Excess caffeine or blue light aren’t the only culprits for sleep disturbance. A psychotherapist lifts the curtain on bad reflexes to banish.
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to feeling good when you wake up and throughout the day. And to protect your sleep, you need to take care of your bedtime. Many people know that stress, excessive caffeine and even blue light are on the list of enemies of sleep. But there are others, just as harmful, but less known to the public, says American psychotherapist Catherine Cullen in her article on the website. Psychology today on September 24. The expert discusses four bad reflexes and explains how to get rid of them.
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Allow the mites to build up
They are microscopic, feeding on our dead cells, accumulating on laundry, in carpet hair, and even on Junior’s stuffed animals. These parasites, better known as ticks, should not be ignored, especially when they nest in the bed where you spend about 6 to 8 hours every night. “Higher concentrations of dust mites are associated with more intense insomnia symptoms in children and adults, linked to an allergic reaction in many people,” says Catherine Cullen.
To get rid of it, weekly washing of sheets is recommended, as well as dusting and vacuuming of curtains, floors and any other surface where dust easily accumulates. Teddy bears and other stuffed animals can be cleaned of any parasites in the dryer (with an average cycle of 20 minutes). Or, if you can, avoid leaving them in the children’s bed, suggests the psychotherapist.
Disturbed sleep
Whoever says a cleaned room also means a neat room. “It’s stressful to be in a poorly maintained and disorganized environment,” admits Catherine Cullen. Seeing how much remains to be done can increase our anxiety. we may fear being judged or hearing others’ inner judgments about our neglect of keeping.”
To fix this, you will find that storage is the key. But don’t turn into Marie Kondo, warns the psychotherapist who promotes the small steps method and invites you to organize everything in the room, rather than doing a big sorting that is too limited.
Multiply the sources of awakening
Binge watching Netflix, snacking, phone calls… All these activities should be banned in bed. Its use should be reserved only for sleep or sex, emphasizes Catherine Cullen. And even if you don’t scroll through Instagram, “the simple presence of the phone can prevent you from falling asleep,” warns the psychotherapist. Some research shows that people’s physiological arousal increases when they feel the need to respond to a message but are physically unable to do so.” This is why TV, snacks, and smartphones should be kept out of the bedroom and should be completely avoided 30 minutes to 1 hour before bedtime. And if that phone serves as an alarm to wake up in the morning, Catherine Cullen invites us to invest in a mechanical alarm clock. “Yes, it’s hard, but yes, you can do it, and it will get easier with time,” she promises.
Ignoring the side effects of drugs and alcohol
We sometimes forget this, but medications can have side effects, and one of them is sleep disturbance. Many reasons why you should discuss your insomnia with your doctor, who will examine any lifestyle habits and substances you use that may be disrupting your night. In addition to drug treatment, alcohol consumption is also an important factor in insomnia, recalls Catherine Cullen.
Source: Le Figaro
