4 Things That May Be Ruining Your Sleep Quality
Are you sleep deprived? Proper sleep improves productivity, innovation, creativity, and overall well-being. Without adequate sleep each night, you won’t function at your best nor feel great either. If you feel depressed, have increased symptoms of stress and anxiety, feel sluggish, or are constantly struggling to perform, then poor-quality sleep is likely to blame. Find out more about the four common things that may ruin your sleep quality and how to avoid them.
Poor Diet and Exercise Routine
Eating large meals or exercising before bed will always ruining your quality of sleep. These two things are the number one culprits of insomnia and why many can’t get to sleep or sleep throughout the night. Caffeine, alcohol, sweets, and heavy meals right before bed keep you awake as they are responsible for stimulating the brain, not resting it. Large meals also require your body to work harder to digest them. Not something you want to do before sleeping.
Sleep Around Electronics and Noises
Do you get to sleep by turning on a movie or scrolling through social media on your smartphone? If so, you are only self-sabotaging yourself. The lights and noises from the television keep your brain active and disturb REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, even if you happen to fall asleep. Rapid eye movement sleep is when you begin to dream, which is important for learning and increased memory and brain function.
Avoiding Rest or Down Time Before Bed
Give yourself time to wind down to shift your brain to shut down. Your mind and body require time to adjust to the information you received for the day. Going straight to bed from work or other aggressive activities only permits you to overthink or stress while in bed. Instead, create a routine that works with your need to process these emotions and concerns out of bed first. Write them down in a diary, do some simple meditation exercises, read a book, or do some light stretching and breathing exercise thirty to sixty minutes before bed each night.
Following an Inconsistent Sleep Schedules
Whether obvious or not, your body likes to stick to schedules. But, unfortunately, waking up at different times each day doesn’t do you any favors. You may think you’re allowing yourself freedom by not having any schedule, but it’s a trick. A lack of sleep schedule only confuses your circadian rhythm (your body’s natural clock). When you have a confused circadian rhythm, it becomes hard for your body to regulate its energy levels.
Avoid these common bad habits to improve your sleep and have the clarity you need to achieve more goals. Proper sleep is vital to your success, happiness, and well-being.
