Effective non-pharmaceutical approaches to restorative sleep for healthcare professionals

Abstract

Sleep, one of the foundations of health, is regulated by homeostatic sleep drive and circadian rhythm. Poor sleep has a variety of consequences, and healthcare professionals are particularly susceptible to poor sleep patterns due to stress and time restraints. Sleep health can be improved through diet and a balanced nighttime snack, morning aerobic exercise, nighttime yoga and progressive muscle relaxation meditations, full spectrum light therapy in the mornings, and dietary supplements such as valerian, melatonin, and magnesium, which are shown to improve sleep quality and are safer alternatives to sedative pharmaceuticals. These strategies can be effective in creating better sleep with relatively small changes leading to big differences.