Learn healthy sleep habits to improve your sleep quality and overall well-being. Get practical tips for a restful night’s sleep.According to surveys, about 90% of adults do not get enough sleep. If you are one of them, we will tell you which habits you should give up.
Healthy Sleep Habits for Better Rest and Well-being.
Working in bed
The ideal option is to create an association that being in bed is the same as sleeping. The only exception to this is sex. Otherwise, staying awake in bed can make it harder to fall asleep in the future. Even if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and realize that you can’t sleep, try getting out of bed and doing something relaxing until you feel like you can nod off again when you hit the pillow.
Sleeping too long during the day
A long daytime nap can easily lead to insomnia at night. Although most experts agree that daytime sleep is good for you, even a couple of hours is too much. It is recommended to limit your rest to 30 minutes – this time is ideal in terms of changing sleep phases. You will feel more alert, without a headache or feeling of exhaustion. In addition, you can drink coffee right before you rest – the caffeine will take effect just in time for you to wake up.
Use gadgets before bed
One of the most common mistakes people make before going to bed is using gadgets with bright screens. Although scientists are still debating the effect of blue light on sleep, there are other reasons to avoid touching your smartphone at night: social media content is usually designed to attract attention and evoke emotions, that is, to excite the nervous system, which also makes it difficult to fall asleep.
Overeating (or undereating)
Overeating before bed can lead to discomfort, indigestion, and heartburn, which are unlikely to help you fall asleep without a carefree nap. Likewise, if you are too hungry, you will not be able to fall asleep. Like sleep cycles, hunger in our bodies follows a circadian rhythm. It is recommended to eat at approximately the same time each day: this way, you are more likely to avoid extreme hunger before bed.
Worry about insomnia
Sure, a couple of sleepless nights in a row would make anyone nervous. However, you shouldn’t let worrying about sleep get to you. One of the worst things you can do to help you fall asleep is to worry about it. Otherwise, you’ll create a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. If you spend the whole day worrying about not sleeping well, you probably will. So try to relax and distract yourself if you need to.
Consume alcohol and caffeine
A person can feel the effects of caffeine for about 4.5 hours. In adulthood, it lasts longer. This means that drinking coffee around 6 p.m. can prevent you from falling asleep at 10 p.m. Alcohol, in turn, is harmful not only to health, but also to sound sleep, despite the feeling of fatigue and drowsiness it can cause. It has been proven that drinking large amounts of alcohol disrupts sleep cycles and leads to intermittent, shallow sleep.
Go to bed and wake up at different times
The greater the spread of sleep and wake-up times, the harder it is for the body to adapt. Focus on waking up at the same time every morning. Ideally, the wake-up time should be the same on both weekends and weekdays. If you decide to sleep an hour longer on a weekend, nothing special will happen, but 2-3 hours can create a feeling of jet lag – a change in time zones.