We know the importance of habit. Many people try to develop good things like healthy eating, more reading, or more sleep.
Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t intentionally prepare for failure, especially when it comes to sleep. What we don’t always realize is that some of the things we do before bed can worsen our health.
We turned to some experts to find out which of our seemingly harmless night habits were not conducive to deep sleep. Here are the things to avoid:
1. Procrastination before bed
We all have busy lives and sometimes we can’t fill our to -do list for the day. To fix this, we will try to catch up at night.
It increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and could lead to overall sleep levels, Drs. Ashwin Nadkarn, an associate psychiatrist and instructor at Harvard Medical School.
“A lot of people spend the last few minutes of the day‘ studying ’not only with work responsibilities, but also with household needs,” Nadkarni told HuffPost.
“For example, in the last 30 minutes before bedtime, people may write lists of things to do at home, chores to do on behalf of their children, or respond to business letters that they may not forget. He continued. “It may seem like a version of termination, when it can cause nocturnal gossip and arousal levels for further planning for the next day, which can delay the onset of sleep and worsen overall sleep quality.
2. Drink alcohol before bed
We know that craving for your favorite drink may seem like the best way to relax after a long day, but it can also be the reason you can’t sleep.
Chelsea Rorschaib, a sleep expert and neuroscientist at Wesper to diagnose sleep disorders at home and improve sleep, said that as long as alcohol is initially sedative, it becomes problematic because it is metabolized and damaged with new liver chemicals.
“When alcohol is broken down, it becomes a chemical that affects the brain’s sleep centers and interferes with deep sleep and REM sleep, making the second half of the night more restless and causing frequent waking, ” he says.
Also, alcohol can cause urinary incontinence, so you may need to get up often to take a bath. Rorscheib recommends drinking the last alcoholic beverage at least three to four hours before bedtime.
3. Relationship to technology
Although we knew we shouldn’t do this, it was very difficult to hold a phone, iPad, or laptop while in bed. However, Dr. urges. Alex Dimitriou, a double counselor, who is certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, people try it.
Dimitrium explained that the screens are both bright with blue light and interactive, which helps with awakening.
“I ask all my patients to‘ release at 10 ’, preferably not leave the screen for an hour or two before bed,” he said. “Reading is more useful for a good night’s sleep than talking on a smartphone until the moment of last awakening. In addition to helping you fall asleep earlier, avoiding an interactive or Exciting stimuli before bed also work to improve sleep at night as your brain begins to slow down before bedtime.
That also includes watching TV in bed, added Martin Reed, a certified clinical sleep health teacher. “When we watch TV in bed, we can practice that the bed is a place to watch TV rather than just a place to sleep,” Reed said. Also, watching TV at night can make you watch too much, especially when watching Netflix shows that automatically play a new episode once one finishes, prolongs sleep, and causes less sleep.
Finally, if you can’t completely avoid the screens, Dr. Dipty Agarwal, Director of Interventional and Integrative Pain Management at Case Integrative Health, recommends investing in good blue glasses.
“If you don’t style the mirror, there are also many screen protectors or phone apps that block blue light. “So you can enjoy your favorite show and avoid any negative effects on your sleep,” he says.
4. Scroll of destiny
The Doomscrolling Act involves the constant flow of bad news on social media. But before fate passed, people watched the news for hours. Doomwatching is bad for your mental health, but it can also affect your sleep.
Heather Turgene and Julie Wright, sleep experts and authors of Generation Sleepless, both said watching news updates two hours before bed was a huge sleep theft.
“Today’s horrible news cycle is a great example of a habit that can make it harder to sleep,” they both wrote in an email. “If we go straight from the intense emotional stimulation of the news and all the anxiety it causes to our hyperactive minds, to falling asleep and trying to fall asleep, we’re more likely to wake up.”
5. Training at night
It is generally recommended to avoid vigorous exercise at least 90 minutes before bedtime. Although many people choose to exercise at night to “get bored,” these exercises can lead to restless sleep, says Stephen Light, a certified sleep science coach.
“Avoid exercise that makes you sweat an hour before bed,” he says. This could be cardio, weight lifting, or high intensity interval training. Instead, opt for exercises like Pilates, yoga, or night walking if you think you need to expend extra energy. “Exercises to relieve muscle tension can help you avoid aches and pains that can wake you up during times of discomfort.”
6. No relaxation routine
Good sleep requires a start, which means you need to create a relaxation and bedtime routine. Carly Prendergast, a certified sleep science teacher and sleep expert, says relaxation routines are essential to the process of preparing the mind and body for relaxation and optimal sleep.
“Finding a rest regimen will help the brain produce melatonin, which will eventually lead to sleep,” he says. “A person may want to establish a bedtime routine at the same time each night. This will help establish the circadian rhythm, the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Other relaxing activities may include a hot bath. , treating your skin, reading a book, and more.
7. Drinking sugary foods
It’s best to avoid foods that quickly raise blood sugar levels before bed, Rorschaib says.
“When the blood sugar level rises rapidly, the blood sugar level drops once it is removed from the system,” he said. “Lowering blood sugar often causes hypoglycemia and it can wake you up in the middle of the night. If you need food before bed, look for foods with a low glycemic index, such as oats, that will protect on your blood sugar level at night.
8. Keep the temperature very warm
It may be tempting to turn up the heat or keep the AC off, but hot temperatures can be detrimental to sleep quality. The brain and body need a slight drop in temperature to initiate and maintain sleep.
According to Rorschaib, “When we are overheated, our body has to work hard to cool down and cool down, and it is very annoying to sleep. Try to keep the room temperature from 66 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. During the summer months, use fans, open windows, or use cooling technologies such as cooling pads to reduce the possibility of overheating.
9. Too much time in bed
The time we spend sleeping should be similar to the average length of our sleep at night, Reed says. This means that if you typically sleep about seven hours per night, it’s best not to spend more than seven and a half or eight hours.
“A lot of people who have difficulty sleeping spend too much time sleeping to try and get more sleep,” she says. “It seems logical – after all, if you spend more time in bed, you’ll sleep more.”
But spending more time in bed if you already have trouble sleeping can be counterproductive.
“If you already have trouble sleeping, spending more time in bed will make you wake up more in bed than sleeping more time,” Reed says. “It causes more rotation at night and more anxiety, stress and distress associated with waking up in bed. Over time, it creates a connection between bed rest, anxiety and wakefulness, rather than sleep and rest. .It makes it hard to sleep. “
10. Use your bedroom as an office
Finally, doubling your bedroom as an office space will help with your sleepless nights.
“When we use our bedroom as an office, we associate it with vigilance,” says Morgan Adams, a holistic female sleep coach. “Our beds should be a sign of sleep, so working in our beds weakens these associations. If you practice out of bed all day, you may have a hard time falling asleep because you may have a hard time killing your” working brain “.
Source: Huffpost
I’m Liza Grey, an experienced news writer and author at the Buna Times. I specialize in writing about economic issues, with a focus on uncovering stories that have a positive impact on society. With over seven years of experience in the news industry, I am highly knowledgeable about current events and the ways in which they affect our daily lives.