What is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is/are the routines & practices that are your norm in relation to sleep. 

⠀
So you may not have a daily nap schedule or  some routine or structure to  your little ones day, so your little one naps as & when or perhaps your little one sleeps wherever they nod off or you might decide to do a bedtime routine but not implement it regularly........ doing the bedtime routine on some nights of the week and not others or missing out elements of the routine on some nights like bathtime or the bedtime story.

The above example of an unstructured day or hap hazard bedtime routine is sleep hygiene that doesn’t really encourage regular naps or encourage a predictable sleep pattern, This pattern of sleep hygiene practices  in terms of promoting optimal sleep would be considered ‘bad’ hygiene . 

If, however you have a daily routine that you try to follow where naps are structured and the bedtime routine is carried out every night the same order, in the same place with all the same conditions this example of sleep hygiene would encourage restful, predictable quality sleep and naps and so would be considered ‘good’ sleep hygiene .

Good sleep hygiene is important as it promotes encourages and accommodates consistent predictable, restful quality sleep for the suggested amount of time each 24 hour period. ⠀Babies and toddlers feels secure when they know and can predict whats happening now and whats happening next, so not only does 'Good' sleep hygiene encourage predictable sleep habits but it also fosters trust and connection between you and your little one.

Do your current sleep hygiene practices encourage predictable & quality sleep or does it perhaps hinder it ? What could you do regularly to make improvements to your sleep hygiene? ⠀