Sleep is essential for our physical and mental health, and yet many of us struggle to get a good night's rest. If you are one of those people, you ma
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1. Eating a meal within 2 hours before bed
It's bad news for those partial to a midnight snack, as the expert advised you should wait at least two hours to sleep after a big meal. Dr Raj explained to his followers: 'It takes 90 minutes for 50 per cent of your stomach to empty into the small intestines. So the more full your stomach is, the higher chance of acid reflux, which can obviously damage your sleep. Ideally wait two to three hours after your large meal before you go to bed.' One user jumped to defend their habit in the comments, saying: 'I can't sleep on an empty stomach, the hunger keeps me awake! I have to eat something before bed every night.'
2. Chugging water before you go to sleep
Drinking water before bed may be an obvious habit to kick, as it can increase the amount of time you need to urinate during the night. Dr Raj explained to his followers: 'When you're asleep your body increases the production of the hormone ADH, so it retains water and suppresses your need to pee. If you drink lots of water before bed, it can suppress the production of ADH, so you pee more and you wake up more and it ruins your sleep.' Defending their habit, one user commented: 'I can't help it - convinced myself it helps me be less dehydrated when I wake up.' Instead of chugging water at night, a more beneficial way to rehydrate is to drink water in the morning.
3. Sleeping in a hot room
Attempting to get to sleep during summer can be an impossible task. While the long days are welcomed, the nights can be unbearable and sweaty. And the hot temperatures may actually throw off your sleep balance. Dr Raj explained: 'Our peak body temperature is around 7pm. After this point the body temperature drops and we feel more sleepy and there's an increased production of melatonin.' He added: 'Our bodies need to become cooler to sleep faster.' So, dark quiet, cool and comfortable bedrooms are synonymous with a good night's sleep.
4. Having a nightcap
Many people use alcohol as a sleep aid because it can be a potent somnogen (sleep-inducing agent), however alcohol is also known to disrupt sleep patterns. Dr Raj explains alcohol messes up your REM sleep pattern, the stages of sleep which each serve a specific function. The NHS doctor showed a graph to his TikTok followers which monitored alcohol related sleep. He explained that drinking alcohol before bed can increase the suppression of REM sleep during the first two cycles of sleep, since alcohol is a sedative and can induce deep sleep quickly. As the night progresses, this can create an imbalance between slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, which can result in shorter sleep duration and more sleep disruptions. So, since alcohol can reduce REM sleep, people who drink frequently before bed often experience insomnia symptoms and feel excessively sleepy, it is claimed. To get a quality night's sleep, Dr Raj told his followers to 'stop' consuming alcoholic drinks before bed.
5. Consuming caffeine
Most people welcome the intake of caffeine as a useful stimulant to make you feel more awake. But, though it can kickstart your morning, an afternoon or evening coffee can disrupt your sleep balance. For anyone struggling to get a good night's sleep, it may be time to ditch the afternoon coffee, as it may disrupt your sleep pattern as the stimulant exits the body. The maximum caffeine effect is experienced one hour after drinking it, at which point it peaks in our blood. After this, depending on an individual's metabolic rate, it can take up to eight hours to leave the body. For those who want to get their sleep back on track, avoid consuming caffeine in the afternoon, says Dr Raj. The older we are, the longer it takes for caffeine to leave our bodies due to decreasing metabolism.
If you are struggling to get a good night's sleep, then it may be time to ditch some troublesome sleep practices. Dr Karan Raj, an NHS surgeon and lecturer at Sunderland University, recently shared his tips with his 5.1million TikTok followers, and many users were surprised at how many they had succumbed to. Eating a meal within two hours of bedtime, chugging water before you go to sleep, sleeping in a hot room, having a nightcap and consuming caffeine can all be detrimental to your sleep quality. So, if you want to improve your sleep, it may be time to kick these habits and get your sleep back on track.
