There are some things one should not do before going to sleep. Watching television, working on the computer, and eating a heavy meal are just a few activities that can keep you up at night. This blog post will discuss some of the things you should avoid doing before bedtime. By following these tips, you will be able to get a good night's sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and energized.

How to get a good night's sleep

Getting a good sleep quality before waking up the next day is essential. It means getting the required hours of sleep for your age and making your sleep uninterrupted as much as possible. You feel refreshed and ready to tackle the next day's activities when you get enough sleep every day. One thing to note is that there are certain activities you should avoid doing before going to bed and sleeping. Doing these things can give you trouble falling asleep or interrupt it in the middle. Therefore, it will be beneficial for you not to do these things before bedtime.

1. Using your gadgets and staring at digital screens

To get a good night's rest, it is ideal that we put our bodies and minds in a relaxed state during the few hours leading to sleep. That means we should limit the activities that can arouse us and make our minds active as much as possible, including using electronic devices like cellphones and computers. Unfortunately, the blue light emitted by these devices can affect your sleep cycle and tells your brain to wake up instead of making you relax. So it would be best to stop using any electronic device a few hours before you sleep so you can wind down and fall asleep better.

2. Eating a heavy meal or snacks

It feels good to eat, but it's something you should not do when you're about to sleep. Ideally, dinner should be the last meal you eat in a day, but circumstances in our daily schedules can disrupt our eating time. For example, we might come home late after overtime, making us eat at a time close to sleeping. There should be a three-hour window between our last meal and the time when we go to sleep. We shouldn't eat something heavy, such as fatty foods, close to bedtime. Also, we might get the urge to eat snacks between our last principal meal, such as dinner, and before we go to sleep, so this is something to avoid. Having a full stomach before going to sleep can disrupt your sleep by making your body active in digesting the food you eat. Another thing to note also is that eating too early before sleeping can make you hungry before sleep, which also disrupts your sleep cycle. It can also make you eat something heavy in between, so balance the time for the last meal you will eat before bedtime and leave a window to let your body digest the food.

3. Drinking certain liquids

We all know that drinking plenty of water is good for you. However, drinking too much water before bedtime can lead to poor sleep by causing interruptions that wake you up because you must go to the bathroom to urinate. Therefore, if you must drink before sleeping, especially if you're feeling thirsty due to hot weather, try to limit the amount of liquid you drink, or do it around two hours before bedtime. And while we are on the topic of drinking, you should also avoid taking in caffeinated and alcoholic drinks before sleeping. You might get the idea that alcoholic beverages can help you sleep, especially when you take too much of them, but they can cause disruptions during the latter portions of your sleep and even more so once you wake up. On the other hand, drinking caffeinated beverages, such as energy drinks, before bedtime can make sleeping more challenging because such drinks make you more awake. Therefore, don't drink any caffeinated beverage several hours before sleep; limit your intake to attain better sleep.

4. Exercising

Exercise is good for your health. However, a strenuous workout a few hours before sleeping can affect your sleep. Late-night exercise revs up your body, making it more active and increasing body temperature, which can disturb sleep. If the only time you have for exercise is during the evening, do it several hours before sleeping. Also, try not to do anything physically intensive; instead, opt for something more relaxing like stretching and walking.

5. Getting agitated or worried

We should feel relaxed before sleeping, and one of the things you don't want to do before bedtime is give yourself worries and anxiety due to several factors. Avoid having a serious conversation with someone who can deal with topics that might not get immediately addressed and leave you thinking while in bed. Also, don't read anything that can make you worry, such as reading the news, doing last-minute checks of work-related e-mails, or checking notifications that can lead you to use your gadgets. If you can, try settling a conflict with someone or solving a problem, so your mind won't get fixated on these things, which can give you trouble sleeping.

6. Sleeping before your actual bedtime

Taking naps in the afternoon can be beneficial and gives time for our bodies to rest, especially after strenuous tasks. However, napping too close to our actual sleep time can make it difficult to feel sleepy, especially when you slept for a significant time close to your bedtime. If you're tired and need a nap, try to keep it short of giving you enough energy to do your last remaining tasks for the day. Set the alarm or have somebody wake you, so you don't sleep for too long. Having a set time every day for when you should go to sleep also helps manage when you can take short naps.

Maintain a good sleep quality

Getting a good sleep at the end of the day is vital to starting your day right the following day. However, it can be challenging for some of us to have good quality sleep. For example, underlying health issues can disrupt our sleep or shorten our sleep time. On the other hand, the activities we do for our nighttime routine or whenever we are about to sleep can affect our sleep quality, and the good thing is that we can do something about them. The items listed in this article are some of the activities you should never do before bed, along with many others. By incorporating healthy habits before bedtime, you can fall asleep faster and ensure your sleep remains undisrupted. All these practices are suitable for your well-being, so start getting rid of bad habits before sleeping, and you will only do yourself a favor.