Did You Know These 10 Things Affect Your Sleep?
Sleep is one of the most important things for your body. Allowing your system to relax and recharge is essential; however, there are many things that can get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Having a rough night of sleep due to an extenuating circumstance can be normal every once in a while. Being sick, having an overly stimulating evening at an event, or taking care of children can cause an unusually rough night’s sleep. However, if you are having difficulty sleeping night after night, it is important to take a look at a few things. Keep reading for our list of 10 random things that affect your sleep, and what to do if you suspect that your snoring or sleep apnea is getting in the way of quality sleep.
Alcohol
Alcohol is typically consumed in the evening before bed. Alcohol can cause you to feel sleepy and drowsy, which can make it seem like alcohol helps lull you to sleep. However, alcohol is a stimulating substance that activates your nervous system, causing you to have frequent wake-ups throughout the night.
In addition, alcohol is a diuretic. While you are sleeping, you may have frequent awakenings to use the restroom after a night of alcohol use.
If you do drink alcohol and have sleeping issues, try cutting back. You can also make sure you stop drinking several hours before bed to allow your body to relax and drink plenty of water. Some drinks, such as wine and cocktails, have a high sugar content and can make sleep difficult.
Your Weight
If you are overweight, your weight is negatively impacting your sleep. There are several reasons for this, including:
Excess weight around the neck, which can obstruct the airway
Hormonal imbalances and issues that could cause sleep disturbances
Stress and anxiety, which can make it difficult to sleep
Here is more from the Sleep Foundation:
Sleep loss creates a hormone imbalance in the body that promotes overeating and weight gain. Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that regulate appetite, and when you aren’t getting sufficient sleep, the production of these hormones is altered in a way that creates increased feelings of hunger. Sleep deprivation is associated with growth hormone deficiency and elevated cortisol levels, both of which have been linked to obesity. Additionally, insufficient sleep can impair your metabolism of food.
Unfortunately, the effects of sleep loss on weight are not limited to changes at the chemical level. Restricted sleep duration has been shown to cause a greater tendency to select high-calorie foods. Calories consumed late at night increase the risk of weight gain. Furthermore, adults who do not get sufficient sleep get less exercise than those who do, possibly because sleep loss causes sleepiness and fatigue during the day.
Your Bedtime Routine & Environmental factors
It’s true: Your bedtime routine (sleep hygiene, as it is known) can deeply impact your quality of sleep. Here is how:
- Using your bed outside of sleeping. If you use your bed for things other than sleeping, such as reading books, watching movies, working, or talking on the phone, it can be difficult to signal your brain that it is time to go to sleep. It may be more stimulating thinking about other things, which can make it very difficult to fall asleep.
- Light and sound. If there is too much light or sound in the room you sleep in, it can make it difficult to fall and stay asleep. Make sure your room is dark with blackout curtains or a dim nightlight, a sound machine is on, and that the temperature is nice and cool.
- Electronic use before bed. This might be a difficult habit to break, but using electronics in the two hours leading up to bedtime can negatively impact your sleep. Do your best to limit electronic use in those two hours leading up to bedtime. This can be difficult, so aim for 15 minutes at first and work your way up.
Smoking
If you are a smoker, your sleep disturbances can be a great reason to finally quit. Here is why smoking is negatively impacting your sleep:
Here is more from a study by the National Library of Medicine:
Compared to the general population, cigarette smokers report poorer sleep quality. Poor sleep quality in cigarette smokers is associated with greater nicotine dependence. While exercise is known to improve sleep quality in the general population, less is known about how exercise effects sleep in those who smoke. The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between exercise, sleep, and smoking in cigarette smokers.
Our data suggest that better sleep quality may be associated with lower levels of withdrawal, craving, and smoking urges. Further, exercise may be associated with better sleep quality in cigarette smokers. Future work should explore how increasing exercise and improving sleep quality could inform future smoking cessation interventions.
Eating Habits and Exercise
Did you know that the food you eat throughout the day can impact your sleep at night? There are several types of food that can impact your sleep, including:
- Fatty food
- Sugary food
- Spicy food
- Processed food
These types of foods can typically cause indigestion, which disrupts sleep. They can also increase body temperature or stimulate the nervous system, which makes it difficult to fall and stay asleep.
If you are having trouble sleeping, tweaking your diet can help. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and foods high in tryptophan can help promote a good night’s sleep. Do your best to eliminate fatty, sugary, spicy, or processed food for a while to see if your sleep starts to get better.
In addition, exercise will help tire your body and get you to sleep. However, the timing of exercise is important. Exercising too close to bedtime will get your endorphins pumping, which can keep you awake for longer. Try aiming for an earlier workout if you tend to work out in the evenings.
