Sleep Experts Just Shared the Morning Habit You Should Avoid to Sleep Better, and I’m Feeling Confused

You’ve probably heard that a good night’s sleep starts in the morning, and sleep experts completely agree with this statement. This is due to our circadian rhythm, or our body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, which lasts 24 hours.

“The circadian rhythm, your internal body clock, runs on an approximately 24-hour cycle and determines when you feel awake or sleepy, largely influenced by light exposure,” explained Dr. Chester Wu, a board-certified psychiatrist and specialist in sleep medicine. . “Healthy behaviors in the morning reinforce a strong circadian rhythm, promoting wakefulness during the day and sleepiness at night.”

Conversely, according to Wu, irregular sleep patterns, excessive exposure to evening light, and sedentary lifestyles can disrupt this rhythm and balance of sleep pressure, leading to sleep problems.

Given that they’ve dedicated their careers to helping people sleep better, it’s safe to say that sleep doctors’ morning routines are ones we want to emulate. So what do sleep experts avoid doing in the morning to ensure you get a good night’s sleep?

They never go to bed after their alarm goes off.

In what may be the strangest (but definitely smartest) move ever, sleep doctors don’t stay in bed, scrolling on their phones for 15 minutes before dragging themselves out of bed. “I try not to linger in bed because I definitely feel like it makes me more lazy or groggy,” Wu said.

Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep expert, doesn’t do that either. “I never stay in bed and do activities that are not related to sleep and intimacy. This means that when I wake up, I immediately get up and go elsewhere in my house,” she said. “It helps maintain in my brain the idea that the bedroom is just a place of rest, which promotes high-quality sleep.”

“I never stay in my dark room,” added Dr. Chris Winter, a neurologist and sleep health expert. “It is essential to enter into the light. Light effectively stops your brain’s production of melatonin and signals to your body that the day has begun.

Although staying out of bed was the most popular advice among the sleep experts we consulted, Carleara Weiss, a sleep specialist and research assistant professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, said gave a slightly different answer: For her, in addition to getting up as soon as she wakes up, she makes sure not to sleep late.

“The reason for this has to do with circadian rhythms,” Weiss said. “Regular wake-up times help the body clock regulate physiological functions, not just sleep. Sleeping in on weekends causes social jet lag and causes difficulty concentrating, fatigue, irritability and headaches.

Dr. Raj Dasgupta — a quadruply board-certified physician in internal medicine, pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine — is also reluctant to sleep.

“While sleeping late occasionally is unlikely to have a lasting impact on your overall sleep quality, it may affect your ability to fall asleep later in the evening,” he said. “Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, where you wake up and go to bed at the same time every day, is very important to ensuring a good night’s quality sleep. »

What do sleep doctors do instead in the morning?

We know what they don’t do in the morning. So what TO DO do sleep doctors do it? One thing that kept coming up was making sure they were exposed to light early in the morning.

“One of the first things I do in the morning, usually within 30 minutes of waking up, is expose myself to natural sunlight by going outside or sitting by a window,” said Rohrscheib. “Light during the day is very important to keep our circadian rhythm well regulated. Studies have shown that a lack of sun exposure can reduce your sleep quality, contribute to insomnia, and negatively impact mood.

Dasgupta also makes sure to expose himself to the sun first thing in the morning. “Exposing yourself to sunlight first thing in the morning when you wake up can increase alertness and energy during the day, leading to better sleep at night,” he said.

Another big piece of advice that came to mind? Exercise. “Getting active quickly is a fantastic way to signal to your brain that the day has started,” Winter said. “The exercise doesn’t need to be particularly intense. I start my day by walking my dogs every day or walking with my wife to work.

Interestingly, another thing Winter always makes sure to do is make her bed. “This is not only symbolically powerful, but it is also a great deterrent for people who might want to go back to bed during the day and think that napping might interfere with their sleep the night to come,” he said. he declares.

As far as we’re concerned, the fact that sleep doctors aren’t saying anything about giving up coffee is a big win. As long as we can have our coffee, we don’t mind dragging ourselves out of bed before checking email and scrolling through Instagram. This article was originally published on HuffPost.