Are you counting sheep while you are lying in bed, extremely tired, yawning, but for some reason sleep eludes you? You turn over and see how much time you have left before the morning alarm goes off. It may seem ironic that despite being tired, no matter what your state of mind, the inability to fall asleep on time leads to buzzing and frustration. The association that being tired automatically means falling asleep early may not always work. If exhausting yourself to sleep was your strategy, then perhaps, from the mental fatigue of reading a boring academic book, you need a more well-developed strategy to solve this issue.
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Dr. Prashant Katakol, a neurosurgeon with over 33 years of experience, addressed this common sleep challenge in an Instagram video posted on October 22. He highlighted an interesting root cause. He said, “Why do you find it difficult to sleep even when you are tired? As a neurosurgeon, I will tell you how your daytime habits are ruining your nights.” This means that your choices during the day determine how well you sleep at night. Neurosurgeons suggest 4 tips for modifying daily activities that keep you up at night.
1. Walk more
One of the culprits is prolonged inactivity. Many people sit for long periods of time during the day, whether in the office on weekdays or lounging on the couch on the weekend. Throwing light on this aspect, Dr. Katakol said, “Move more than sit during the day.”
2. Dim the lights
“As soon as the sun sets, dim the surrounding lights,” the neurosurgeon advised. It is important to dim the lights before sleeping. This includes switching from bright overhead lights to warm bedside lamps.
3. No screens before bed
Life is busy, rushing around in the morning, grabbing whatever is within your reach for breakfast, getting it done at the office, striving for deadlines and attending meeting after meeting. The pursuit is simply relentless. Often, people consider the evening as their free time, watching TV shows or talking about useless things. But this continues until or even beyond bedtime.
The neurosurgeon weighed in on this habit and emphasized, “Remove your screens 3 hours before bed.”
4. Early dinner
The last solution Dr. Catacol suggested was to have an early breakfast. “Finish your dinner early, ideally before sunset, and then take a 20-minute walk,” he advises. This habit reduces digestive problems. What happens is that when one eats dinner just before sleeping, the digestion process gets disturbed. To improve digestion, as the neurosurgeon said, it is important to take a short walk so that one does not feel bloated in bed. And when your stomach is heavy, you’re more likely to toss and turn.
Neurosurgeon Dr Katakol advises to continue these habits ‘sincerely’ to see results. In others, you’ll just have to stick with these healthy changes for better sleep.
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