Stress and Anxiety
If you are going through a difficult time, there is no secret that it will disrupt your sleep.
While this is normal for someone experiencing a difficult time, it is important to still do your best to get a good night’s sleep. Poor sleep quality, combined with stress and anxiety, can compound each other and make each other worse. The best line of defense is to work on both of them simultaneously.
This includes:
- Seek professional help when needed. Sometimes, talking to someone can help take a lot of stress and edge off of a difficult situation
- Practice self-help techniques, such as watching a funny movie, taking a bath, getting a massage, or having a great meal with friends
- Try stretching, yoga, or meditation before bed to calm your mind
Caffeine Timing
Coffee is delicious—not only is it beneficial in many ways, but it also helps to keep you awake. Drinking coffee in the morning generally does not impact your sleep in the evening. However, if you tend to reach for an afternoon coffee, make sure it is timed right.
If you have a tough time getting to sleep and staying to sleep, and you tend to have an afternoon caffeine fix, aim to consume it before 2 pm.
In addition, there are some foods that contain caffeine that you might not be aware of. Some of these include:
- Chocolate
- Energy drinks
- Soft drinks
- Chocolate-flavored foods
- Kola nuts
- Guarana berries
- Some medications
If you do not drink coffee, tea, sodas, or energy drinks in the afternoon but are eating any of the above foods, this could be the culprit. Make sure to finish all caffeine-related drinks and foods before 2 pm or cut them out entirely in the afternoon.
Medical Conditions
If you cannot figure out why you have insomnia or poor sleep quality, it could be because of an underlying medical condition.
Here is a list of medical conditions that cause poor sleep quality:
- Heartburn
- Diabetes
- Heart failure
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Kidney disease
- Nocturia
- Thyroid disease
- Breathing issues
- Medications
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Dementia
- Epilepsy
- Headaches
- Strokes
- Tumors
- Parkinson’s disease
If you have already been diagnosed with one of the above conditions, it is important to speak with your doctor about your poor sleep quality. Poor sleep can negatively impact your condition, and there could be something your doctor can do to help you. Changing your medication or finding a new treatment method could be something that benefits your sleep while also fighting your medical condition.
Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Snoring isn’t just a bad habit. It can negatively impact your sleep in many ways due to sleep apnea.
If your family, partner, or roommates tell you that you snore, don’t brush them off. Snoring is a symptom of a serious health condition called Sleep Apnea, which is causing you to have a rough night’s sleep.
Here are some symptoms of sleep apnea:
- Loud, disruptive snoring
- Gasping or choking sounds
- Pauses in breathing (which may be noticed by a partner)
- Morning headaches
- Sore or dry mouth
- Feeling tired or not refreshed
- Excessive daytime drowsiness and fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating or memory loss
- Irritability or mood swings
- Needing coffee, energy drinks, or naps to get through the day
- Frequent awakenings during the night, particularly to urinate
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain
- Increased stress
- Decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction
Sleep apnea can lead to a host of other health issues such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, obesity, and much more. If you are a snorer, it is important to seek sleep apnea treatment as soon as possible.
Get Better Sleep with Gorman Health and Wellness
Not sure what is causing your poor sleep? Recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and want help? We offer noninvasive solutions without a CPAP to help.
Dr. Gorman is a part of the breathing wellness movement, which aims to increase awareness and improve treatment for sleep-related airway conditions like sleep apnea. He has partnered with organizations focused on collaborating with dentists to apply the sciences of Craniofacial Epigenetics (the study of cranial modifications caused by gene expression as opposed to genetic code alteration) and Pneumopedics® (the practical application of oral appliance therapy and non-surgical airway remodeling) in the management of sleep apnea.
Together, the application of these sciences allows for the underlying causes of airway obstruction to be treated in 98% of cases, resulting in a high success rate among sleep apnea patients. For every sleep apnea case at our practice, Dr. Gorman will gather patient data and determine the patient’s specific needs based on home sleep test results, dental impressions, CT scans, and images. Our state-of-the-art technology, paired with Dr. Gorman’s experience with sleep disorders, allows him to find the most effective treatment plan for each individual’s particular case, yielding improved daytime and nighttime breathing for the patient.
“I have been helping people suffering from Sleep Apnea with a non-invasive, clinically approved treatment method. This method has allowed my patients to sleep with far fewer events per hour, allowing them to get rid of their CPAP and BiPAP machines. Imagine not having to use one of those machines, getting back a much greater quality of life along with the benefits of being able to breathe better.” – Dr. Gorman.
For more information on Dr. Gorman and improving your sleep apnea, contact us today.
