Humans spend a third of their lives sleeping, yet we still face constant challenges in achieving healthy and satisfying sleep!
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, adults between the ages of 18 and 60 should get 7-9 hours of sleep each night to promote optimal health.
Surveys conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Americans showed that one in three people sleep less than 7 to 9 hours a night. Another survey in Britain showed that 18% of people sleep less than 6 hours a night, which is not enough and not healthy.
This lack of sleep has serious health consequences, as lack of sleep is linked to decreased ability to concentrate, poor memory, feelings of depression and irritability, in addition to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and recurrent psychological disorders.
It can be difficult to control the number of hours of sleep and the quality of sleep sometimes, especially for people who work multiple jobs or night jobs, however, there are some factors that can be controlled.
Below, we list some common sleep mistakes and how to avoid them:
1- Not knowing how much sleep our bodies need
Experts recommend sleeping between 7-9 hours in general, but this period is considered a general recommendation as people’s need for sleep may vary according to several different factors.
To check if you’re getting enough sleep, monitor your mood and performance during the day. Do you feel stressed or irritable easily? Do you have difficulty concentrating on tasks? Do you struggle to stay awake? If so, you may need to increase your sleep.
2- Eating too much or too little before bed
Eating a large meal shortly before bedtime can cause discomfort, indigestion, and heartburn, which negatively affects the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep in a healthy way. Likewise, eating small amounts of food can lead to feeling hungry before bedtime, which also causes sleep disturbances.
The body tends to regulate hunger according to daily cycles similar to sleep cycles. We can control the feeling of hunger by eating 3 meals a day at approximately regular times, which also helps improve the quality of sleep.
3- Staying up late watching screens before bed
One of the common mistakes that many people make before bed is staring at the screen of their phone or other devices, as the blue light emitted from smartphones, computers and televisions can increase alertness, which leads to delayed sleep and causes insomnia.
Despite the controversy surrounding the effect of blue light on sleep, the problem is not limited to light alone. The content we consume through screens – such as following celebrity events, for example – may overstimulate the brain, making it more difficult to sleep.
4- Not getting enough rest before bed
People often don’t give themselves enough time to relax before bed. After a long day of work or social interaction, they head straight to bed without a break, as if the brain is like a TV that can simply be turned off.
It helps to set a relaxing routine at the end of the day. Take a short time to relax and do something unproductive before going to bed. You can write down things you need to remember for the next day, which also helps to reduce excessive thinking before bed.
5- Long nap
A nap is an excellent way to restore energy during the day, but it must be short. A long nap may affect the amount of sleep your body needs at night, which spoils your usual sleep routine. Therefore, a nap of a quarter to half an hour is the best option.
6- Spending a lot of time awake in bed
It is recommended to avoid using the bed for any purpose other than sleeping, because spending a long time in bed without sleeping may make the body get used to it, which may lead to insomnia.
Even if you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, it’s best to get out of bed and do something relaxing and non-stimulating until you feel ready to sleep again, making it easier to get back to sleep.
7- Not getting enough sleep during the week
We often think that we can make up for lost sleep over the weekend, but that’s not how it works. When you regularly get insufficient or interrupted sleep, you build up a sleep debt. While a short nap or extra sleep on the weekends may help, they won’t fully make up for the loss.
A 2022 study published in Trends in Neuroscience notes that after a week or two of getting less than 7 hours of sleep, the body typically needs one or two nights of good sleep to recover from the drowsiness and resulting low mood, while regaining full alertness and focus takes longer.
8- Inconsistent sleep schedule
The more irregular and inconsistent your sleep and wake-up times are, the more difficult it is for your body to adapt to them, so waking up at a consistent time every morning, even during the holidays, is ideal for better sleep regulation.
9- Drinking too much caffeine
Because of the long-term effects of caffeine, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends not consuming it at least 6 hours before bedtime. So, if you go to bed at 10:00 p.m., you should have your last dose of caffeine no later than 4:00 p.m.
10- Anxiety about sleep
If these tips seem overwhelming, don’t let that worry you, because worrying about them before bed is one of the worst things you can do. If you spend your day worrying about the quality of your sleep, it’s likely to negatively impact your sleep. So try to relax and don’t overthink it.