“Inside Track With Gerry Borreggine” | A Conversation with Terry Cralle on Sleep Hygiene and Bedtime Habits

“Inside Track” host Gerry Borreggine asks sleep expert Terry Cralle what is sleep hygiene and how to achieve it.

Transcript

Gerry Borreggine
Welcome to “Inside Track.” I’m Gerry Borreggine. Today, I’m here with Terry Cralle: Terry Cralle is a registered nurse spokesperson for the Better Sleep Council and proprietor of Green Front Furniture.

Terry Cralle
Yeah, it’s a great situation I’m in right now, and I enjoy my work tremendously.

Gerry Borreggine
Talk to us. Talk to us about what you’re telling customers. What are things you’re sharing with customers out there today?

Terry Cralle
I think it’s a fascinating way to get people engaged and build a rapport and a relationship with your customer. And I always start with sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene. Do you know what that is, Gerry?

Gerry Borreggine
I think I know mattress hygiene, which we tell people to replace a mattress after seven years because it’s no longer hygienically pure. It needs to be changed. But what about sleep hygiene?

Terry Cralle
So, this is using the word hygiene a little differently. It’s more like good sleep habits; people can acquire and utilize them, and they’re not tough. It’s not like I’m telling you to do something you can’t possibly do, or you just will give up. Good sleep hygiene means simple things, but you just have to get in the groove.

Terry Cralle
I always tell people to have a bedtime routine. It’s so important. Before bed goes, take at least 30 minutes to an hour, have all the electronics off, and then just do a series of steps that lead you to the bedroom—calming, in dim light that helps you transition your mind and body from wake to sleep.

Terry Cralle
We need that little bit of transition time. Don’t try to run full speed, flop into bed at the ninth hour, and say, oh my God, I can’t sleep. I also tell people to never try to sleep. Just relax. Sleep will follow. And I tell them that, yeah, I like that line. And we always say, keep the room quiet.

Very dark. Very dark and cool.

Gerry Borreggine
You’re saying you need a process.

Terry Cralle
So, just learn how to unwind, do some yoga stretches, read a book, and do anything besides electronics.

Gerry Borreggine
Here you have it. Here you have it. It’s “Inside Track.” I’m Gerry Borreggine with Terry Cralle. Thanks for watching.