Getting quality sleep affects your mood, weight, and immune system.
Here’s what Doctors try to steer clear of:
They don’t watch the news, so to avoid things that can cause anxiety before bed. They avoid working in bed to maintain the relationship with the brain that the bed is only for two things sleep and sex. The brain can develop a psychological association with the bed being a place to stay awake rather than sleep.
They don’t work out late in the day as it can be counterproductive. People try to wear themselves out,’ but inadvertently make it harder for themselves to fall asleep. They steer clear of tense conversations, so to never go to bed angry, or bad feelings will harden into resentment.
They absolutely do not consume caffeine including coffee, soda, iced tea, pre-work out drinks or energy drinks, as they act as a stimulant. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors — and adenosine plays a role in sleep homeostasis. They try to avoid drinking alcohol because it causes the sleep architecture to be disrupted later on, resulting in poor quality sleep.
They don’t use electronic devices without a blue light filter. Light signals the brain to stay awake and prolonged exposure keeps us awake and reduces the amount of sleep we get, so they also don’t keep the lights in their home turned up bright.
Finally, they make sure they don’t spend a long time awake in bed, as extra time in bed awake results in your brain starting to develop an association that the bed is a place to be awake and also sleep.
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