5 Mistakes effecting your sleep quality

Here are the 5 mistakes costing you good sleep quality.

Sleep is important for many areas of your health.  Quality sleep in linked to reduced risk of heart disease, the ability to lose weight, lower rates of depression and even increased lifespan.  Your ability to heal and recover from injury, stress and strain are also improved with good quality and quantity of sleep.

So sleep isn’t just about feeling rested and refreshed, it’s about enhancing all aspects of your wellbeing.

Mistake 1: Electronics before bed

Electronic devices  like phones, tablets, computers and TV screens all have higher concentration of blue light emitted.  That blue light can interfere with melatonin production.

Melatonin is an important hormone that regulates many body processes over your day.  As daylight decreases, melatonin increases and signals to the brain it’s time to go to sleep.  It increase drowsiness and decreases nerve activity in the brain.

When melatonin levels decrease, it’s harder for your “brain to switch off” and allow you to get into a deep sleep.

Mistake 2: Inconsistent sleep schedule

Going to bed and getting up at different times can upset your internal body clock.  It can be much harder to get quality sleep.

Set a regular time to go to bed and rise in the mornings.

Mistake 3: Consuming stimulants too close to bed

Caffeine and alcohol can interfere with your sleep cycle.

This can be a trap. A nice warm cuppa before bed can be calming.  Tea can contain not insignificant amounts of caffeine and we all know coffee can whack a wallop.  So avoiding those is a no brainer.

But there are many hidden sources of caffeine that can sneak in before bedtime.  Did you know chocolate, soft drinks and even pain medications can contain caffeine?

A 2013 study from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine showed that you should avoid caffeine for 6 hours before bedtime.

Alcohol consumption before bedtime can be deceiving also.  Initially after a tipple we can feel drowsy and fall to sleep easily.  The first half of the night can seem to be good sleep.  But REM sleep can be disturbed and the second half of the night sleep quality overall can decrease.  Daytime drowsiness can therefore result.

Mistake 4: Poor Sleep Environment

A poorly fitted pillow or a mattress that isn’t comfortable or supportive can disturb sleep.  A room that’s too hot, too cold, too light or noisy can all impact sleep quality.  I will go into more detail about these in a future blog.

Mistake 5: Neglecting Spinal Health

According to a study in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, people with back problems are way more likely to experience sleep disturbance.  Regular Chiropractic care, exercise and, funnily enough good quality sleep will help your back troubles.

Next steps

If you are struggling with sleep and suspect that any of theses mistakes might be the culprit, it’s time to take action.  Start with changing 1 thing above and then measure your results.  Keeping a sleep journal to track what works for you (and how often you are actually making the required change) will mean you can get better results in the long term.

If you need more help with any of these, call 6652 4025 today and make an appointment for a spinal assessment and sleep audit.