The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran a great story that points out a great rule that everyone should have: Beds are for sleeping. The problem is that many of us also use our beds for watching TV, playing video games, Facebooking, emailing, and even working.
The story quotes a Meir Kryger, director of sleep research and education at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, CT, who points out the unavoidable truth, that all of this non-sleeping in bed is confusing our heads. It’s breaking down the mental association that laying in bed means it’s time to sleep.
“All these gadgets and things are interfering with people’s sleep,” Kryger said. “You have people texting at all hours of the night. I had one patient whose problem was e-mail. He thought if he got an e-mail at 2 a.m., he should respond at 2 a.m. I gave him the same advice I give 90 percent of my patients: ‘Turn off the stupid computer.’
“Then there are the people with exercise equipment in their bedroom. They exercise and then they try to sleep.”
All of this confusion can lead to insomnia, or at the very least some sleepless nights. The simple way to avoid it is to not use your bed as a living room, game room, or office. Limit bed use to sleeping as much as possible. Other tips from the article: Avoid serious discussions with your spouse while in bed, kick your pets out of bed, and limit TV watching in bed.
For more, visit the article at the Philadelphia Inquirer website.
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