Are These Daily Habits Hurting Your Sleep?
Along with oxygen, water, and food, sleep is one of the essential
components of life that everyone needs. Unfortunately, far too many
people get poor-quality sleep. Some awaken in the middle of the night
with night sweats
while others toss and turn throughout the night. Consequently, many of
us aren’t as productive and energized the following day.
If you've struggled with getting quality rest at night, there are simple steps you can take to try and fix it. In fact, your daily habits could be affecting your sleep without you even realizing it. Here are some common bad habits to look out for and correct for better quality rest every night.
Scrolling Before Bed
While smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other screens are essential devices for daily life, once bedtime rolls around, staring at these screens can negatively impact your quality of sleep. Scrolling through social media, sending texts, or playing a game on your phone are all highly interactive activities, and before you can drift peacefully to sleep, your brain needs time to shut down.
When you stare at your phone screen, you’re disrupting that process, and keeping your brain from powering down for the night. So, instead of having a relaxing scroll before bed, read a book, meditate, or listen to calming music or nature sounds and drifting off sleep will be easier.
Not Setting a Consistent Sleep Schedule
One of the most disruptive things for your body is to have an inconsistent sleep schedule. Many of us are guilty of staying up too late during the week and sleeping in on the weekends, but this inconsistent sleep schedule can wreak havoc on your body's natural circadian rhythm.
Your body craves consistency in your sleep schedule, and when you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day—even on weekends—you can lead a well-rested life. This will also make Monday morning’s alarm not be so daunting (although you should work toward getting enough sleep so you can wake up naturally).
Underestimating How Much Caffeine You Intake
Coffee, energy drinks, some teas, and even chocolate all pack caffeine. And though caffeine can be great for powering up during the morning, if you like to sip on caffeinated beverages well into the late afternoon or evening, it’s probably hurting your sleep. That’s because caffeine has a half-life of 8-10 hours, which means that at 10 p.m., your body is still processing half of the caffeine from your 2 p.m. latte.
Some people think that they are immune to caffeine, and while they might be able to sleep soundly with caffeine flowing through their system now, as we age our bodies metabolize caffeine slower, which means it’s more likely to stay in our system and keep us up at night. This is why a late cup of coffee might keep you awake now even though it didn’t use to. Regardless of which camp you’re currently in, start paying attention to when and how much caffeine you consume and be mindful of the time so you’re not left wide awake in bed at night—now or down the line.
Setting the Wrong Sleep Temperature
Your sleeping environment, specifically the ambient temperature and your bedding, can have a significant impact on your sleep quality. Experts recommend sleeping in temperatures between 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit, but if your room is naturally hot or you have a heat-trapping mattress, you're probably familiar with the struggle.
To fix this, either lower or raise the temperature on your thermostat, turn on a fan, or open a window to help reach the ideal range. You can also look into upgrading your mattress. Sleep fitness company Eight Sleep, for instance, has created a smart bed that offers advanced temperature regulating technology to help you sleep cooler and stay asleep throughout the night.
About Eight Sleep
Eight Sleep is a company dedicated to helping people achieve optimal sleep fitness through their unique and innovative sleep solutions. Their most recent product, the Pod, is a smart cooling bed that brings premium comfort along with sleep coaching technology to help you become more sleep fit. When you improve your sleep fitness you can wake up every day feeling more recharged, refreshed, and ready to conquer your goals. Eight Sleep leveraged biometric data from sleepers across the world in developing their products and they offer a 100-night sleep trial, so you can sleep on it before committing.
Learn more about Eight Sleep’s innovative sleep solutions at Eightsleep.com
If you've struggled with getting quality rest at night, there are simple steps you can take to try and fix it. In fact, your daily habits could be affecting your sleep without you even realizing it. Here are some common bad habits to look out for and correct for better quality rest every night.
Scrolling Before Bed
While smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other screens are essential devices for daily life, once bedtime rolls around, staring at these screens can negatively impact your quality of sleep. Scrolling through social media, sending texts, or playing a game on your phone are all highly interactive activities, and before you can drift peacefully to sleep, your brain needs time to shut down.
When you stare at your phone screen, you’re disrupting that process, and keeping your brain from powering down for the night. So, instead of having a relaxing scroll before bed, read a book, meditate, or listen to calming music or nature sounds and drifting off sleep will be easier.
Not Setting a Consistent Sleep Schedule
One of the most disruptive things for your body is to have an inconsistent sleep schedule. Many of us are guilty of staying up too late during the week and sleeping in on the weekends, but this inconsistent sleep schedule can wreak havoc on your body's natural circadian rhythm.
Your body craves consistency in your sleep schedule, and when you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day—even on weekends—you can lead a well-rested life. This will also make Monday morning’s alarm not be so daunting (although you should work toward getting enough sleep so you can wake up naturally).
Underestimating How Much Caffeine You Intake
Coffee, energy drinks, some teas, and even chocolate all pack caffeine. And though caffeine can be great for powering up during the morning, if you like to sip on caffeinated beverages well into the late afternoon or evening, it’s probably hurting your sleep. That’s because caffeine has a half-life of 8-10 hours, which means that at 10 p.m., your body is still processing half of the caffeine from your 2 p.m. latte.
Some people think that they are immune to caffeine, and while they might be able to sleep soundly with caffeine flowing through their system now, as we age our bodies metabolize caffeine slower, which means it’s more likely to stay in our system and keep us up at night. This is why a late cup of coffee might keep you awake now even though it didn’t use to. Regardless of which camp you’re currently in, start paying attention to when and how much caffeine you consume and be mindful of the time so you’re not left wide awake in bed at night—now or down the line.
Setting the Wrong Sleep Temperature
Your sleeping environment, specifically the ambient temperature and your bedding, can have a significant impact on your sleep quality. Experts recommend sleeping in temperatures between 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit, but if your room is naturally hot or you have a heat-trapping mattress, you're probably familiar with the struggle.
To fix this, either lower or raise the temperature on your thermostat, turn on a fan, or open a window to help reach the ideal range. You can also look into upgrading your mattress. Sleep fitness company Eight Sleep, for instance, has created a smart bed that offers advanced temperature regulating technology to help you sleep cooler and stay asleep throughout the night.
About Eight Sleep
Eight Sleep is a company dedicated to helping people achieve optimal sleep fitness through their unique and innovative sleep solutions. Their most recent product, the Pod, is a smart cooling bed that brings premium comfort along with sleep coaching technology to help you become more sleep fit. When you improve your sleep fitness you can wake up every day feeling more recharged, refreshed, and ready to conquer your goals. Eight Sleep leveraged biometric data from sleepers across the world in developing their products and they offer a 100-night sleep trial, so you can sleep on it before committing.
Learn more about Eight Sleep’s innovative sleep solutions at Eightsleep.com
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