30 Habits That Are Wrecking Your Sleep

Most sleep recommendations range from seven to nine hours per night, and for those who pack their schedules full, the temptation is to gravitate toward the lower end, Dove says. But from there, it can drop to six, or even five per night. Play around with getting eight or nine and see if that makes a difference to your performance and productivity.

Just a quick glance through Instagram and Snapchat before bed? Not a great habit, Dove says. That’s because as research has shown, the blue light emitted from your screen can mess with production of melatonin, the hormone that kicks in when it’s time for bed. Worse, it can increase cortisol, the hormone related to your stress response. That could leave you feeling energized when you want to wind down instead.

Sure, binge watching can be delicious, but just like looking through social media, it can throw off too much blue light if you’re on a device, and it provides too much stimulation right before bed, Dove believes. Instead, use your “no screens” hour before bed to plan your workout for the next day, read a book, or take a bath.

Set one alarm and stick to it, advises Dove. If you’re the snoozing type, put that alarm across the room or in a place where you need to turn on a light to find it. The light is a trigger for your brain that it’s time to wake up, making it harder to dive back under the covers. No beneficial sleep comes from those extra five or ten minutes, and too much snoozing can lead to feeling sluggish during the day and even negatively impact your sleep the next night.

It’s estimated as many as 20 percent of Americans have an alcoholic drink to help them fall asleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). But while the booze-and-snooze effect can prompt sleepiness, it tends to sabotage the quality of your sleep overall, the organization says. That’s because it can interrupt your circadian rhythm, block restorative REM sleep, and aggravate breathing problems.

Even if you eschew a nightcap, having too many alcoholic drinks earlier in the evening can also sabotage sleep over time, research suggests, particularly if this is a regular habit. The disruption can build up and cause sluggishness during the day, making it harder to fall asleep later or increase your chances of struggling with insomnia.

Even if you’ve tucked away your light-emitting screens before bed, artificial light can still have an effect, the NSF notes. For example, a bright bedside light can be disruptive for some people, because artificial light after dark can suppress melatonin and cause the brain to wake up more than it should. The organization suggests low-watt, incandescent lamps, which are better for helping you wind down.

According to the Better Sleep Council, the ideal temperature for sleeping is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Body temperature starts falling near bedtime, and your body also loses heat as a way to help you fall asleep and stay that way. A room that’s too warm—or piling up the blankets—can interrupt the process.

Having dinner or even a late snack makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, because your body will be trying to digest that food when it should be putting your systems on shutdown mode instead. In addition to potential insomnia, the tactic may Keeping your bedroom toasty like heartburn and acid reflux.

Seasonal changes and weekend plans often mean that your schedule can shift from time to time, and that may lead to hitting the sack when you’re tired. But too much variability can leave your body unsure about when to actually sleep, according to Mia Finkelston, M.D., a Maryland-based family practice physician. She says you’re your body craves routine, and setting up a regular bedtime makes it much easier to fall asleep and stay that way until morning.

It seems logical that if you’ve skimped on sleep during the week, sleeping in on the weekend would help you cut down on that sleep deficit. But it doesn’t really work that way, Finkelston says. Instead, this can throw you out of whack when Monday rolls around. A better tactic—painful as it might be—would be to get up at your weekday time and take a nap in the early afternoon instead.

You know that a warm bath may be soothing before bed, and has often been promoted as a way to fall asleep faster, so a shower should be the same, right? For many people, though, a hot shower has the opposite effect, says Finkelston. It can be stimulating and energizing, especially if you use a shower to wake up in the morning. Then, you’ll equate that with wakefulness.

Just like an invigorating shower, exercising too late in the day can leave you staring at the ceiling instead of falling asleep, Finkelston says. But that’s not true for everyone, or all According to the Better Sleep Council, the playing around with your workout time and intensity levels to figure out whether a late-evening routine is disrupting to your sleep schedule.

A sprawled-out, hours-long nap can feel like an amazing indulgence, especially with an otherwise overstuffed schedule. And done on an occasional basis, it likely won’t impact your usual sleep. But when it’s a regular habit, it can throw off your sleep schedule, Dove says, because you may push your bedtime later or struggle with falling asleep. If you love your naptime, decide on a length that leaves you feeling refreshed—20 minutes is often enough—and take that nap at about the same time, like early afternoon.

Running Shoes & Gear make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, according to the NSF. Also, it’s not the best tactic when it comes to digestion—remember, you want food to be fully digested before you hit the sack. A better tactic for both your belly and your bed would be to take a walk instead of a nap.

Although it might seem like it would be a relief to know you have hours left until you have to get up, looking at the clock is a bad habit, says Finkelston. That’s because to recognize how long you have until an alarm requires your brain to wake up to some degree—enough to do simple math, anyway—and that could kick you out of your sleep cycle, she says.

