It’s no secret that sleep is one of the most crucial components of a healthy lifestyle. When you don’t get enough sleep or don’t sleep well, it can throw off so many of your bodily functions and set you up for a rough day. Therefore, what you do before falling asleep makes a big difference in your health.
When you do certain stressful things before bed, even if they don’t feel that stress-inducing in the moment, you can create all sorts of reactions in your body, like heightened cortisol levels, which, over time, can wreck your sleep and have bad impacts on your overall well-being, so, we spoke with health experts about six “harmful” bedtime and evening habits that you should stop doing immediately to prevent spiked cortisol levels and impacted sleep. Read more about them below.
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1. Drinking Alcohol
Therapist and sleep specialist Jessica Fink, LCSW-S, says drinking alcohol before bed, especially with the intention of falling asleep, can seriously backfire.
"Alcohol is hell on sleep," she explains. "People will say it helps them fall asleep, but really, it makes them crash. A healthy sleep pattern is a slow, gradual, gentle process that takes 10 to 30 minutes. Alcohol also results in more fragmented sleep and less REM sleep."
While a glass of wine or a cocktail after dinnertime and right before bed may sound like a nice, relaxing idea, it actually leaves your brain and body more exhausted in the long run.
2. Drinking Caffeine
Physician and weight loss expert Dr. Adrienne Youdim, MD, says caffeine can sabotage your sleep long after your last sip.
"Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain," she explains. "Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that induces sleep. By blocking this receptor, adenosine is unable to exert its effects. This is how caffeine induces alertness and wakefulness."
While that boost might be helpful in the morning, it can keep you up at night if you have it any later in the day. As Dr. Youdim notes, the half-life of caffeine is "5 to 6 hours, meaning that a cup of coffee at 4 pm or later can still impact a 10 pm bedtime routine."
Instead of drinking coffee later in the day, try a warm, uncaffeinated option like herbal tea or steeping fresh mint in hot water.
3. Using Nicotine
It's no secret that nicotine is bad for you and can keep you consuming harmful products like cigarettes, vapes, pouches, and more. However, some may not realize just how much it can harm their sleep habits as well, when consumed in the evening. As Fink notes, "Nicotine is a stimulant."
"People will say it calms them down, but that's because it's stopping the withdrawal," she continues. "Avoid nicotine within 2 hours of bedtime."
Better yet, if you can, eliminate sources of nicotine from your routine entirely.
4. Exercising Before Bed
Some people feel like their evening routine isn't complete without getting in a late-night workout. While we would never sway you from getting in your daily exercise, if you can, you should aim to get it in during the day because doing it at night can have an adverse effect.
"Exercise has a multitude of physical and mental health benefits and can even help sleep by making the body more tired and wanting of rest," says Dr. Youdim. "But acutely, exercise is stimulating and can bring about wakefulness and therefore is best done in the morning or at least not in the evenings or close to sleep time."
Additionally, Registered Psychotherapist Ellie Borden notes that "high-intensity workouts increase adrenaline and cortisol, raising your core temperature and priming your body for action."
To get some better sleep, Dr. Youdim recommends saving more vigorous workouts for earlier in the day and sticking to gentle movement or stretching before bed.
5. Not Winding Down Before Bed
When you were a kid, your parents likely had a "bedtime routine" for you, which typically consisted of bathing, getting into cozy pajamas, and reading a book. As adults, we sometimes forget the importance of a calming bedtime routine and don't take enough time to relax and wind down before hopping into bed, which Fink says is a bad idea.
"Have a 30-60 minute buffer zone between the activity of the day and the time for sleep," she explains. "Sliding into sleep is a gradual process, not an immediate state change."
Borden also notes that "overthinking" before bedtime is a bad idea, stressing the importance of settling down prior to sleeping.
"Rumination activates the sympathetic nervous system, counteracting the relaxation needed for sleep," she adds.
6. Using Screens Before Bed
It can be so easy to sit on your phone or in front of the television as you fall asleep. There are a lot of people who have become so reliant on screens that they can't fall asleep without some kind of show or movie playing in their bedroom. However, staying on your screens and doing things like 'doomscrolling' as the last thing you do before bed can do more harm than good.
"We are all familiar with the impact of light on melatonin production and wakefulness, but screens can impair sleep beyond the light that they emit," says Dr. Youdim. "Studies show that our phones can activate the sympathetic fight or flight nervous system, increasing heart rate, among other physiologic reactions that are not conducive to bedtime."
Instead, she suggests putting the phone away and trying calming habits like reading a paper book, doing a breathing practice, or meditating.
