Doomscrolling to high sugar foods; these nighttime habits that affect your sleep – India TV

Your nighttime sleep is extremely important and helps to maintain several important functions of the body. When you get a good night’s sleep, it improves your digestion, maintains hormonal balance and reduces stress among others. However, a lot of people don’t sleep well. They barely sleep for 4-5 hours which eventually affects their overall health, from hormones to body weight. 

Therefore, it is crucial that you sleep well. There are various habits that you can incorporate into your routine that can improve your sleep. These include eating a light meal, staying away from blue light, avoiding caffeine and others. There are certain daily habits that might be affecting your sleep and while these might be unintentional, they can have a huge impact. Here are some nighttime habits that affect your sleep. 

Doomscrolling

Engaging with social media or news late at night can overstimulate your brain, making it harder to wind down. Also, the blue light emitted by screens suppresses melatonin which can delay your ability to fall asleep. Also, doomscrolling can trigger anxiety, thereby, affecting your sleep. 

Caffeine

Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks adenosine which is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for promoting sleep. Even though its effects can vary between individuals, drinking coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages in the late afternoon or evening can keep you alert and delay the onset of sleep.

Eating High-Sugar Foods

Consuming foods high in sugar or large meals can cause a spike in blood sugar, which leads to energy bursts making it harder for your body to relax. High sugar levels can also affect the quality of your sleep by disrupting your circadian rhythm and causing nighttime awakenings.

Bright or Artificial Light

Bright lights or excessive exposure to artificial lighting (especially blue light) at night confuses your body’s internal clock. This signals to your brain that it’s still daytime, thereby, inhibiting melatonin production and making it harder to fall asleep. Therefore, dim lighting in the evening can be helpful.

Intense Physical Activity

While regular exercise during the day improves sleep, working out right before bed can increase your heart rate, body temperature and adrenaline levels, all of which make it difficult to wind down. 

Irregular Sleep Schedule

Having an inconsistent sleep routine, going to bed and waking up at different times each day, can disrupt your circadian rhythm. This confusion makes it harder for your body to know when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to be awake, leading to poor sleep quality. 

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