7 Habits That Are Ruining Your Sleep (and How to Fix Them)
Does texting before bed ruin your zzz’s? (Photo by Adam Hester/Blend Images/Getty Images)
People still don’t get enough restful sleep on a regular basis – and it’s something the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers an epidemic. Insufficient sleep has been linked to motor-vehicle crashes, industrial disasters and medical errors. In the long term, poor sleep habits are linked to chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, depression and obesity) increased mortality and – as you’ve likely noticed – overall reduced quality of life.
National Sleep Foundation environmental scholar Natalie Dautovich says that deep, restorative sleep is important for cognitive, physical and social functioning. But it’s not just about the quantity, Dautovich says, “It is important that the quality of sleep is high. Sleep is a complex behavior that consists of biological and psychological components. Therefore sleep can be affected by multiple behaviors.” Here are some surprising habits that might be ruining your sleep and tips for getting a better night’s sleep tonight.
1. Using Electronics Before Bed You’ve probably heard that it’s not recommended to use your smartphone in bed, but it’s not only because of stressful emails or potential dings and vibrations that might interrupt sleep. “Exposure to electronics close to bedtime can be both physiologically and psychologically arousing,” says Dautovich. Reading on your cell phone, laptop or e-reader before bed can mess with your circadian rhythms, according to a 2014 study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital comparing e-readers to traditional books.
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Researchers found that the blue light from electronic devices resulted in taking longer to fall asleep, reduced melatonin and reduced alertness in the morning. If you must use a light-emitting device, Mayo Clinic research suggests dimming the brightness and holding it 14 inches from your face.
2. Drinking Alcohol Before Bed According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2014 Sleep in America Poll, 12 percent of parents often or sometimes drink alcohol to help them sleep. But although alcohol initially acts as a sedative – meaning that it can help you fall asleep faster – it actually diminishes your overall quality of sleep.
A 2011 article in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research found that large amounts of alcohol not only interfere with sleep quality, but they also specifically impede the restorative functions of sleep. Researchers found this to be especially true (and even more serious) for regular heavy drinkers. A 2015 study, also published in ACER, found that drinking before sleep disrupts non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, and regular disruptions to sleep can affect well-being, learning and memory. The solution to this is easy: Just decrease the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption before bed.
3. Playing Catch Up on Weekends It’s tempting to “borrow from your future self” by skipping 30 minutes of sleep here and there during the week, then making up for it on weekends. But even 30 minutes of lost sleep a day can add up to long-term consequences for your body weight and metabolism. A researcher from Weill Cornell Medical College found that people with a weekday sleep deficit were 72 percent more likely to be obese and were also more likely to be insulin resistant, meaning sleep debt could contribute to developing type 2 diabetes.
Luckily, researchers have also found that a 30-minute nap can reverse the hormonal impact of a night of poor sleep. (The nap mitigates symptoms like increased heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar, and it helps the immune system.) This might be a good technique for night and shift workers.
4. Ignoring Aches and Pains Sleeping through physical discomfort can limit the body from going into deep sleep, says Kurt Walchle, founder of Active Edge, which imbeds products like Survival Straps with electromagnetic frequencies that reduce inflammation. “Inflammation, back pain, headaches and ailments like arthritis and fibromyalgia all negatively affect REM sleep,” Walchle says. “A person can be in non-REM sleep and not even realize the body is having these pains.” He recommends rehabilitation, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.
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In clinical trials, Walchle says that participants wearing Active Edge products reported a decrease in back and neck aches and a decrease in soreness, stiffness and pain – and improved quality of sleep.
5. Skipping Your Workouts Although feeling tired isn’t always a great motivator when you’re trying to fit in a workout, regular exercise has been shown to improve your sleep quality and reduce feelings of sleepiness during the day. A 2011 study published in Mental Health and Physical Activity found that getting 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a week resulted in a 65 percent improvement in sleep quality for participants.
Maciek Drejak, founder of the Sleep Cycle alarm clock, which asks users to record sleep diaries to examine lifestyle habits that contribute to sleep quality, says, “We frequently see low sleep quality scores connected with a low number of daily workouts.” He also says that users with more workouts also reported lower coffee consumption. Consider upping your exercise to get a better night’s sleep. The National Sleep Foundations 2013 Sleep in America poll found that, regardless of exercise level, one-half of respondents reported that their sleep quality improved on days they exercise.
6. Working Too Much According to a 2014 study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, work was the primary culprit that kept people from getting enough sleep. Unsurprisingly, this was often tied to early start times and long commutes. Another 2014 study (this one published in the journal Psychological Science) found that repeatedly getting too little sleep – even five hours – could lead to memory problems. And University of Arkansas research found that lack of sleep might make someone more likely to react emotionally when facing stress.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, those 18 to 64 years old should get between seven and nine hours a night, and those 65 and older should get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Although you likely can’t quit work, you can negotiate a later start time or more flexible work schedule – researchers found that starting one hour later in the morning increased sleep time by about 20 minutes.
7. High Daily Stress High stress and poor sleep might be a “chicken or egg” scenario because feeling tired adds to feelings of stress and makes high-stress situations harder to handle. According to a 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association, 43 percent of respondents said that stress had caused them to lie awake at night in the past month, and those with lower stress levels reportedly got more hours of sleep each night than those with higher stress levels.
And according to Drejak, users with a high daily stress recorded low sleep-quality scores. One solution? Spend more time in bed. Drejak also said that users with more time in bed generally record lower stress levels. Trouble falling asleep? Try meditating. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep time, efficiency and quality all improved after patients used meditation. And according to a 2015 article published by JAMA Internal Medicine, mindfulness meditation improved sleep quality for older adults who suffer sleep disturbances.
The original article “11 Habits That Are Ruining Your Sleep (and How to Fix Them)“ appeared on LIVESTRONG.COM.
By Maghan McDowell
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