Meta Description: No matter how healthy you eat or live, if you make the following sleep mistakes your health is going to suffer largely. So quit them for a better life.
Not sure which things can harm your sleep and how they can be taken care of without losing your health? Dr. Lopez-Ianilos, a psychologist, recommends that you should start by getting rid of all bad habits that harm your sleep.
Taking little steps and adding one healthy habit to your routine at a time will help you adapt to a healthy lifestyle. And if you make mistakes in the process, do not worry as nobody is perfect, and it is perfectly normal.
Sleep Mistakes
Here are some major sleep mistakes many people make.
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Do Not Look At Screens Before Going To Bed
You may have heard of this before that the blue light from your TV, phone, or tablet makes it difficult to fall asleep. But no one really pays attention to it; as a result, sleep quality suffers. The best solution is to turn off the screen and do something else, like reading a book, for an hour until you fall asleep.
But if you are unable to throw your phone away at night, the least you can do is turning on night mode on your phone, which will change the color to the warmer part for the display. Besides, you can also get blue light blocking filters to cover your laptop, monitor, or tablet, which can be useful.
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Avoid Drinking Alcohol At Bedtime
Many people have habits of drinking alcohol before bedtime because they just can’t help it. However, if your dependence on alcohol is strong, you may have insomnia, and your sleep quality will also be compromised. According to research, more than 70 million people in the US have insomnia, and that numbers are high in States like Alabama, where addiction is a growing problem.
Thus, it is important to seek professional help. You can contact specialists working in nearby rehabs for assistance. For example, those residing in Alabama State can seek help from the best rehab centers in Alabama to get rid of addiction. Once you get sober, sleeping problems will also fade away with time.
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Do Not Drink Coffee Or Eat Late At Night
You may have read so many articles on the Internet about the harmful effects of coffee on sleep, but heavy drinks such as milkshakes are not innocent and can also affect your sleep. If you continue to consume such drinks at night, they can lead to insomnia, and if you already have insomnia, it will worsen your pre-existing insomnia. So it is better to quit these drinks.
Likewise, eating large meals right before bedtime may cause indigestion or harm your metabolism. As a result, frequent late-night awakenings become common. So it is better to have your meal three hours before your sleeping time. But if hunger strikes late at night, you can eat light snacks.
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Use Your Bed For 3 S’s
Keep three 3 S’s in your mind. i.e., sex, sleep, and sickness; you should associate your bed only with these three things. If you associate these three things with bed, you will automatically feel sleepy every time you lie in bed at night.
However, if you watch TV or work on your laptop while sitting on the bed, you won’t be able to fall asleep quickly at night. So it is better to leave the bed only for resting purposes.
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Exercise
Doing cardio exercises makes you tired, and you fall asleep as soon as your head touches the pillow surface at night. We all know how exercising can help us improve our sleep quality. Even as little as thirty minutes of daily exercise is enough to sleep better at night. However, there is one limitation when it comes to exercising for better sleep.
It is that you need to avoid exercising just before bedtime. This is because by moving a lot at this time, the temperature of the body raises. Due to it, your body gets into an awakening mode, and falling asleep becomes difficult. So it is better to avoid exercising when you are about to go to bed.
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Use Blackout Curtains
Many studies have shown that it is important to sleep in a dark room so as to improve sleep quality. However, if you fail to do, your sleep will be interrupted by frequent awakenings. There might be a street lamp just outside your window, which may light up your room at night.
Thus, it is better to use blackout curtains. These curtains will help to block any light coming from outside and help you sleep better. Besides, you can also match the curtain designs according to your room layout.
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Use The Correct Mattress
Buy new mattresses may be expensive; however, if you sleep on an old mattress that is not comfortable enough, your health will suffer. Thus, it is important to make the right investment for better sleep.
Besides, now temperature regulating mattresses are also available, which help to warm up your bed on a cold winter night. Such a cozy environment will help you sleep better and improve your sleep quality.
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Deal With Noise Pollution
People who live in populated areas may be able to relate to it. You may have noisy neighbors, or birds may sit on the pane of your window and start to chirp, or even a new building might be under construction.
All these factors may ruin your night’s sleep. Thus, you need to take certain measures in order to prevent night awakenings. If you can’t afford a sound machine, you can buy earplugs and wear them at night for sleep.
Take Away
If you are not able to sleep properly and peacefully at night, it might be due to some mistakes that you are making. Sleep mistakes will harm your physical as well as mental health by inducing stress and anxiety. Thus, we mentioned some mistakes in this article that most people make that disrupt their sleep. Therefore, you must quit them to ensure good health.
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