A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP CAN DO WONDERS FOR YOUR MIND AND BODY, BUT BAD BEDTIME HABITS CAN MAKE YOU UNHAPPY AND PUT YOUR HEALTH AT RISK. DITCH THESE COMMON HABITS FOR BETTER SLEEP AND A REFRESHED YOU.
Because your body repairs and rejuvenates itself while you sleep, continually making poor bedtime routine choices can quickly put your overall quality of life at risk—sleep deprived, cranky and sluggish is no way to live. So how you do you get better sleep?
Ditch bad bedtime habits. Replace with good habits.
Easier said than done. After all, the odds are high (very high) that everyone’s been guilty of sabotaging a good night’s sleep in one way or another.
But part of building a healthy lifestyle is recognizing—and most importantly, avoiding and ditching—these bad bedtime habits. As a result? Quality sleep and every amazing benefit that comes with it.
Better sleep has been known to help you:
- Reduce stress
- Lose weight
- Improve focus
- Stay heart healthy
- Boost your mood
That’s just an inkling of what quality sleep can do for you. And remember, even though you may not directly feel how certain behaviors affect your sleep, that doesn’t mean your body and sleep isn’t affected.
Keep reading to see what bedtime habits you may want to change for better sleep, plus a few healthy habits you can pick up instead.
Ditch these 10 bedtime habits for way better sleep
1. Drinking caffeine
Reaching for your morning coffee, you want focus. You want pep. You want the comfort of your favorite brew—or whatever nearby brew you can get your hands on if you’re fighting a mid-afternoon slump.
Consuming caffeine in the AM or early PM is generally where it should stay. Studies show that consuming caffeine even 6 hours before bedtime can disturb sleep.
What to do instead
Completely cut out caffeine starting around 2:00pm, which includes coffee, energy drinks and caffeinated teas like green and black tea.
Good alternatives are lemon water, herbal teas, chicory coffee and golden milk.
2. Consuming alcohol
Unless you’re a strict non-drinker, there’s a chance you’re consuming alcohol on occasion before you hit the hay—an evening out with friends, on a date, after a long day or perhaps snuggled up on the couch with pizza and a cat.
Buzzkill: Much like caffeine, alcohol before bedtime won’t do you any favors. While alcohol may help you fall asleep, it’s likely to disrupt your sleep throughout the night, particularly in the second half of your sleep cycle.
What to do instead
Avoid drinking alcohol 1 to 2 hours before going to bed (depending on how long it takes your body to process it), though drinking up to 6 hours before bedtime has even been known to negatively affect your ZZZs.
Opt for flavored sparkling water, freshly squeezed lemon or lime water, coconut water or a mocktail. Something like Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar Limeade drink is another great option—organic, zero calories, zero sugar.
3. Screen time that runs into bedtime
Technology is part of everyday life. Sometimes it might be hard to imagine how you ever managed before the smartphone era. And we tote these tiny computers around with us everywhere we go—right up until it’s time to get some shut eye.
There are two main reasons to skip screen time before going to sleep.
The first is to detach from the world—news, social media, your boss—to reduce the feelings of general unhappiness it can cause.
The second is that the artificial blue light coming from your device is disrupting your mind and body. Your internal clock is delayed and melatonin is suppressed, making it more difficult to fall and stay asleep.
What to do instead
Give yourself a digital curfew. An hour or so before bedtime might be ideal for your body, but you do you. Try 30 minutes. Or 15 minutes, which may not sound like much, but every little bit can help.
When you decide on what time to put your phone down every night, set an alarm to help you remember.
4. Unresolved petty fights
Life’s too short to be unnecessarily angry with the ones you love. And letting the sun set on an unresolved argument can feel icky, plain and simple.
In fact, if you’re near a loved one now, go give ‘em a hug.
Going to bed angry can compromise a restful sleep, steal your peace, damage any chance of having a positive start to the next day and put extra stress on your relationship.
That said, every situation and relationship is different, and sometimes it might make more sense to sleep on it first, then settle it later.
What to do instead
With any conflict you know can be resolved then and there with just a little communication, make an effort to work through it. If it’s best to take a few minutes to cool off before continuing, do it.
Do: Listen and validate the other person’s feelings. Be open minded, honest and empathetic. Compromise. Say I love you.
Don’t: Throw cheap shots and ultimatums. Be selfish. Withhold affection for the wrong reason. Be afraid to admit you were wrong.
