7 Actions You Take During The Day That Prevent You From Sleeping At Night

When it comes to integrating new strategies into our life to be able to sleep better, we forget something important: it is not always about applying innovative techniques, but about abandoning negative habits that prevent us from conciliating a good night’s sleep.

Getting a deep sleep of between 7 and 8 hours is synonymous with health.

It is therefore necessary that we become aware of something essential: before resorting to drugs, we must attend to that sleep hygiene.

And this, sometimes, translates into something as simple as taking care of our daytime routines.

Actually, getting it is easier than we think. It is enough to take into account these simple actions that will be of great help so that, little by little, you can regulate your sleep cycle and sleep better.

Do we take note?

1. Eat a lot and late

Dining late is not the only factor leading to lighter sleep.

The problem that concerns food is not only focused on the last meal of the day, it also has to do with our midday meal.

• Eating, for example, at three or three thirty in the afternoon supposes going against the needs of our body.
• If we wake up early and skip breakfast because we are in a hurry, we delay eating until too late.

Little by little what we get is to have a slower metabolism.

In turn, eating late implies dining late. Almost without realizing it, we completely disrupt our cycles and our chance for a good night’s rest.

2. Take a nap of more than half an hour

We must not make mistakes: napping regularly helps us sleep better.

• Now, but a good nap has an essential secret: it must be short, 15 or 20 minutes. Sleeping more than 30 minutes is already a risk to our health.

• The short nap is a “healthy” habit because it is a physiological necessity after meals: it allows us to relieve stress, wake up more clear and ready to face the rest of the day.

3. Very spicy, acidic or dairy dishes

Spicy dishes or foods are delicious for many people.

Nothing happens if one day we indulge ourselves in a lunch.

However, remember that consuming spicy or acidic foods on a regular basis, whether at our lunch or dinner, means having to face the following problems:

• Heavy digestions.
• Heartburn.
• Gastroesophageal reflux.

On the other hand, if you are passionate about cheeses, start to moderate its consumption.

Dairy products, and especially cheeses, are rich in tyramine, a stimulant that, in addition to causing insomnia, is associated with migraines.

4. Make changes in your routine

The brain likes that we follow fixed guidelines in our schedules: wake up at the same time, always have dinner at the same time, and go to bed at the same time on a regular basis.

• Any change can affect everything else. It is clear that some people will be more sensitive than others.

However, sometimes, it is enough to get up a few hours later than normal for everything to get upset and, in the end, we have a hard time sleeping at night.

In turn, keep in mind that any intense emotion, any unexpected focus of stress or a sudden worry throughout the night will affect the quality of your rest.

5. Drink coffee during the seven hours before going to bed

Almost no one thinks of having a cup of coffee just before going to sleep. However, who has not met someone for a good cup of coffee in the afternoon?

• This social act so common in our culture often supposes reinforcing one more factor that feeds insomnia.
• Caffeine remains in our body between 5 or 7 hours. Thus, in order to get to bed rested, it is necessary that, after noon, we stop consuming coffee or tea.

6. Watch television or be with the computer all afternoon

Let’s imagine that when we get home in the afternoon we start to do the housework: put the washing machine, fix this, take care of the other …

• Later, when we have everything “under control”, we say to ourselves that “I’m going to relax” and we do it by watching TV or using the computer all afternoon until bedtime.

It’s a mistake. Believe it or not our brain does not relax, it “reactivates”. In fact, you come to bed so overexcited that it will be very difficult for you to get a good rest.

If you want to disconnect when you get home, do it properly, give yourself – at least –  an hour without thinking or doing anything.

Just breathe fresh air, free yourself from noise, worry, take a relaxing bath … Your brain will appreciate it.

7. Do physical exercise 3 hours before going to sleep

Our mind needs two hours of total relaxation before going to bed. Something as simple as turning off the television and reading would undoubtedly mean getting to bed much more rested.

• It is highly recommended that you minimize strenuous activity 3 hours before going to bed.

After exercise or training the body takes a long time to recover, so the ideal is to respect this interval.

Start today to take care of these 7 factors and you will discover how, little by little, the quality of your rest improves.