Recovery is what builds muscle, but there’s a tipping point. Numerous sedentary days can not only negatively affect athletic performance, but also begin hurting sleep quality, research suggests. Putting in at least 150 minutes a week of exercise can improve your sleep, and reduce daytime sleepiness, too.

As tempting as it might be to get some work done while lounging in bed, sleep experts often shoot down the pillow-strewn office idea. By seeing your bed as place reserved solely for sleep and sex, you create that connection in your mind, making it easier to fall asleep at bedtime.

Rushing around until just before you go to bed may allow you to get more done, but it’s not doing any favors for your sleep quality, Finkelston says. When it’s go-go-go before bed, you don’t allow your body and brain the wind-down time it needs to prepare for sleep. Create a routine instead, even if it’s just reading a book (no screens!) and brushing your teeth during the half hour before you head to bed. That creates a signal to your brain that you’re prepping for sleep, and it can help you fall asleep quickly, she says.

We all know those people who can have a double espresso after dinner and sleep like a baby anyway. But most of us, unfortunately, are not those people. Caffeine can stay in your system for hours, according to Michael Breus, Ph.D., author of The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan. Because of that, stop drinking coffee by 2:00 p.m, and consider cutting down on other caffeine sources in the evening as well, such as chocolate and tea.

Getting your circadian rhythm functioning at peak performance isn’t just about your nighttime routine, it also involves your morning habits as well, Breus says. That means getting outside in the sun for at least 15 minutes as a way to set your internal body clock.

Sure, you need to hit your water goals. But if you’re regularly getting up in the middle of the night to pee—especially if it’s more than once—then experiment with cutting off your hydration a few hours before bed to see if it makes a difference, Breus suggests.

If you’re awake for more than 10 minutes in the middle of the night, your brain can start to spin on various worries, to-do list items, memories, and other random thoughts. At that point, it can be tough to fall back asleep, says Rita Aouad, M.D., who specializes in both psychiatry and sleep medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She suggests getting up and doing something somewhat boring, like reading a ho-hum book or doing some laundry. Don’t watch TV, though—the blue light will likely cause you to wake up even more.

Maybe you have a wind-down routine at night but you still struggle with falling asleep or getting good sleep quality. What gives? It could be a lack of de-stress techniques during the day, says Aouad. Elevated stress levels throughout the day cause your cortisol to stay spiked, and it can be tough to bring those down in the last hour before bed. Work on taking more frequent and mindfulness-packed breaks in little snippets during the day, she advises.

About half of U.S. adults are estimated to have some degree of vitamin D deficiency, says Breus. The vitamin has been associated with a number of health benefits, but it’s also important for sleep quality, and he says that low vitamin D levels have been linked to more disrupted sleep.

Just as artificial light right before bed can mess with circadian rhythm, too much all day long can also have a sleep-dampening effect, Breus says. In addition to that burst of natural light in the morning, aim to get outside when you can during the day. Not only will the sunlight help you snooze better later, but Breus adds that the fresh air can help with de-stressing for an even greater sleep effect.

A recent study found that sleep deprivation may contribute to loneliness and social isolation, but it can happen in the other direction as well, according to Breus. He says that loneliness leads to depression and anxiety, which can then negatively impact sleep quality. Taking time to connect with others can not only help you get better shuteye, but also lets you benefit from a range of additional health benefits, he says.

It seems logical that if you want to sleep and you’ve been having trouble, you take a medication designed to help you off to dreamland. But the current class of sleeping pills produces sedation, not the kind of naturalistic sleep that provides restorative effects, according to Matthew Walker, Ph.D., author of Why We Sleep. These medications might be useful in the short term, but they can’t substitute for normal, real sleep, he says.

You might think that because eight hours is beneficial, 10 would be even better, but most people will find a point of diminishing returns, says Breus. Oversleeping is a sign of disordered sleep, and it’s often a signal that you’re experiencing poor sleep quality. Sleeping too much also carries many of the same health risks as sleeping too little, including metabolic problems and heart disease. Sleep needs are individual, but you may be sleeping too much if you’re having trouble waking up in the morning, concentrating during the day, and experiencing ongoing fatigue.

If you’ve tweaked some, or even all, of the habits on this list and you’re still struggling, there’s one more habit left to try: seeing your doctor. Insomnia and other sleep issues can be symptoms of other conditions, like diabetes, anxiety, asthma, reflux disease, overactive thyroid, and more. Certain medications can also mess with sleep, especially those for blood pressure, pain control, allergies, and cold relief. Talk to your healthcare provider, and consider a sleep study, to pinpoint any underlying causes that go beyond lifestyle tweaks.