6 Habits That Keep You Restless Throughout The Night

Most people already know that consistently accomplishing good sleep every night will have a direct impact on the way you feel throughout the day. You’ll more than likely feel the effects of a sub-par sleep come the next day with feelings of sluggishness, perhaps tired eyes, or generally noting that you’re not as happy and running at less than full capacity.

The long-term effects of continually sleeping less and getting poor sleep can cause you to suffer from some quite serious health problems if you aren’t careful.

If you, like many others, know how vital good sleep is, and you’re still not hitting the snooze levels you’d like to every night, then there could well be some underlying issues preventing this from happening.

In today’s modern world, we see lots of habits and distractions for day-to-day living and indeed sleep too, which is why we’ve put together a list of some common bad habits people have in their lives that keep you restless throughout the night. Take a look and see if any are in your life and think about changing it up so that you can get the all-important top-quality kip!
 

1.     Tuck the tech away before bed

Yes, we’re sorry to have to break it to you, although you most probably already knew about the fact that technology and restful nights do not play well together.

It’s very common for people to have TVs in their bedrooms as well as other rooms in the house. And then there are the tablets, laptops and mobile phones that join you in bed too! this really is not the place for all your tech to be.

Screens attached to these devices, including TVs, emit a blue light which prevents your sleep hormones from doing their job. Instead of feeling sleepy when you go to bed, you before stimulated by what you’re staring at and the subsequent light too.

Therefore, shut the door on your smart devices and let the bedroom be your very own sanctuary for sleep.

2.     Eat at the right time

If you’re a late eater, then you could well find yourself struggling to drift off. This is because your stomach acids are beavering away as they try to digest what you’ve just eaten, and they can also make their way up into your throat.

Give yourself a meal no less than two hours before you head off to that glorious bed of yours and allow it to digest properly. And roughly an hour before bed, drink a glass of water as this will help to prevent hunger pangs. This is a subject that The Sleep-Advisor discuss this quite a lot, among other sleep-related topics.  

3.     Leave that snooze button alone

When you go to bed, set your alarm and then place it out of arm’s reach. This will prevent the classic manoeuvre of playing cat and mouse with reality by constantly hitting the snooze button!

This is also a good time to let you know that if you have to keep your phone in your room to use as an alarm clock, then get an app that mutes all the notifications that could unsettle your night’s sleep.

Don’t be tempted to look at the time if you happen to wake up either, or you could end up staying awake for far longer than you want.

4.     Kill off the coffee and cigarettes

Coffee and energy drinks that contain caffeine, along with cigarettes and even e-cigarettes, which contain nicotine are stimulants. If you have these types of things before bed, even as much as three hours before you slide under the sheets, it can cause difficulty when you want to get to sleep. 

Surprisingly, a study showed that e-liquid labeled as nicotine-free for e-cigarettes contained nicotine! In the 35 samples labeled 0 mg/mL, nicotine was detected in 91.4% of the samples. Six samples from 2 manufacturers labeled as 0 mg/mL were found to contain nicotine in amounts ranging from 5.7 to 23.9 mg/mL. Why such labeling inaccuracies? Perhaps these companies want to keep you hooked on their products! If you're thinking about quitting, check your health insurance to see if they offer free tobacco cessation programs.

The state of Minnesota also offers a free tobacco cessation service called QUITPLAN.  QUITPLAN is available to anyone who wants to quit tobacco and offers a wide array of tools for eligible Minnesotans. You can sign up for the QUITPLAN Helpline for a complete phone-counseling program or choose individual services in addition to free nicotine replacement therapies like gum, patch or lozenges.

5.     Alcohol is a culprit too!

We know what you’re thinking, and it might seem like we’re picking on the things you enjoy doing, but despite the fact that you may wake up and think you had a terrific night’s sleep after drinking alcohol, the truth is that you didn’t and you never will.

You can have a few drinks and then once it’s being digested, the body kicks into metabolising mode. This period brings about a stage of arousal and consequently interrupts your sleep. Sorry guys, no beer before bed!

6.     Are you being consistent?

Routine is a big part of avoiding restlessness. If you have a second job one night a week, or you stay out late in the week for an event, you’ll notice that it can throw you off for a couple of days.

Sticking to a routine is what humans love and benefit from. Don’t let that film you were watching keep you up, and simply make sure you’ve done what you need to before you start to wind down and eventually slip off to bed. Keep your sleep cycles the same and you will find restful sleep, continually.

By Guest Writer Sarah Cummings