FULL STORY: What if you do all 10 of these things? Asking for a friend . . .
Someone talked to sleep experts and asked them to name the Top 10 “sleep mistakes” people make. Here they are . . .
1. Not knowing how much sleep you really need. We tend to underestimate it. In general, it’s seven to nine hours a night, but it varies from person to person. So pay attention to things like how moody you are, and how hard it is to focus.
2. Eating too much, or too little, before bed. Too much can cause things like indigestion and heartburn. But feeling hungry can also keep you up.
3. Screens before bed. Put your phone down and turn off the TV off. The blue light is one reason. But just the stimulation alone can also keep you up.
4. Not winding down. It’s important to have at least 30 to 60 minutes of wind-down time before closing your eyes.
5. Napping too much. Naps are fine. Just try to limit them to 30 minutes, so they don’t keep you up at night.
6. Spending too much time awake in bed. The more time you spend in bed not sleeping, the more your body gets used to it.
7. Not getting enough sleep on weeknights. Don’t assume you can catch up on sleep over the weekend. Sleeping in once or twice won’t completely make up for burning the candle at both ends Monday through Friday.
8. Keeping an inconsistent sleep schedule. Our bodies have a hard time adjusting. So that’s another reason sleeping in on weekends isn’t ideal.
9. Too much caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine takes eight hours to metabolize, so a cup of coffee at 3:00 PM could still be keeping you up at 10:00 PM. And alcohol might make you FEEL tired, but you end up getting a worse night’s sleep.
10. Worrying about sleep. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. You lie there worrying you won’t fall asleep, so you don’t. If you need to get up for a while and try again later, that’s okay. Just try your best to relax.
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