Are You Making These 7 Mistakes That Are Wrecking Your Sleep?

You might be making some sleep mistakes if you recognise this:

It’s too late to still be awake. You have a full-on day tomorrow and really need some shut-eye. You’re tossing and turning, looking at the clock.

Should you count some sheep?

Drink some warm milk?

Take a sleeping tablet?

Getting a little frustrated now. How are you going to survive tomorrow? You’ll be so tired and won’t be able to make it through the day. Your boss is going to be angry with you because you won’t be able to pay attention during that important meeting. Your kids are going to be disappointed because you’ll be too tired to play with them or help them with their homework…. Why can’t you sleep?

Not getting enough sleep has a huge impact on how you function during the day, and also on your overall health.

Make sure you’re not making these 7 sleep mistakes, and start being more productive, effective, and stay happy and healthy.

1. Caffeine

One of the most common sleep mistakes: caffeine. Coffee and other caffeinated drinks cause alertness in the body and it’s recommended to not have any caffeine, 3 to 7 hours before going to bed. If you’re more sensitive to caffeine, cutting off from 11 am might be the way to go. Many people find that their sleep improves with less caffeine or only having caffeine earlier in the day.

As we’re all biologically unique, you’ll need to find out what works best for you. Experiment with your cutting off times and see if it makes a difference.

2. Electronic devices

This is one of the sleep mistakes that seems to be affecting more and more people these days. Being on your phone or watching a movie just before going to bed can have a huge impact on the quality of your sleep. Electronic devices like mobile phones, tablets, computers, and televisions play such a big part in our lives now. They are emitting a blue light that interferes with the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep and wake cycle. This makes it harder to fall and stay asleep.

You also keep your brain alert if you’re still responding to emails, surfing the internet, scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, or watching a movie to unwind. That tricks your brain into believing it needs to be awake.

Keeping a phone switched on in the bedroom disturbs your sleep quality too as the notifications will wake you up during the night.

Switch off all electronics at least 30 minutes before going to bed and set yourself up for a restful sleep. It would be best if you make your bedroom a technology-free zone, so your mind can really unwind and you can get a night of proper sleep.

3. Bedroom temperature

Did you know that something simple as bedroom temperature could be one of the sleep mistakes you’re making? The ideal bedroom temperature to promote sleep is 18C (65F). If you set your bedroom temperature a little higher, which a lot of people do, this will affect your sleep.

Your body naturally tries to eliminate body heat through hands and feet. If you feel cold, wear some socks in bed. And if you’re warm, keep your hands and feet out from under the covers.

To be able to fall asleep and stay asleep, your body needs to cool down a couple of degrees. A good way to assist your body with this, is taking a warm bath before going to bed. This sounds contradictory, but the heat brings the circulating blood to the surface and this is one of the fastest ways to drop your body temperature. You also cool down quickly as soon as you get out of the bath.

If you live in a hot climate and don’t have air conditioning, sleep in minimal clothes, a light bed cover, and keep a window open.

4. No regular bedtime

An inconsistent sleep schedule may result in restless sleep. That means you don’t enter the deep stage of sleep and you don’t get the quality sleep your body needs to restore itself. Result: concentration and memory problems, irritability, mood swings, and headaches.

Your internal clock, also called the circadian rhythm, plays an important role in your sleep-wake cycle. It tells your body when it’s time for bed and when it’s time to wake up in the morning. It’s very closely related to the amount of light you’re exposed to. That means being exposed to a lot of light at night, will throw your body clock out of whack. Switch off most lights at night, to signal your body that you’re getting close to bedtime.

Stick to the same schedule every night and settle in a regular sleep-wake cycle.

Keep it consistent and make sure you get in between 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

5. Eating too late

When you sleep, your body is going through an important restoration process. If you’re eating after 8 pm, you’re disturbing this process. Your body will be using its energy for digestion of the late-night food, instead of being able to focus completely on the restoring. You’re also more likely to gain weight and get heartburn or insomnia if you eat too late.

Generally, you want to have at least 2 to 3 hours of time in between your last food and going to bed.

6. Alcohol

A glass of wine to unwind after a long day sounds like a great idea, but chances are high it’s actually keeping you up instead. You will fall asleep more quickly after some alcohol, but the effects will impact the entire night of sleep. After zonking out, your sleep will be very light during the second part of the night.

As a result, you won’t be fully rested the next day. Even when it won’t feel like a proper hangover, your mood and performance may be affected by it.

7. Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF)

There are tiny electrical currents that exist in the human body. They are part of the chemical reactions that need to happen for normal bodily function.

Technology produces intense Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF), that can interfere with the electrical currents in our bodies. These EMF from the electrical appliances in your bedroom may be interrupting your sleep cycle.

You can prevent this by: