Lack of sleep has many potential side effects ranging from irritability to a negative effect on your overall wellbeing. These are some common mistakes you could be making that may be affecting your quality of sleep. Follow these sleeping tips and wake up feeling refreshed.
Lying Awake in Bed
If you find yourself lying awake in bed at night, you may begin to associate your bed with stress and the inability to fall asleep.
Tip: Rather than counting sheep, get up and try out a relaxing activity like reading or stretching to lull yourself back to sleep.
Using Your Bedroom Like a Living Room
Many of us are guilty of mindlessly scrolling through our phones while waiting for sleep to come. What’s worse is many people have placed televisions, laptops and tablets within arm’s reach. Some people even eat a meal or two in bed!
While spending the entire day in bed sounds relaxing, it can actually harm your sleep. By spending your waking hours in bed – a place where you should be sleeping – stimulated by various gadgets, you could be training your brain to think of your bedroom as a place where you should be awake.
Tip: To remedy this, keep all electronics out of the bedroom and create a relaxing sanctuary for you to fall asleep in, free from blue-light distractions.
Sleeping Less When You’re Busy
People are busier than ever these days and consequently, sleep is falling by the wayside. According to recent data, the average adult is sleeping 6.8 hours each night rather than the recommended seven to nine.
We all get busy and it’s easy to find extra time to accomplish our tasks if we decide to sleep less. Unfortunately, sleeping less significantly impacts the quality of time we spend awake. When we cut back on sleep, we can find ourselves feeling groggy and less alert, meaning while we’re awake me may just be thinking about the next time we can get some shut-eye.
Tip: Strive to get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night by planning out your days hour by hour to help you get things done while leaving enough time for you to get proper sleep.
Breaking a Sweat Before Bed
Exercising for 30 minutes each day is never a bad idea, but you may want to rethink your nighttime workout routine. Going for a late-night run can leave your body revved up at a time when you should be winding down.
Tip: Minimize vigorous exercise right before bedtime and instead try calmer, relaxing activities that will help you prepare both mentally and physically for sleep.
Constantly Switching Up Your Bedtime
Your body has a natural clock, known as the circadian rhythm. Changing up the times we go to sleep can negatively affect this. If you go to bed and wake up at a different time every day, your body will have trouble determining when it’s supposed to feel tired.
Tip: Keep your sleeping schedule consistent by going to bed when you feel sleepy and setting an alarm to wake up to at the same time each morning.
Additional Sleep Support from BIOVEA
Still need extra sleep support? Supplementing your diet with melatonin, a natural hormone responsible for regulating the body’s internal clock, may help.
Tip: Click here to explore the variety of melatonin supplements from BIOVEA!
Reference:
https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/data-shows-a-shocking-worldwide-lack-of-sleep/