If you consider yourself a night owl, your habits could be getting in the way of experiencing a sound night of restful, quality sleep. Remember that what you do during the evening hours affects how your body prepares for rest. After researching information from reputable sources like the
Mayo Clinic and
WebMD, we were able to come up with habits that you should try eliminating for you to receive a better night's sleep:
Related Blog: Late Night Habits That Are Keeping You From a Good Night's SleepEliminate Naps
If you see yourself as a late-night person, you may have become accustomed to taking cat naps. If you must take an afternoon nap, limit it to thirty minutes -- and especially cut out napping after 4:00 pm.
Avoid Darkness Deprivation at Night
Our bodies need to experience a pattern of
natural light and darkness, light from the sun in the morning and natural darkness in the evenings, so that we maintain a healthy
circadian rhythm. An important way of doing this is to get at least three hours of screen-free time in the evening. In fact, WebMD suggests an electronic curfew -- no phone, tablet, laptop, TV, or other screened device before bedtime.
Cut out heavy evening meals and late-night snacks
With that being said, don't go to bed either hungry or stuffed. Avoid heavy dinners, and set a time each evening where you stop eating completely. In fact, it's a good idea to have a light evening meal, and then take a casual stroll -- without engaging in heavy exercise. This allows your body to digest your food slowly, get used to the coming darkness, and wind down.
Cut down on stimulants and alcohol
Sugar, caffeine, nicotine, and even alcohol disrupt our sleep patterns. So set a time when you cut off coffee, tea, beer or wine, sweets and desserts, and any other foods or drinks that contain these substances, and reduce your intake during the day as well. You may feel this makes for a boring evening, but that's the point: You're giving your body every opportunity to slow down. The trade-off is a sound night's sleep.
It’s not easy to change your routine habits, but if you want to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, try following these tips in removing the activities that are robbing you of a night’s sleep that you deserve.