The 10 Worst Ways to Ruin Your Sleep

1. Eat a large meal or drink lots of fluids right before bed.

There’s nothing like a full bladder or stomach to disrupt your sleep. Getting up to urinate will interrupt sound rest, so drinking too much before bed may mean multiple trips to the bathroom during the night. Eating a large meal near bedtime may provoke heartburn symptoms when you lie down that can make you uncomfortable.
 

2. When you can’t sleep, just lie there and suffer.

If you are having trouble getting to sleep, the last thing you need to do is lie there awake. If this happens chronically, as may occur in insomnia, you may learn to associate your bed with anxiety and not being asleep. Rather than tossing and turning, try a relaxing activity like reading.
 

3. Try to sleep somewhere that is too cold, too warm, or too noisy.

It’s no use trying to sleep somewhere that is stimulating to our senses. If the stereo is blaring, the lights are on, and it’s stifling, how can you expect to sleep? Subtle variations on this theme will likewise make it hard to catch a few winks.

4. Take prolonged naps.

This one may be a little controversial. Some cultures promote the midday nap, and many people swear by them. If you sleep well at night, it may not be a problem. However, if you are having trouble sleeping then, the last thing you need to do is to add fuel to the fire by sleeping some during the day. Naps diminish your ability to sleep at night, and excessive daytime sleepiness may suggest a sleep disorder.

5. Use your bedroom as a stimulating multipurpose room.

Filling your bedroom with televisions, gaming systems, computers, telephones, and other gadgets will ensure a plethora of stimulation will be at hand. Unfortunately, none of these will help you to sleep better. Using them just prior to bed will prompt your brain to be active, and this is the last thing you need to fall asleep.

6. Enjoy an alcoholic drink, cup of coffee, or cigarette just prior to bed.

Though grandpa may have always enjoyed an alcoholic “nightcap” to get to sleep, this is actually not helpful. It may cause you to feel a little drowsy, but it fragments the stages of your sleep and makes it more disrupted. Caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, soda pop, and foods like chocolate work as stimulants to keep you awake. Likewise, nicotine from a cigarette will ruin your ability to sleep, and the craving associated with withdrawal may wake you during the night. These things should be avoided in the six hours before bed.

7. When you get busy, just sleep less.

We all get busy for different reasons, and it’s easy to find extra time in the day by sleeping less. Why waste eight hours in bed? Wouldn’t you rather be watching television, playing on the internet, or spending time with your friends or family? Unfortunately the quality of the time we spend awake is significantly impacted by not getting enough rest. If you cut back on sleep, you may find that you aren’t gaining much if you spend the day bleary-eyed and befuddled.

8. Stay active until the moment you hop into bed.

Sleep is a quiet, relaxing activity, so it doesn’t make much sense to try to transition to that directly from something that is quite the opposite. Our bodies don’t do well with abrupt changes. The same is true for getting ready to sleep. Quiet sleep rituals such as reading, listening to calming music, or taking a nice bath helps prepare us mentally and physically for sleep.

9. Exercise before bed.

Although it is ideal to exercise every day -- and this will likely ensure a good night’s sleep -- doing it right before bed is a bad idea. It causes difficulties as your body will be revved up when you should be winding down.

10. Vary your sleep time from one day to the next.

We are creatures of habit, and our sleep is no exception. If you go to bed and get up at different times every day, your body will have no sense of when it is supposed to feel tired and sleep. This ultimately depends on our natural clock called the circadian rhythm, and varying the times we are asleep can negatively influence it. By keeping a consistent schedule, we are able to sleep better.