Skip to main content

Nighttime Habits That Can Affect Your Getting A Sound Sleep.


Do you wake up tired in the morning and you are not quite sure why?

Below are a few habits that can affect your sleep time.


1. Drinking Alcohol Before Bed

We know reaching for your favorite boozy beverage might sound like the perfect way to unwind from a long day, but it might also be the reason you are not getting a sound sleep.

Alcohol when broken down, can affects the sleep centers of the brain and prevents deep sleep. Resulting in the second half of your night being more restless and inducing frequent awakenings.

Further, an intake of alcohol before you proceed to sleep can cause increased urination, so you may frequently need to get up to use the bathroom.  

2. Technology-Making Use Of Our Mobile/Electronic Devices.

Despite knowing we should not it is just so hard to resist reaching for a phone, iPad or laptop while in bed. 

The screens are both bright with blue light and interactive, which is wake-promoting.

Ideally there should be no screens one to two hours before bedtime." “Reading is so much more conducive to good sleep than interacting with a smartphone until the last waking moment. Besides helping you get to sleep earlier, avoiding interactive or exciting stimuli before bed also works to deepen sleep throughout the night, as your brain starts to slow down before sleep.”

Watching Television in bed is also inclusive. When we watch TV in bed, it can result in delaying bedtime and leading to less time for sleep. Our bed is a place reserved exclusively for sleep, rather than a place for watching Television.

If you must indulge or cannot avoid screens completely, you can consider the idea of investing in a good pair of blue light glasses.

In addition phones do come with lots  of screen protectors or phone applications that block blue light. Therefore, you can enjoy your favorite wind-down show and avoid any negative influences on your sleep.

However, it is best to ditch your nighttime phone habit for a good night sleep..

3. Negative Media Reports, Doomwatching And Doomscrolling

The World media has a lot of negative news to convey, if you care to listen. 

The act of doomscrolling refers to constantly scrolling through bad news on social media. But before doomscrolling, people were watching hours and hours of TV news. Negativity, doomscrolling and “doomwatching” are harmful to your mental health, but they can also affect your sleep.

Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright, sleep experts and authors of “Generation Sleepless,” both said watching news updates two hours before bedtime is a big sleep stealer.

“Today’s terrifying news cycle is a good example of a habit that can make falling asleep a lot harder,” they both said in an email. 

“If we go directly from the intense emotional stimulation of a breaking news story and all the worries it triggers in our already overactive minds, to lying down in bed and trying to sleep, we are likely to lie awake instead.”

4. Evening Workouts

Some people opt for a late night workout routine as a way to “tire themselves out." Please avoid vigorous exercise, workouts that make you break a sweat an hour before bedtime.

Work out should be at least 90 minutes before bedtime. 

Engaging in cardio or high-intensity interval training or lifting of heavy weights is a no no. Such workouts can make for a night of restless sleep.

If you must exercise for the night, make sure to do it 90 minutes before bedtime. Go for an evening walk, yoga or pilates. if you feel the need to expend some extra energy. 

Also focus on easing muscle tension, as it can help you avoid aches and pains that may keep you awake in discomfort.”

5. A Wind-Down Routine For An Effective Sleep

Getting good sleep requires a prelude, which means you need to create a wind-down or a relaxing routine/ bedtime routine.  

Wind-down routines are important in the process of preparing the mind and body for relaxation and optimal sleep.

Finding a relaxing routine will help the brain produce melatonin, eventually resulting in sleep.

This could be;

A. Going to bed around the same time every night. This can help establish the circadian rhythm ― the body’s sleep-wake cycle. 

B. Taking a warm bath and skin care are soothing activities could impact sleep positively.

C. Reading before bed is a great wind-down routine.

6. Eating High-Sugar Foods

It is best to avoid foods that quickly spike your blood sugar levels before bed.

When your blood sugar is rapidly increased, it causes a blood sugar crash. A blood sugar crash often leads to hypoglycemia and this can wake you up in the middle of the night. If you need a snack before bed, reach for foods with a low glycemic index, like oats, which will keep your blood sugar stable throughout the night. However, when in doubt always consult your physician on what to do as we all have different body types and react to situations differently.

