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10 Things You Should Avoid Before Going to Bed

To facilitate falling asleep easily and sleeping well, you need to adopt good sleep habits. Here are a few things to avoid before going to bed every night.
Picture of woman sleeping on bed with text 10 things you should avoid before going to bed
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A good night’s sleep is essential for a healthy body and mind. To facilitate falling asleep easily and sleeping well, you need to adopt good sleep habits. Learning some sleep etiquette can help get rid of sleep disruptions and deprivation. Here are a few tips that you should remember to avoid before going to bed every night. ~ Ed.

 

Many people have trouble sleeping. This issue is especially common among those who have stressful jobs.

It can be difficult to fall asleep at night when you have various obligations and tasks to worry about. People who are under a lot of stress also often wake up at night. Stress is an obvious cause of sleep deprivation.

However, you should be aware that other things can also have an impact on our ability to get enough rest at night, some of which you would never have guessed.

It is critical to know that rest deprivation can have an adverse impact on our physical and mental well-being. It can affect our productivity, motivation, memory, and even contribute to a variety of health issues.

Long-term sleep deprivation can contribute to high blood pressure levels, diabetes, and obesity, among other things. When we don’t get enough rest at night, not only we will feel tired the next day, but our health will suffer too if this behavior continues for a prolonged period.

If you want to stay healthy and sleep better, you need to know what to avoid before the bedtime. As a result, the quality and quantity of rest that you get at night will improve significantly.

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10 Things to Avoid Before Bedtime

Treat your sleep like a sacred ritual. Implement this list of don’ts every night before going to bed and get rid of your sleep woes.

Don’t Drink Coffee Before Going to Sleep

We all know that coffee has caffeine, and that’s why most of us drink it in the morning when we wake up. We simply need one cup of coffee so that we can function properly during the day.

It is a perfect solution for those who are tired and lack the energy. However, the same reasons that make it an excellent idea for the mornings, make it a terrible solution for the evenings. Some people enjoy a cup of warm coffee in the evening when they get home from work.

However, when it is consumed right before bed, it will make it difficult to fall asleep, and stay asleep throughout the night. If you have a habit of consuming coffee or other caffeinated drinks before going to bed, this habit is probably disrupting your sleeping patterns. You should give up on this habit as soon as possible if you want to get enough quality rest at night, and wake up well-rested and full of energy in the morning.

Avoid Drinking Tea

You should know that tea is another source of caffeine. However, it doesn’t mean that you should avoid consuming it altogether prior to going to bed.

Most herbal teas are caffeine-free, and they won’t have an adverse impact on your ability to fall asleep at night. Some teas even stimulate sleep and are an ideal solution for those who have troubles getting enough shut-eye.

On the other hand, teas that contain green, black, or white tea leaves are a source of caffeine. It would be the best idea to avoid drinking black or green tea in the evening, as it may prevent you from resting properly at night and drifting off to dreamland.

Avoid Eating Chocolate in the Evening

Many people are not aware of this, but chocolate can also be a sneaky source of caffeine. It especially applies to dark chocolate with a high content of cocoa.

Although most of us never think about chocolate as something that can keep us awake, it can if we are sensitive to caffeine. Milk chocolate can also contribute to sleeplessness.

If you want to rest adequately at night, it would be the best idea to avoid dark and milk chocolate before going to bed, and even ice cream that contains chocolate. If you give up on this habit, you will notice the improvement in your sleeping habits very soon.

Stay Away from Spicy Foods

Some people enjoy spicy foods whenever possible, while others don’t like spicy meals at all. If you fall into the first category, you should be aware that it is not a good idea to consume spicy meals before going to sleep.

It would be the best solution to stay away from these meals at dinner. Spicy foods are often associated with acid reflux, which usually occurs when a person lies down at night. If you want to avoid this unpleasant situation, you should forget about spicy meals at least a couple of hours prior to going to bed.

If you consume them three or four hours before sleeping, you will give your body plenty of time to start digesting your dinner.

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Don’t Drink Booze

On the contrary to popular beliefs, consuming alcohol won’t help you get enough quality rest. We are often tricked into thinking that alcohol helps sleep because it may make us drowsy.

It is true to some point as it can help us fall asleep faster. However, it deeply disturbs the second half of sleep or the REM phase. During this period, sleep is most restorative. However, when it is disturbed, the ability of our bodies to be restored is affected, and as a result, the quality of our sleep is decreased.

Additionally, alcohol can make us wake up frequently during the night. If you don’t want to wake up a few times instead of getting a decent amount of quality shut-eye, you should avoid consuming alcohol at least a few hours prior to going to bed.

Don’t Drink Too Much Water

It is important to stay hydrated as it has a positive impact on our health. Although drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day is beneficial to our well-being, it is not a good strategy to chug lots of water before bed.

You should focus on drinking water during the day, and limit its intake in the evening. If you drink plenty of water right before the bedtime, you will probably have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As a result, you won’t get adequate sleep, and the chances that you will be tired in the morning are high.

