Sleep is one of the most important things that we can provide our bodies with. If we hope to have enough energy throughout the day and keep our immune system strong, good sleep is a must. Yet, as we get older, getting a good night’s sleep can become more challenging than during our younger years. For that reason, it’s important to practice healthy habits.
Yet knowing that you should be practicing healthy habits and actually doing them are not the same thing. If you find yourself waking up the next morning, after a lousy night’s sleep, here are some of the potential reasons why you may not be sleeping well at night.
Alcohol
For many people, a glass of wine in the evening is a way to wind down and make you feel an extra boost of drowsiness before going to bed. Yet, one glass too many can interrupt your sleep patterns and leave you feeling out of whack. Ideally, you should avoid alcohol before bedtime, since it can significantly lower your overall quality of sleep.
According to experts, you shouldn’t be drinking more than three units of alcohol a week, or abstaining from it altogether. If you’re drinking a significant amount of alcohol before bed every night, then it’s likely the culprit for your drowsiness. Try cutting alcohol out of your diet for 10 days, and notice whether your sleep patterns change.
Lack of Exercise
If you lay your head down at night and find that you’re not tired whatsoever, it may be because your body isn’t moving enough. The more that we move our bodies throughout the day, the more our bodies will feel ready to rest.
Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and it will start to make a significant difference in how ready your body is to sleep at night. If it feels like it’s lacking some kind of movement, then your brain will still remain “on.” The great news is that exercise can come in many different forms. Whether it’s walking, running, or dancing in your living room, try to get into the habit of moving more, and your quality of sleep will significantly change.
You Need a New Bed
Perhaps you’re practicing all the right habits, and your sleep is still a problem. In that case, the problem may have nothing to do with you— you may be sleeping on a poor quality mattress that needs to be replaced. Mattresses were not built to last 30 years, in fact, even the best mattresses usually start to wear out after about 10 years. So, if you have a mediocre quality mattress, with springs poking out in odd places, or uneven surfaces, then it may be a pretty big sign that your poor sleep has to do with what you’re sleeping on.
2018 ·
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