7. Maintaining The Right Room Temperature For Sleep

When temperature is high, our bodies have to work harder to cool us down. Your bedroom temperature should be maintained between 66 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In summer the use of cooling technologies like a cooling pad, fans, air conditioning units can be utilized to reduce the chance of overheating. In winter the right body and room temperature is necessary for a sound sleep pattern.

8. Spending Too Much Time In Bed

Spending more time in bed if you are already struggling to sleep can be counterproductive.

If you are already battling with sleep, then spending more time in bed will simply lead to more time awake in bed rather than more time asleep. 

This leads to more tossing and turning during the night, and more worry, stress and anxiety related to being awake in bed. Over time, this creates an association between the bed, worry, and wakefulness — rather than sleep and relaxation. This makes sleep more difficult.

But spending more time in bed if you’re already struggling to sleep can be counterproductive.

If you are already struggling with sleep, then spending more time in bed will simply lead to more time awake in bed rather than more time asleep. 

This leads to more tossing and turning during the night, and more worry, stress and anxiety related to being awake in bed. Over time, this creates an association between the bed, worry, and wakefulness — rather than sleep and relaxation. This makes sleep more difficult.”

10. Using Your Bedroom As An Office

Finally, doubling your bedroom as an office space could be contributing to your sleepless nights.

When we use our bedroom as an office, we are creating an association with wakefulness, 

Our beds should be a cue for sleep so working in our beds weakens this association. If you have been working from your bed all day it could be harder for you to fall asleep since you might have trouble turning off your ‘working brain.’”




Comments

Post a Comment

Type your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

Nadia Mohammed-First Somali-American Elected Mayor

Two months after making history as America's first Somali-American elected mayor by voters, 27-year-old Nadia Mohamed is sworn in as mayor. Nadia Mohammed  She was sworn in at the city council of St. Louis Park in the US state of Minnesota. Ms Mohamed secured 58% of the vote to win last November's mayoral poll. Nadia Mohammed is the youngest and the first Muslim and black elected mayor in the city, whose family moved to Minnesota from Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp when she was 10, after fleeing war in Somalia. Her family migrated to Kenya after the civil war in Somalia, and she lived in the Kakuma refugee camp until she was about 10. "Well, my identity is one part of my story, right? I am proud of everything that I am, but I don't want that to be the only story. I don't want that to [be] where people stop their conversation," Ms Mohamed told Minneapolis-based KARE TV station after her election. She has listed public safety and affordable housing as some of t...

Philip Shaibu Pleads For Forgiveness - Forgive, Says The Deputy Governor of Edo State, To His Governor

Thursday in Benin City, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu appealed to Governor Obaseki to forgive and forget their differences.        Governor Godwin Obaseki and His Deputy Philip Shaibu  An embattled  Shaibu, begged his principal, Governor Godwin Obakeki, for forgiveness over their political differences. While addressing journalists he said: "I use this medium to appeal to Mr Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me so that we can develop our state together,” he said. "We have just one year to go. We have been the envy of the entire country. So Mr Governor, if there is anything you feel that I have done, please I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong.” On whether he had resumed at his new office, the Deputy Governor replied; “We have resumed but there is still a lot of work to be done there. “There is no problem about it. The governor has asked us to go there. Like I have alway...

Lady Offers To Donate Her kidney To Sonia Ekweremadu

  Responding to the daughter of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Sonia Ekweremadu's passionate appeal for a kidney donor. A 24-year-old lady, Annastasia Michael, has written an open letter to  Sonia via Facebook, offering to donate one of her kidneys to save her life. Annastasia wrote; "Kidney donation To Sonia Ekweremadu. "I (Annastasia Michael Olamma) want to donate one of my kidney to Sonia Ekweremadu to save her life. I have made up my mind to do this to prove women can help women. If any of her relatives mum, dad, and siblings, cannot give out their kidneys to save their Bloodline, Then i will donate my own to save Sonia and I demand nothing in return. I pray it matches with her own. I am 24 years old ,I don’t take alcohol, and I believe my kidney is very healthy to donate. I have sent message to her email @helpsonialive@gmail.com and anticipate for her reply. May God heal you  🙏 😢 #womensupportingwomen #helpsonialive #sonialivematters. This is coming after the 25-year-old ...