Practicing good sleep hygiene is not something most people generally put much thought to. In our busy schedules, we often sacrifice it, squeezing more work and activities into our days at the expense of ensuring enough hours of sleep.

To think you can catch up on it at some later time, such as over the weekend, is a fallacy. Sleep deficit is not a debt account that can be regenerated at some other convenient time. Skimping on the hours of rest immediately translates into the waking period of the next day and has consequences on driving, memory, learning and attention. Even your visual acuity may suffer as a result of too little sleep. And some researchers are saying long-term continual deprivation is associated with health disorders.

The amount of sleep we need is dictated by our circadian rhythms, or internal body clocks, which adapt to the 24-hour period of light and darkness. Most adults need an average of eight hours, with a range from six to nine hours, depending on the individual. This can be very different for everyone.

Researchers have shown that healthy adults who underwent an experiment with 36 hours of sleep deprivation and had their sleep structures examined in a sleep lab showed remarkable differences in their sleep patterns. These differences can be traced back to biology because they were not driven by circumstance -- all persons were subjected to the same amount of sleep deprivation. This wide variation in the duration of sleep and depth of sleep is thought to have a strong genetic component, with particular differences seen in the deep non-REM (rapid eye movement) stages of sleep (stages 3 and 4).

Results of this study at the University of Pennsylvania, funded by the National Institutes of Health, were published in the June 2007 volume of the Journal of Sleep Research. Other studies in twins have also demonstrated the same.

Another researcher may have pinpointed a gene encoding for an enzyme called adenosine deaminase thought to be associated with brain energy metabolism. Sleep disorders may run in your family, so perhaps you'll want to see a specialist if you experience excessive tiredness during the day as a result of not getting sufficient quality of sleep.

If you find yourself unable to fall asleep easily, or to get a full night's rest without waking, and are excessively sleepy during the day, you may also want to consider practicing good sleep hygiene.

Here are some healthy tips to keep in mind for ensuring a good night's sleep:

-- Only go to bed when sleepy.

-- Create a healthy sleep environment with minimal distractions (light, temperature, noise).

-- Avoid eating heavy meals prior to getting to sleep.

-- Stay away from stimulants in foods and drink, such as caffeine.

-- Avoid alcohol and nicotine before going to sleep.

-- Get exercise regularly.

-- Avoid drinking fluids before going to bed.

-- Use bed for sleeping and intimacy only, and avoid watching TV or eating in bed.

-- Avoid having your pet such as your cat sleep in bed with you if this wakes you.

-- Do whatever relaxes you mentally and physically prior to going to bed. For some that may include reading or taking a warm bath.

-- Get out of bed at the same time.

-- Strive to keep a regular wake/sleep schedule.

If these things don't help and you still experience trouble with sleeping or daytime tiredness, it may help to keep a diary on this to keep track of your habits.