Breaking the Bad Habit

By: Kassandra Lippincott

Bad habits are something everyone participates in. There are an array of habits that range from good or bad, sometimes some don’t necessarily fall into either category. A habit is a repetitive behavior that brings temporary satisfaction and has some form of impact over time. People bite their nails, smoke, skimp on sleep, and may even not drink enough water in a day.

I personally have my own bad habits and the thing about a bad habit, there is always a solution. Finding small and simple steps to implement can help create a new routine and abolish poor repetitive behavior. One of my larger issues which may be more common is my lack of sleep.

The Key to Sleep

Sleep is important to your overall health. It can affect your concentration, impact your mental health, and influence your energy levels which are all vital to your everyday quality of life. In order to better my own sleeping habits here are some better habits I can implement:

Blocking Blue Light

Blue light is artificial light that emanates off screens like TVs, phones, and computers. They can trick your brain into thinking it’s daylight which then lessens the production of melatonin. Melatonin is virtual to sleep as it is what makes you feel sleepy so the recommendation is:

Stay away from technology 1-2 hours before bed or lower the brightness. You can even change some screens on computers and phones to warmer more neutral tones.

Avoid Caffeine

Now I am not saying completely stop drinking all caffeine, most people enjoy their morning coffee. This tip is to stop drinking caffeine as early as 12 pm. I have found mixed times when it comes to discovering what is the best time for the most optimal sleep. Overall the conclusion is earlier is better, caffeine lingers in your body throughout the day which means if you drink a caffeinated beverage too late in the day it can impact your sleep.

Exercise

It’s a common thing heard among health experts. ‘Exercise heals all’ is what is projected towards everyone, at this point, it sounds cliche but it is whole heartily the truth. Moving your body benefits countless factors in your overall health so it’s no wonder it better affects your sleep. Studies show that just incorporating a daily walk into your routine can be beneficial.

Bad habits can be tricky to weed out of our lives but the good thing there is the internet with endless information to assist us with remedies for such things. Sleep is vital to your health so working on bettering your sleeping pattern should be important to everyone.

The Velvet Type