It is the best idea to drink plenty of water throughout the day, limit its intake before sleep, and use the bathroom before heading to bed, even if you don’t feel like you have to go. These things will reduce your chances of waking up at night, and as a result, you will get plenty of rest.

Avoid Smoking Before the Bedtime

Although an evening cigarette can calm our nerves, it doesn’t help us to get ready for bed. We all know that smoking has a negative impact on our health.

However, most of us don’t know that it can also disrupt our sleep. The primary cause for this is nicotine, as it is a stimulant that can disrupt our sleep patterns and make it difficult to drift off to dreamland.

In case you have troubles getting a decent amount of quality rest, you should consider giving up cigarettes before going to bed. Thanks to this, you will notice the improvement in your sleeping patterns very soon, and you won’t have any problems falling asleep at night.

Don’t Use Electronic Devices

If you have troubles getting enough adequate sleep, you should consider giving up on using electronic devices prior to going to bed. It means that you should avoid your smartphone, laptop, and even TV.

The blue light that these devices emit can have an adverse impact on our body’s ability to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Light from electronic devices interferes with our sleep cycles, and it may take us a very long time to fall asleep. The quality of our rest is also negatively affected.

It may also be an excellent idea to consider removing these devices from your bedroom altogether. Your bedroom should stimulate sleep, and it shouldn’t contain anything that can have an adverse effect on your sleep cycles. It is crucial to make this room in your house or an apartment sleep-friendly if you want to get enough quality shut-eye at night.

Avoid Horror Movies

When you were young, your parents probably kept telling you that you shouldn’t watch scary movies before the bedtime. The main reason for this is because they didn’t want you to have nightmares. You should know that they were right to some point.

The movies we watch before going to bed, as well as the type of books that we read, and the music that we listen to in the evening all have an impact on our sleep. It is not uncommon for people to have nightmares after watching horror movies, no matter the age.

If you enjoy watching this type of movies, but also enjoy getting enough quality rest, you should try to unwind with happy thoughts before going to sleep. No matter how weird and unhelpful it sounds, it can help you avoid nightmares.

Avoid Intensive Workouts

If it is difficult for you to fall asleep, you should consider exercising. Working out in the evening can have a positive impact on your sleep patterns, and can help you drift off to dreamland faster. However, you should be aware that it only applies to engaging in a light physical activity.

Exercising during the day will help you fall asleep, no matter the intensity of your workout. However, when it comes to working out before going to bed, it is not a good idea to engage in high-intensity exercises as it will disrupt your sleep.

Over to you –

Is there anything that you would like to add to this list of things to avoid before going to bed? Share in the comments.

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Disclaimer: We're not offering any medical advice here. These ideas are for educational and entertainment purposes only. Always seek a professional medical opinion from a physician of your choosing before making any medical decision. The information provided here is not intended to be a substitute to the advice given by your physician or another healthcare professional.

Disclaimer: Though the views expressed are of the author’s own, this article has been checked for its authenticity of information and resource links provided for a better and deeper understanding of the subject matter. However, you're suggested to make your diligent research and consult subject experts to decide what is best for you. If you spot any factual errors, spelling, or grammatical mistakes in the article, please report at [email protected]. Thanks.

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  1. thanks for sharing. previously i used to do workout before going to bed. These tips will help me a lot.

  2. After working for the whole day, running from one place to another, handling boss and irritating colleagues, the only thing which can make your day is a good sleep. But good sleep doesn’t mean lying in bed for 9 hours and still feeling exhausted after waking up. A good sleep means that even after taking 6 hours of sleep, you should feel recharged again to work for the whole day.

  3. Hey Renata mam,

    Awesome post with good information. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and i like the points that you have made. A good sleep is necessary for healthy body and minds. Avoid drinking tea & coffee before going to bed are really a good ideas. Your all tips are effective and helpful, but an idea of not using electronic devices, avoid doing intensive workouts and avoid smoking before going to bed are really a great ideas and a good way to get a proper sleep.

    Very helpful article and thanks for a share.

    Thanks
    -Aadarsh

  4. Informative article to get proper sleep. Eating spicy foods at night has disrupted my sleep often in the past,it affects the digestive system and causes burning sensation in stomach. Also, I’d like to add eating late at night also affects our digestive track. So, we should always have our dinner 2 to 3 hours before sleeping.

  5. I use the laptop a lot and maybe that is one reason my sleep is delayed. I don’t get good sleep and go to bed around 1-2 am every day. I also wake up at around 7. So in a day, it’s just 5 hours sleep. I think I addicted to sitting late.

  6. I always avoid using my phone in bed and take half a milligram of melatonin. I sleep like a baby.

  7. I have habbit to drink tea before bedtime and I even use my phone while sleeping, now I am struggling to leave that habbit but I can’t, this article is the best, when it comes to applying this in our lives it’s very hard.

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