Before you sleep what exactly do you do at night?… Have you thought about these things that could be health issues to your body if done before sleep? Much research has been done on various things that are an obstacle to your sleep and why you should avoid these things before you sleep.
After the day’s work and hustle all day long, it’s really difficult for most people to magically turn off their minds and get to sleep. But did you know there are some things you shouldn’t do before you sleep because they make it even more difficult? These are the habits that keep your anxiety on high alert, prevent sleep, generally, ruin your nice night’s rest, and even put your health at risk.
Now join me and let us talk about some of these things that are routines to most people but should be avoided before you sleep;
Things You Should Avoid and Why You Should Avoid These Things Before You Sleep
Taking Medications
If you take pills or drugs daily and you’re also experiencing sleep problems, it is important to ask your doctor whether the time of day you take your dosage may be keeping you from sleeping. The effects of using drugs may be good, but some medications can keep you alert for several hours after their intake. Taking into consideration, antidepressants can have strong effects on your sleep or night rest, some pain relief drugs may upset your stomach and make your sleep even harder. Some other medications and drugs such as some types of blood pressure medications have been perceived medically to work optimally when taken at night;(it’s important to talk to your doctor about when to take yours).
Sleeping medication isn’t usually the best if you are unable to sleep, either: They’re generally only prescribed for short-term usage. So if you notice you are taking them regularly, talk to your doctor about other options. A longer-term solution that doesn’t rely on medication is your best bet.
Drinking Coffee
According to research, a cup of coffee contains about 80 to 120 milligrams of caffeine per cup, this is something that many people know should be avoided right before you sleep. Although, some people still like the perception of a nice cup of coffee after dinner, and they may not realize that although they’re still several hours away from their bedtime, this routine could disturb sleep. A simple fact is, that caffeine can stay in the human system for up to 12 hours. Taking coffee during your lunch period is not necessary especially if you have a sleeping disorder and are not a strong or easy sleeper.
Eating Heavy Meals And Eating Close To Your Bedtime
The habit of making oneself fall asleep on a full stomach is just plain unpleasant and uncomfortable. Medically, research has shown that eating too close to your bedtime may cause gas or heartburn, which can keep you awake during odd hours and deprive you of needed sleep or even as such cause bloating of the stomach. Importantly, stay away from diets high in acid before you sleep and try not to consume more than so many calories at night.
Exercise Regularly But Not Before Bed
Exercise is one of the most essential medically backed ways to improve your sleep and health.
Exercise can improve all aspects of sleep and has been used to reduce symptoms of insomnia (inability to sleep). Some research on older adults showed that exercise nearly improved the amount of time it took to fall asleep and provided extra minutes of sleep at night. In people with severe insomnia, exercise has delivered more benefits than many medications and improved sleep faster. Research it has shown that exercise reduced time to fall asleep by 55%, total night wakefulness by 30%, and anxiety by 15% while increasing total sleep time by 18%.
Although daily exercise is very important for a good night’s sleep, doing too many physical activities and exercising too late before you sleep may cause sleep problems. It is believed that exercise before you sleep, may have a stimulatory effect, which increases alertness and the production of hormones like epinephrine and adrenaline which could keep you awake. Although research hasn’t shown substantially negative effects, so it depends on the individual.
Exposure To Light
Exposure to light during the day is very important for the body, but nighttime light exposure has the opposite effect. This is due to its influence on your circadian rhythm, swindling your brain into thinking it’s still day. This action reduces hormones like melatonin, which help you relax and get enough sleep.
Blue light (light which electronic devices like smartphones produce in large amounts) is the worst in this regard. There are several well-known procedures you can use to limit nighttime blue light exposure. These include:
Putting on glasses that block blue light.
Install an app that blocks the emission of blue light on your smartphone.
Watching TV and using bright lights 2 hours before heading to bed is not necessary.
Taking A Hot Bath
Have you ever wondered what other relaxing things are secretly prolonging your sleep? This may come as a surprise to most people who love to bath hot water a lot, but having a hot shower or a hot tub bath at night before you sleep can keep you awake, too. Your body temperature cools down at night, but the hot water from the bath raises it again. Since it is easier to sleep when you’re cool, it’s not a good routine to slip into steaming water right before bed. When you do it earlier in the day or after work at about 7 pm is better, you will feel better before you sleep.
Drinking A Chunk Of Water
Drinking a recommended amount of water all day is a good idea. This is, by all means, good, it is necessary to drink those six glasses and stay hydrated. But it is important to resist drinking a lot before sleep time unless you want to get up to pee in the middle of the night, which might not be healthy for those who find it hard to fall asleep. This activity is necessarily not negative but not advisable, but keep in mind how it will affect your sleep, according to research. For those who find it easy to fall asleep even after a night this may not sound like a problem but for individuals who find it very hard to fall asleep, waking up in the middle of their night rest could be very uncomfortable.
Smoking
Much research has shown that smoking can be dangerous to your health and is disadvantageous for you, including disturbing your sleep. Many people do this practice to relax, but nicotine is a stimulant and can make your ability to not sleep worsen, especially if you smoke close to your bedtime. Trying to stop the ability of nicotine intake can also cause smokers to wake up earlier than they normally would in the morning. This mainly makes smoking dangerous for your breathing while you sleep which makes you uncomfortable.
If you practice the act of smoking and you’re having trouble sleeping, that may be another reason you should talk to your medical practitioner about stopping the act. It’s not just traditional cigarettes you should avoid but any form of smoking is not good to be taken before you sleep.
Sugary diets
The human body is a machine that can break down sucrose, lactose, and other types of sugar in the body but this can be done better when the body is alert during the day. During the day, the body releases enzymes and hormones that are responsible for breaking down sugar in the body easily but this is the opposite at night. Before you sleep it is very inappropriate to take in foods and diets that contain sugar or its relatives like glucose. Doing this would increase your chances of having diabetes and other health problems like joint pain and this can be very bad for your comfort.
Take Alcohol
Most people are deceived into thinking that they will sleep better when they take alcohol because it often makes you drowsy and makes it easier to fall asleep. But medically it is believed that as your body begins to metabolize the alcohol, REM sleep (the period where our sleep is most at its peak), is reduced. Impaired REM sleep often leads to waking up weary out, and fatigued. and unable to concentrate. Also, a study by the University of Missouri points out that alcohol is a diuretic (causing increased passing of urine) and can make you have to go to the bathroom through the night. For most people, it’s quite normal to have a drink or two with dinner but skip the drink or the glass of wine on the couch right before you sleep.
Conclusion
Your activities before you sleep are very essential to your brain’s functioning and also the general well-being of your body. In this article, we have been able to cover some of the things you should stay away from before you sleep and why you should avoid these things before you go to bed. You need to keep your body sound and alert for the day’s work by having a good rest but it’s also necessary to avoid things that could ‘be detrimental to you having a proper night’s rest. Watch what you do before you sleep and always take note of some of the things to avoid mentioned in this article, visit your doctor regularly for further advice and recommendations especially if you feel you have some symptoms of insomnia. Remember, that your health is your wealth!!!
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