The condition of our health is very closely related to our sleeping habits, but we often fail to recognize the most important factors that affect the quality of our sleep in the first place. If you have not been able to sleep as well as you would have liked recently, go through the following five important factors that could be responsible for that.
The Lighting in Your Bedroom
Dark rooms help us sleep faster and better because that’s just how human beings and other diurnal creatures function, so that should be your priority when it’s time to sleep. Make an active effort to blot out all sources of external light by using heavy, dark curtains on your windows and try sleeping without a night light. Something that a lot of people don’t take into account while sleeping is that the glow from electronics, such as routers, phones, tablets, etc. can also disrupt your sleep because even if you are using a sleep mask and you can’t see the light or glow coming from the electronics in your room, your body’s photoreceptors can still sense them.
Uncomfortable Temperatures
People sleep better when the temperature is comfortable and either extreme can make sleeping hard. Of course, the HVAC system is supposed to help you with that and it often does. Just make sure that the room temperature is somewhere between 66-degrees to 72-degrees Fahrenheit.
Electronic Displays
As long as you are using a phone, tablet, TV, laptop or monitor before going to bed, there’s a high chance that it will either keep you up longer than you intend to or it will affect the quality of your sleep. Most electronic displays come with a blue light filter these days, which users can turn on to reduce the negative impact on your sleep, but it still is a better idea to refrain from looking at any display just before going to bed.
Lack of Exercise
Exercise & sleep are very closely related and according to a report published by the CDC last year, people who lead an inactive lifestyle find it the hardest to get a good night’s sleep. If your typical day involves an hour at the gym, you will sleep better because of multiple reasons, some of which are mentioned below.
- Your body will need the sleep more to recover from the workout
- Exercise makes us happier and happier people sleep better
- You will digest your food better on exercising and as a result, relaxing is a lot easier for the brain
It doesn’t always have to be the gym though, because you can achieve the same effect by playing sport, exercising at home or through some other form of exercise that appeals to you.
Going to the Bathroom
This is universally true because everyone of us has experienced that tug between an uncontrollable urge to relieve ourselves and the impossible task of getting out of bed! Such struggles usually result in disturbed sleep, before having to wake up completely and giving in to the inevitable. While some people are able to get back to sleep right after, not everyone can. To stop this from disrupting your sleep regularly, keep the following points in mind.
- Don’t drink a lot of water or any other liquid just before going to bed
- Make sure that you have emptied your bladder before you turn in for the night
- Keep alcohol and coffee consumption as far away from your bedtime as possible
If none of these five factors apply to you and you cannot think of any other obvious reason as to why you are unable to sleep properly at night, it might be time to consult a doctor. There are multiple medical and psychological conditions that could be keeping you awake at night and the sooner you figure out the problem, the better it is for your health.