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5 habits you should break to get a better night's sleep

There are five habits you can change to help you get more slumber.

Not getting enough sleep is something many American complain about. Doctors recommend you get 7-9 hours of sleep each night but only 1/3 of people get that much.

50 to 70 million adults in the U.S. claim they have some type of sleep disorder. One of those people is Aaron Boutwell.

“At about 2 or 3 p.m. in the afternoon, if I’m not moving around, I basically want to just stop and fall asleep wherever I am,” said Boutwell.

Boutwell fell two years ago and broke his leg in multiple places. The accident also impacted his sleep which is what brought him to Mercy Hospital South’s Sleep Lab to get help.

There are five habits you can change to help you get more slumber.

  1. Not taking enough time to unwind

Before you fall asleep, your heart rate needs to slowdown as does your breathing. That means not doing things that keep you awake.

  1. Mindless caffeinating throughout the day

It’s easy to reach for a cup of joe when the afternoon yawns but doing that could cause more harm later in the day

Dr. Alvan Nzewuihe, a sleep expert at Mercy Hospital South, said “It takes time for your body to metabolize the caffeine and bring you down. Usually it takes 4-6 hours.”

  1. Drinking alcohol before bed

It’s true that glass of wine will make you drowsy, but Dr. Nzewuihe said it will affect your quality of sleep.

  1. Thinking you can make up sleep on the weekend

When you skip breakfast for 3 days, you’re not going to eat 3 breakfasts on Saturday, said Dr. Nzewuike. Sleep works the same way.

  1. Thinking you need less sleep than you do

You may have said to yourself, “I’ll just power through tomorrow” but Dr. Nzewuihe said that’s not a good idea.

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