Sleep is very important to our health. Although we still do not fully understand why we need sleep but if we do not get enough sleep at least once the next morning, the effect becomes visible. That is why in this article, we will talk about a few bad evening habits that prevent us from getting a sound and healthy sleep, as well as ways to avoid them.
1. Use Of Electronic Devices
The screens of smartphones, tablets, and laptops emit light from the blue part of the spectrum. The effect of this light is to suppress the body’s ability to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. Naturally, this creates sleep problems.
What Should You Do?
The easiest way to get rid of this problem is to stop using all electronic devices at least an hour before going to bed. Instead of looking at the screen of your smartphone or tablet all this time, try to find alternative ways to spend your time – for example, read a paper book, or engage in meditation.Â
2. Excessive Consumption of Alcohol
Many people drink alcohol in the evening with friends, and for them, it is part of their routine. But this is one of those habits that cause sleepless nights. Along with insomnia, alcohol also causes several other health problems.
What Should You Do?
In order to enjoy a good sleep at night, one should eliminate the habit of drinking alcohol. To know if you are addicted to alcohol, look for the signs of alcohol abuse among your family and also yourself. Then consult a specialist who can help you get rid of this problem.
3. Going To Bed At Different Times
Staying up late on the weekends or even not sleeping all night long knocks our inner clock out of rhythm. As a result, in order to return to the usual rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, we have to make a fair amount of effort.
What Should You Do?
To solve this problem, try to get up and go to bed at about the same time regardless of the day of the week. Oh, and forget about Friday night parties until 2 am!
4. Drinking Coffee Before Bed
Since caffeine is a stimulant, people often see nothing wrong with drinking a cup or two of coffee after dinner – just when we all begin to feel tired and sleepy. However, in doing so, they are making a mistake.
The caffeine gets out of the body in half in five to six hours. Even then, half of the caffeine will still be in your body. This means that when you drink coffee in the afternoon, you yourself are depriving yourself of the opportunity to sleep normally.
What Should You Do?
Fortunately, the solution to this problem is quite simple. Avoid eating any food or drink high in caffeine after 2 pm if you are going to bed before midnight.
5. Plentiful And Hearty Dinner
If we sit up late for some business, we are much more likely to refresh ourselves with a denser and more satisfying dinner. Unfortunately, a hearty late dinner not only satiates us but contributes to our inability to sleep.
After eating a large amount of food, your metabolism gets increased accordingly to digest it all. And in addition, lying with a full stomach is simply uncomfortable. The combination of these two conditions makes falling asleep very problematic.Â
What Should You Do?
To avoid this problem, try to eat dinner about two to three hours before bed. Do not make any exceptions, or you will have to stay awake for the whole night.
6. Exercise Before Bed
Given how busy our lives can be, you might feel that exercising right before bed is a very smart and convenient decision. Although exercise is undoubtedly an extremely rewarding pastime, loading your body just before bed will keep it awake.
Physical activity just before bed affects your sleep in the following ways. First, it artificially raises your body temperature. Since the body must first naturally relax and lower its temperature in order to fall asleep, this rise in temperature may delay your falling asleep. Second, exercise increases brain activity, and the extra stimulation prevents you from relaxing and falling asleep.
What Should You Do?
If you really want to do some physical activity before bed, try to limit yourself to the lightest and most relaxing ones, and leave the heavier ones for the daytime.
7. Going To Bed Early
Common sense tells us that if we want to fall asleep early, we must go to bed earlier. However, in this case, our common sense, alas, is wrong. Yes, this may seem counterintuitive at first, but if you go to bed too early, you will likely find it much more difficult to fall asleep. Yes, when you go to bed too early, instead of falling asleep, you stay awake for quite a long time.
As a result, instead of falling asleep, we toss and turn in bed, turning from side to side every minute, which only leads to irritation. Irritation leads to stress, which, in turn, leads to the fact that you do not manage to fall asleep at all.
What Should You Do?
The easiest way to avoid this is by only going to bed when you really feel tired. This way, you will avoid most of the problems that come from waiting in bed before you fall asleep.
Take Away
Considering how important proper and regular sleep is for the stable functioning of our body, it is extremely important to avoid bad habits in every possible way. By breaking the habits that make your sleep interrupted and restless and replacing them with the alternatives we have proposed, you will soon find that falling asleep at the same time every day is doable. Since proper sleep is important for your ability to work, well-being, and positive thinking, it can change your whole life for the better!
