Sleep resistance factors

Are You Ruining Your Chances of Good Sleep Before You Even Lie Down?

Trouble falling asleep? You might have one of these five common bad bedtime behaviors. Learn how to kick the habit and get back to sleep with these tips.

You’re tired of being tired. We get it. Plenty of people notice the effects of poor sleep – everything from inability to concentrate to irritability to weight gain – yet they don’t know where to begin to reverse the cycle of poor sleep. Take a look at your bedtime routine: You may be ruining your chances for sleeping soundly before your head even hits the pillow.

Bingeing before Bed

No, we’re not talking about watching your favorite show nonstop, we’re talking about dinner … and dessert … and nighttime snacks. Your body needs time to digest all that food before you lie down, otherwise you’re likely to have indigestion and heartburn, which can interfere with sleep. Why? When your stomach is really full, acid can creep into your esophagus (hello, heartburn). Lying down compounds the problem since gravity isn’t there to aid in keeping the stomach acid in place.

• Break the habit: Try to eat dinner 2 to 3 hours before you go to bed.

Sleeping with Your Screen

Your smartphone is part of your life. It’s your newscaster, travel planner, organizer, entertainer, alarm and more all rolled into one. Yet your brain is wired to react to what it sees on the screen. It acts as a stimulant, as opposed to helping lull you to sleep. That one last check of your email before bed? That sends your brain into problem-solving mode, not sleep mode. And the light from those screens can negatively impact your sleep too, again signaling to your brain it’s still time to be awake, as opposed to releasing sleep-inducing hormones.

• Break the habit: Pay attention to your screen time before bed. Try to avoid checking your phone once you’re in bed. Instead, try reading a book (an actual book, not one on your phone) before bed. Still having trouble resisting the urge to check your phone? Consider keeping it in another room and using an old-fashioned clock as your alarm instead.

Giving in to Your Inner Night Owl

It’s tempting to stay up an hour or two thinking you can get more done that way. But sliding into the habit of going to bed later and later can have disastrous results on your health. Night owls not only sleep less, but may be at a greater risk for developing poor eating habits and diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

• Break the habit: Get into a sleep routine. This can be a hard one, especially for die hard night owls, but try to stick to the same bedtime and wake-up time every day (yes, weekends too). Your body will thank you. Ease into this routine by going to bed 15 minutes earlier for a week and rise 15 minutes earlier. Keep up this strategy until you’ve reached your desired bedtime.