Developing a consistent bedtime routine and incorporating healthy habits throughout the day can greatly improve your sleep quality. Want to sleep better? Here are 7 things you need to avoid in order to support a better night’s sleep!
- Avoid Storing Electronics in Your Bedroom: Keeping electronics out of your bedroom is key. The blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with your sleep. Avoid using smartphones, Laptops, tablets, computers, and TVs at least one hour before bedtime. Only keep something to listen to sleep sound music with inside your bedroom. If you have no problems with sleep, one or two pieces of electronics are ok, but the best is to keep your room clear of all electronics and realize it’s a place for sleep and rest and not an info-entertainment center.
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Make some healthy changes in your lifestyle and enjoy a sound sleep. Avoid Letting Kids and Pets into Your Bedroom: Keep kids and pets out of your bedroom and certainly your bed. This is a hard one for many people, but if you have trouble with sleep, having kids in and out of your bed all night as well as animals, is a big no. It’s not hard to see why this would disrupt sleep, but so many people can’t see it. It takes a lot of effort but everyone will sleep more peacefully.
- Avoid Eating “loud” Foods at Certain Times of the Day: For example, keep the ingestion of ‘loud’ foods – such as caffeine and spicy and fatty foods – early in the day, and stop about 4-5 hours prior to sleep.
- Create a sleep-friendly environment: Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and quiet. Consider using earplugs, an eye mask, or a white noise machine to block out disruptive noises.
- Avoid and Stay Away from Sugar, Nicotine, Alcohol and Drugs if you are Having Trouble With Restful Sleep: They all affect your brain/body system and can badly alter your sleeping patterns.
- Stay Away From the Use of Sleeping Pills, Except for Very Short-Term Use, and For Emergency/Crisis Situations Only: They work, but are habit-forming, no matter what anyone tells you. It’s like pain medication…use it when you have real severe pain, only. Short-term.
- Regular Exercise and Physical Activity: Engaging in regular physical activity during the day can promote better sleep at night. However, try to finish your workout at least a few hours before bedtime, as exercise can increase alertness.
Advice and information supplied by Janet Kinosian, author of The Well-Rested Woman: 60 Soothing Suggestions For Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.