4 things to avoid before bedtime for quality sleep
Sleep is a natural state of rest, essential for maintaining physical and mental health. Doctors recommend that one must get at least eight hours of sleep every day. But sometimes, an individual may not be able to sleep well despite returning home exhausted after a long day’s work. It could be because of certain unhealthy practices right before bedtime. Below are four habits to avoid before bed to improve sleep: Drinking coffee Beverages like coffee, energy drinks, and chocolates are laden with caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and increases alertness, making a person feel full of energy and more awake. Therefore, drinking these beverages a couple of hours before bedtime can make it hard to fall asleep, disrupting one’s sleep cycle. The tiredness and sleepiness that follow the next day may compel the person to drink more coffee to stay awake for work, thus entering a never-ending cycle of poor sleep. Therefore, cutting down or avoiding coffee, especially a few hours before bedtime, is advisable. Other foods that may affect one’s sleep pattern are spicy foods, those with added sugars, fatty foods, packaged products, and processed foods. Staring at a screen Many people claim that they do not get sleep unless they watch a movie on television or browse through their smartphones in bed.