Tired at the office today? You aren't alone.
More than a third of Americans get less sleep than the seven to nine hours recommended for most people.
Some of the reasons for that are beyond our control — an unexpected visit from a friend or a young child can easily get in the way of a good night's sleep, regardless of your intentions.
But we also do things that can sabotage our sleep. And we can fix some of those behaviors.
Here's how you might be setting yourself up for a terrible night's sleep — and what to do about it.
SEE ALSO: How to figure out how much sleep you really need
Looking at the computer or tv right before bed.
Watching something on Netflix might seem like the perfect way to end a long day, but research has shown that blue light emitted by electronic screens (like phones, computers, and televisions) can impede the production of melatonin, a hormone the body uses to regulate our internal clocks.
Melatonin helps us relax and get ready for bed, so switch to a book 30 to 60 minutes before you go to bed — or at least turn off your electronic devices.
Having a nightcap.
That nighttime drink might make it a bit easier to fall asleep, but research shows that drinking alcohol right before bed can disrupt sleep later on in the night, making it less restful overall.
The solution, according to some sleep experts, is to keep your drinking to happy hour.
Checking your phone before bed (even when blue light is filtered out).
Headlines about the dangers of blue light have led to a wave of glasses, apps, and screen protectors that help filter out that part of the light spectrum.
But these may not help as much as the companies selling them would have you believe. And blue light is not the only sleep-destroying aspect of your phone. Just checking our phones (and the world they connect us to) before bed is enough to mess with our sleep, experts say. If you can keep those devices away from your bed, that might help.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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