What bad habits are keeping you from a good night's sleep?

"Work at sunrise and rest at sunset" is a phrase often used to describe a dull and regular life. But in the fast-paced modern society, it is often not so easy to do. For some people, a good sleep may be a luxury.

Recently, the topic #More than 300 million people have sleep disorders# has become a hot search topic. According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization, 27% of people in the world have sleep disorders, of which 38.2% of Chinese adults have insomnia, and more than 300 million Chinese have sleep disorders. The 2020 "White Paper on Chinese Sleep during the COVID-19 Pandemic" shows that half of the people go to bed after midnight, 80% of people have the habit of going to bed late, and 16% of people go to bed late almost every day. China has become a country with a high incidence of sleep problems, which has become the most worrying health issue for modern people.

So what bad habits are keeping you from a good night’s sleep ?

No 1. Playing with your phone before bed

With the continuous development of mobile Internet and self-media, social information has become a new way of life and getting along. Mobile phones have become the "lovers of the public". People can't let go of them. They carry them with them when walking, eating, and going to the toilet. They must play with their phones before going to bed. Using mobile phones for a long time before going to bed can excite the human nervous system and cause people to stay up late for a long time, which often leads to poor sleep quality and insomnia.

No. 2. Sleep with the lights on

Scientists have recently discovered that late-night light sources, including incandescent lamps, LED lamps and screen light from electronic devices, can affect our physiological rhythms and thus affect sleep.

No 3. Drinking before bed

Many people like to drink some alcohol before going to bed, thinking that this will help them fall asleep quickly. But the truth is that no matter how much alcohol you drink, it is generally harmful to sleep. Alcohol can put people in a lighter sleep stage, reduce deep sleep, and disrupt normal sleep structure, thus greatly reducing sleep quality.

No. 4. Vigorous exercise before bed

Vigorous exercise before going to bed excites the body's sympathetic nerves and increases the heart rate, thus leading to insomnia.

No. 5. Poor sleeping posture

Chinese people emphasize "lying like a bow", which means sleeping in a bow-like posture. Modern medicine also believes that sleeping on the right side can reduce the pressure on the heart, facilitate stomach emptying, and is good for sleep. For people who snore, sleeping in a side-lying posture can also effectively reduce throat obstruction, facilitate smooth breathing, and alleviate snoring symptoms.

No 6. The pillow is too high or too low

The height of the pillow has a great impact on the quality of sleep. If the pillow is too high, it will seriously affect our respiratory tract, and it will also be easy to snore and wake up, affecting the quality of sleep. If the pillow is too low, it is easy to get a stiff neck, and it is easy to feel dizzy, swollen eyes, etc. when you wake up the next day.

No. 7. Staying up late

Some people like to catch up on sleep after staying up late, but insomnia caused by a disrupted biological clock is unavoidable. So, even if you sleep for more than ten hours after staying up late, you will still feel sleepy and unfocused when you wake up.

No. 8. Changes in sleeping environment

For example, when you are on a business trip, a barbecue restaurant opens downstairs from where you are staying and it is open very late, making it so noisy that you can’t sleep, or you have to change your bed and you are not used to it.

No. 9. Psychological factors

Emotions also affect sleep, especially anger or rage before going to bed. Such emotions will make people's heart beat faster and breathing faster. They are very likely to occur in women, causing them to be unable to fall asleep at night.

No. 10. Improper diet

Spicy or acidic foods can cause stomach pain, heartburn and other discomfort reactions, which may cause you to wake up at night. Red meat contains a lot of protein and fat, which not only takes a long time to digest, but also easily causes indigestion or stomach cramps. Caffeine and strong tea and other nerve stimulant drinks can easily cause insomnia; fast food and other greasy foods are difficult for the human body to digest, thus causing heartburn. But you can't fall asleep on an empty stomach either, and you know why.

Congratulations, you have already understood what bad habits affect your good sleep. Just avoid them. It is easier said than done. Let us cherish our sleep!