5. Filling up on sugary treats
Who wouldn’t love to eat a bowl of ice cream. Every. single. night. Sounds amazing, but definitely not something that should become a habit.
Filling up on sugar any time of day can wreak havoc on your body in general.
Eating refined sugar before bedtime? Just another chance for the effects of sugar to pull you out of slumber, leaving you groggy in the AM when you should be feeling refreshed, pumped and ready to roll.
What to do instead
Go for berries or other fruit—apples with a side of peanut butter or walnuts is perfection. Whip up something like chia pudding or these frozen chocolate banana bites (just use dark chocolate, not milk chocolate to reduce your sugar intake).
6. Not silencing phone notifications
Every app wants to notify you of something. New feature, new video, new message. New everything.
It’s fine to be connected to an extent, but not at the expense of your sleep and health.
A 2:00am phone call is pretty impossible to ignore, and you likely won’t have to question if it woke you. Other beeps, bloops and chirps may only briefly wake you up—just enough to interrupt your sleep cycle. You might not remember, but your body does.
What to do instead
Turn your phone on silent. Or switch off notifications within your phone settings for any app that might ping you during the night. Try the “Do Not Disturb” mode, which silences all notifications and calls during the hours you set.
7. Waving off gratitude
Practicing gratitude has amazing benefits, and is one of the best ways to feel happier and more positive. It can help you be thankful, celebrate the present, break out of a slump and appreciate life more, even the little things.
And because gratitude is linked to improved overall health and wellbeing, continually practicing it to develop a positive mindset by can also mean less fatigue and reduced inflammation in your body.
Not practicing gratitude, on the other hand, means that you’re more likely to experience just the opposite.
It’s easier for stress, anger and sadness to control your emotions and outlook, which can encourage negative thoughts to either slip in as you should be drifting off to sleep, or wake and keep you up in the middle of the night.
What to do instead
An easy way to start: Practice gratitude for at least 1 minute every night. Simply reflect on lessons learned that day, things you love and what (or who) you’re thankful for. You can also think about ways to show others how much you appreciate them.
The next step would be to start journaling.
Don’t let the word journaling scare you off—it doesn’t have to be anything intense or overwhelming. Depending on what you need, like practicing gratitude, journaling can just mean writing down what you’re grateful for instead of only thinking about it.
8. Bunking up with your pets
I’m totally guilty of sleeping with my cats—sandwiched between 3 of them at times. And truth be told, when your heart belongs to your fur baby, it sure is hard to lock them out at night. Almost feels cruel.
Your cat, dog—or whatever animal that sleeps by your feet or takes over your pillow—is undoubtedly waking you up in the middle of the night.
Plus, pets in beds can not only disrupt your sleep with scratching, licking, pushing you off the edge and treating your hair like a play thing, but can also raise your risk of getting allergies.
What to do instead
There’s not much getting around this. If you don’t want to be disturbed by your pet, you have to either put him or her in a separate room or close your door with them on the other side.
I know. It pains me to say it just as much as it does you to hear it.
9. Irregular bedtimes
Even if you have a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 job, you still might have trouble maintaining a routine sleep schedule on the weekends. After all, staying up late and sleeping in when you don’t really have to do anything or be anywhere is oh. so. tempting.
While it’s easy to come and go to bed as you please, studies show that irregular sleep times can cause obesity, increase the risk of heart disease and cause higher blood sugar and blood pressure.
What to do instead
If you wake up at 6:00am to get ready for work, there’s a good chance you don’t want to wake up that early if you aren’t working. In cases like these, finding a nice balance is key.
Think about what time you wake up on work days, and add on an hour or two. It’s not exact, but at least you’re not sleeping in until noon o’clock.
10. Watching TV
Falling asleep in front of the boob tube seems innocent enough. You might feel comforted watching your favorite show snuggled up in your giant blanket, or find relief and happiness knowing Rachel and Ross of Friends finally resolved their differences—again!
But actually, the effects of watching TV before bedtime are similar to that of scrolling through your phone or tablet. The bright light can stimulate your mind and body, decreasing the amount of melatonin produced and delay the onset of REM sleep.
What to do instead
Set an alarm to unplug from TV 30 minutes or an hour before bedtime. Even if you’re dying to know what happens next, it’s an excellent way to practice self-discipline. As an alternative to TV, read a book or have a conversation and snuggle with your partner.
Are there any bad habits preventing you from getting better sleep? What good, healthy habits do you love instead?
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