour before sleep doing a calming activity. Something like reading, or listening to relaxing music — even meditating — can go a long way toward a restful night’s sleep.

There are other tried-and-true methods that may help too, such as white-noise machines to drown out distracting noise or blackout curtains to block out unwanted light. Try a few methods out and see what works for you!

(Bonus tip: sleep journaling can be a really useful way to keep track of your sleep, and to help monitor what works in your bedtime routine, what affects your sleep, and how you feel in the morning as a result.)

The Sleep Lab at Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital

Here at the Ed Fraser Memorial Hospital, Mitchell Rothstein, MD, is the medical director of our lab. He’s certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Sleep Medicine, Pulmonary Disease and Internal Medicine. We accept patients 12 years or older, and offer some of the following services both in-home and in-lab:

  • Split-night studies
  • Multiple sleep latency tests
  • Polysomnogram
  • CPAP desensitization including PAP-NAP

And more!

How you sleep can affect your ability to do your job, how you feel throughout the day, and your overall bodily health. The National Sleep Foundation is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Americans through sleep education and advocacy, and the staff at our state-of-the-art sleep lab are experienced in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. We’re committed to helping you find the right type of treatment for you. You must be referred by your doctor for a sleep study before making an appointment. Learn more about what our Sleep Lab has to offer on our services page, or call us at (904) 259-3151 for more information.