Did you know that getting enough sleep is highly crucial to make it through the day with energy? Arianna Huffington, in her book, The Sleep Revolution – Transforming your Life, One Night at a Time, explained the research-backed connection between sleep and mental health, according to which when we sleep, we allow our body clear the toxic waste that accumulates during the day. A good night’s sleep not only saves us from sleep disorders and conditions like depression and anxiety, but is really good for our heart health, immune system and maintaining healthy weight.
But, is the modern workforce allowing their brain to undergo this cleansing process? Unfortunately, no. People today, out of ignorance, are following certain bedtime habits that are hampering their sleep, the negative impact of which is immediately seen on their energy levels the next day, says an expert at Guzel Dezayns, provider of high quality beautiful designer bedding sets.
Let us take a look at the culprits increasing the gap between you and your health and well-being.
5 Toxic Things You Shouldn’t Do Before Sleeping
- Keeping the light on: The one thing that has a profound effect on sleep is light. During the day, we are exposed to ample amount of light, which stimulates the mind and encourages feelings of wakefulness, alertness and energy in our body. However, light works disastrously when you are trying to sleep. Darkness sends a critical signal to the body that it is time to rest, while light keep us awake, just like it did in the daytime.
- Drink Caffeine: Caffeine has become an integral part of our daily lives, where most of us aren’t able to function till we have our morning cuppa. In fact, recent studies have revealed that higher consumption of coffee could lead to a longer life. Well, this might be good, only you stop drinking caffeine at least 3-4 hours prior to bedtime. Consuming caffeine just before you have to sleep makes it difficult to go to sleep or stay asleep until the chemicals wear off, reducing your sleeping hours drastically.
- Watch TV: According to a survey conducted by a mattress brand on the TV watching habits of over 2,000 people before bedtime in 2017, nearly 60% of the respondents watched TV before hitting the sack. While it may difficult for you to miss “Saturday Night Live” or the latest episode of “This Is Us,” it does affect sleep. The artificial light from the TV screen sends the brain an illusion of natural light coming from the sun. This restricts the production of melatonin that helps us fall asleep. In the long term, this habit disrupts the REM cycle and it becomes nearly impossible for us to sleep on our own.
- Eat During the Night: Who doesn’t like to indulge in their favorite dessert during their favorite show, while sitting in bed? But this is one habit that tops the list of unhealthy things you are doing to your body. Eating late at night keeps the stomach working to digest the food. This keeps us awake.
- Unclean Bedsheets: One of the unhealthiest things busy people do is they do not regularly change or clean their bedding and pillow covers, which gives them a sticky and greasy feeling. The itchy feeling you get from dirty bedding can also keep you uncomfortable during the night.
It is best to consider replacing old bedding sets with high quality beautiful bedding sets. This will give you an opportunity to opt for embroidered & luxury bedding collections that will spruce up your bedroom and give a comfortable night’s sleep.