You pop to bed and have a full 8 hours of sleep. The first question that comes to your mind in the morning is “why do I never feel rested?”. It feels like you’re in a worse condition, both mentally and physically than the night before.

If you’re constantly facing such issues, you’ll want to take a look at your sleep habit or the lifestyle that you’re used to. Sometimes, the tiniest details can affect your sleep cycle and result in sluggishness for the whole day.

1. You Bring Stress To Bed

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Everyone suffers from stress to a certain extent but not all manage to de-stress before heading to bed. When your mind is consumed by stress, you couldn’t enjoy quality sleep. Even if you got the full 8 hours of sleep, you’ll still wake up feeling exhausted.

It’s important to know how to manage your stress because the exhaustion you suffered in the morning leads to a drop in productivity and affects emotional health. This results in a continuous cycle of exhaustion that it’s hard to break out off. (1)

Sometimes, the stress you’re getting can manifest in physical form when you sleep. Teeth grinding is a common occurrence when you fail to de-stress prior to bedtime. And in my case, prolonged grinding lead to a cracked tooth.

So, start managing stress effectively. Physical workout helps to boost serotonin, endorphin, and dopamine which are brain chemicals that make you feel good. Besides, meditating prior to bedtime also helps to calm your mind down after a stressful day. (2)

2. Taking Caffeine In The Evening

It’s hard to resist the temptation of an aromatic brew. But taking it in the evening is a big mistake. While you may feel satisfied sipping the rich caffeine beverage at the moment, you may be struggling with sleep later at night.

The reason is caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours. This means that after 5 hours, half of the caffeine will still remain in your system. After that initial boost kicks in, it eventually gave way to a jittery or clouded mind. (3)

Unless you’re highly-tolerant to caffeine, you’ll want to avoid taking caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime. This allows your body to dispose of the caffeine and prevent it from interrupting your sleep.

If you badly need a drink in the evening, these non-caffeine herbal teas are better alternatives. My personal favorite is a cup of chamomile tea as it is known to be mildly sedative and calms the mind for sleep.

3. Bringing Gadgets Into The Bedroom

It sure is comfort as you lay on your bed and browse through social media feeds or catch your favorite series on Netflix. But bringing electronics gadgets into the bedroom is a strict no-no if you wanted to wake up refreshed in the morning.

The blue light emitted from electronics is known to disrupt the sleep cycle. As the sun sets, your body starts to produce melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that helps you to relax and sleep. However, when you start playing with tablets and mobile, the blue light causes the melatonin level to decrease and it gets harder to fall asleep. (4)(5)

Besides, trying to keep up with series during bedtime excites instead of calming your brain. You may find yourself fidgeting on your mobile way pass beyond your regular sleeping hour and disrupts your sleep cycle.

Make your bedroom a no-entry zone for electronics gadgets and you’ll recover the rejuvenating power of sleep.

4. Taking Heavy Meal Prior To Bedtime

It’s understandable that a hungry stomach can messes up your sleep. Food almost always triumphs over slumber. However, eating too much prior to bedtime can make you feel lethargic in the morning. You’ll be drained of energy and wished you’ve never taken that meal before bed.

The reason for feeling fatigued is that your stomach continues to work in digesting the food while you’re sleeping. But as other parts of your body are in rest mode, the process becomes a struggle. Occasionally, that can result in indigestion and irritate your bowel.

Ensure that dinner is at least 2 hours before bedtime. And if hunger is nagging at you as you go to bed, take something that is easily digested, such as cereal, light snacks or fruits.

Give your digestive system a break as you sleep and you’ll wake up refreshed.

5. You Don’t Have A Conducive Sleeping Environment

Are you comfortable lying on the bed? Or are you interrupted by random noises in the midnight? To ensure a well-rested night, you’ll want to ensure that your bedroom is conducive for sleep.

For a start, you’ll want to get a thicker curtain if there are light sneaking in from the window. A darker room helps you to sleep, as it retain the melatonin level in your body.

If you’re suffering from back pain, sleep can be a struggle. You’ll want to ensure that you have an orthopedic mattress that eases the pain on your body.

Sleep can be a restorative process only if it’s uninterrupted. There are a few stages of sleep a person go through and the deep sleep stage is where healing takes place. If you’re getting interrupted at the wrong cycle, such as the REM stage,  you’ll be feeling groggy for quite a while.

If your sleep has been punctuated by random noise, it helps to get a white noise machine that generates a static sound that allows your mind to rest.

Does any of the above contribute to your exhaustion in the morning? Share your thoughts in the comment below.

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