Happy Friday! Sleep is vital for everyone because it helps us to function better. If you deal with insufficient sleep, it can cause a lot of issues such as weight gain, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and impaired immune function. Everyone must make sleep a priority, so our bodies won’t shut down. Here are some habits that can help improve your sleep so keep reading for all the deets.

5 surprising habits that are ruining your sleep

1. Too much artificial light in the evening. Exposure to artificial light in the evening tricks the brain into thinking it’s time to stay awake and it also suppresses the secretion of melatonin the crucial hormone responsible for making us sleepy. Turn off all screens two hours before bed and focus on reading and unwinding, or intimacy.
2. Not getting natural light. Our bodies are designed to sleep and wake in accordance with the daily cycle of the sun. Natural light exposure helps brain and hormones recalibrate your sleep wake-cycle.
3. Consuming caffeine or alcohol too close to bedtime. Caffeine can take a toll on sleep when it’s consumed within 6 hours before bedtime. Alcohol while it may help you nod off faster it often disrupts sleep later and also worsens sleep apnea.
4. Not regulating blood sugar. If you don’t start your day off with a meal that contains protein and fat, you’re hurting your blood sugar levels. Simple carbs cause quick blood sugar spikes and crashes and imbalanced blood sugars interrupt sleep.
5. Keeping an erratic sleep schedule. Irregular sleep patterns or not going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday makes it harder for the body to know when it’s time to slow down or to be alert. Maintain a regular bedtime as much as possible.

–Chantel Keona