By Corina Tan
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Getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t have to be as difficult as we make it out to be. Apart from medical reasons for sleep issues, there are some not-so-innocent habits that could be sabotaging your sleep quality.
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Night-time productivity
Many people are so busy during the day that the nights become the perfect quiet alone-time they need to get some of the more important things done. But if you keep doing stressful activities right up till bedtime, your mind will be racing when you finally try to sleep. If a bit of work is absolutely necessary, you need to take enough time to wind down before heading to bed. A soothing ritual of a hot shower, meditating or listening to soothing music would be a good idea.
Catching up on sleep over the weekends
When you don’t get enough sleep during the week, you end up with sleep debt. It is always tempting to sleep in on weekends and catch up on those lost hours. The problem with sleeping too much though is that you end up messing with your body’s cycle and by Sunday night, you will be tossing and turning. There is nothing wrong with taking short naps or snoozing a little over the weekend but set an alarm to limit the number of hours you do.
Checking social media right before bed
Our circadian rhythm uses light to determine when it’s time for bed and when it’s time to wake up. Low light signals the body to produce sleep-inducing melatonin that relaxes and calms our senses, preparing us for bed. Unfortunately, the body does not know how to differentiate between sunlight and bright lights from phones, TVs, lamps, and every other kind of technology. This causes us to feel more awake than we should at bedtime. Experts recommend turning off or putting away all electronics two hours before bed.
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Reading in bed
Activities like reading or watching TV in bed can prevent your body from realizing that it’s time for sleep. Reading on a digital screen is even worse as it is similar to the light from a phone or tablet. The key takeaway is that you don’t want to associate bed with activities that you do in your waking hours. If you do need to read, read a book and make sure your nightlight shines on the pages and is not shinning up at your face.
Brushing your teeth right before bed
This can sound odd, but supposing you can barely keep your eyes open on the couch, so you get ready for bed. But by the time you’ve brushed your teeth, you’re wide awake again. Those bright bathroom lights don’t help, plus the mint in your toothpaste could also reenergize you, believe it or not! If you find yourself struggling with this, try brushing earlier during a commercial break instead of after the show. Another quick fix is to swap out that minty toothpaste for a milder one specially for use at night.
Sleeping in cozy pyjamas
Long pyjamas may feel comfortable when you’re first getting into bed, but they make it harder to control your body temperature throughout the night. Feeling warm and nice in bed should be created by beddings that can be easily pulled on and off. When your body temperature changes during the night, you can easily kick off the covers, and when you start to get cold again, you could easily pull them back up.
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