7 Little Things Affecting Your Sleep!

Getting a perfect night’s sleep is a beautiful thing, but if you’re not sleeping enough during the week, your body is probably not at its best. Whether you realize it or not, many habits can upset your sleep cycle and cause you to fall asleep later than usual and sleep more restlessly. Here are a couple of things you may be doing that could affect your sleep and some natural sleep remedies.

1. Stop Late Night Snacking

Although your stomach might be rumbling right before bedtime, it’s best to avoid eating or drinking. In fact, eating spicy, greasy, or heavy foods could cause uncomfortable heartburn at night, leaving you to toss and turn. Water or any other fluids will just cause you to get up and go to the bathroom more frequently, disrupting your slumber. Putting a limit on food and drinks before hitting the hay, will help you get a better night’s rest.

2. Keep A Routine Schedule

Going to sleep around the same time every evening will help your body fall asleep faster, and will let you get better rest. If you’re forcing yourself to stay awake to watch your favorite show every Wednesday night at 10pm, you’re disrupting your sleeping pattern, and you’ll notice just how hard it is to climb out of bed the next morning.

Try to maintain a reasonable daily bedtime, so that your body can get a sufficient amount of sleep. Keep your binge watching to a minimum, or for the weekends when you don’t have to wake up early for work.

3. Reduce Your Stress For Better Rest

Stress can leave you in a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation. If you’re stressed your mind is moving quickly and won’t shut down, causing a lack of sleep. When you can’t fall asleep you might become more stressed, preventing you from dozing off, and the cycle continues.

Even if you doze off, your quality of sleep is sacrificed, since your mind is still too busy worrying and isn’t completely shutting down for the evening. This endless cycle is pesky and irritating, but could often lead to more serious sleep disorders. If you’re tired of being tired, there are various sleep disorder remedies you can try in order to get your sleeping patterns back on track, and decrease your everyday stress.

4. Caffeine Recharges Your Energy Level

That warm cup of tea you think is helping you to relax after a long, hard day in the office, could actually be waking you up even more! Caffeine before you go to bed will wake you back up, instead of calm you down. If you enjoy sipping on tea as a nighttime ritual, make sure to read the ingredients and labels to avoid caffeine.

There are many caffeine-free herbal teas available on the market, and some, like chamomile, include specific herbs and ingredients that are a natural way of making you sleepy.

5. Turn Down The Lights

Some people prefer to keep a night-light on, but the amount of light that stays on while you sleep could be the exact thing keeping you awake. Lighting can confuse your internal clock, tricking the body into thinking it is daylight and not time to go to bed. That means you should turn off the TV, and any lights in the bedroom. You can also try a sleeping mask to shield your eyes if you must keep your night-light on.

6. Electronics Keep Your Brain Active

Most people will admit that they’re attached to their phones almost 24/7, and if you’re prone to checking your emails, messages, and social media right before you lay down in bed, you might have trouble falling asleep. It’s best if you can set a specific time in the evening where you restrict all cell phone or laptop usage to let your brain settle down.

7. Exercise During The Day

Exercising is known to help the body unwind and fall asleep, but if you choose to do so right before bedtime you will be doing quite the opposite! Exercising right before you go to bed will cause you to stay awake and disrupt your sleep as your endorphins have been activated.

Sleep Guidelines

Getting a good night’s rest is important for your health, mind, and body! Following these tips can help you determine if your evening routines are affecting your sleep, so you can make changes to catch some more z’s. Check if you have any of these bad habits in your to ensure you get a better night’s sleep today!

Author Bio: Carl Turner is a physical therapist and a freelance health writer from Santa Monica, California. With over 10 years of experience assisting private clients and conducting research on the correlation between quality of sleep and health, he has been an influential figure in his community. When he is not busy at work, he enjoys practicing yoga and reading.

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