10 Reasons You're Not Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Sleep has become such a cultural obsession we now have sleep trackers on our cellphones, smart mattresses to analyze REM cycles, and direct-to-consumer brands pushing sleep-enhancing sheets, vitamins, and drink supplements. But if you’re looking for a more natural, analog approach to a better night’s rest, consider avoiding these daily mistakes health and healing experts say many of us make.

According to the American Sleep Institute, the average adult needs at least seven hours and no more than nine hours of uninterrupted sleep. Dr. Ralph Cardin and Dr. Heather Cardin, of the Cardin Center for Wellnessin Kansas City, where alternative therapies and chiropractic work are used to treat insomniacs, both say this recommended sleep time begins four hours after your last meal, since the nervous system takes that long to complete digestion. And did you know there are more nerves in our gut than our spinal cord? Dine early, decrease liquids (including water) after 6pm, and stave off alcohol to ensure your body can properly shut down when it needs to.

Light can suppress the release of melatonin, a natural hormone our bodies produce in the presence of darkness. Making things worse, most of us are heavily exposed to screens or "blue light waves," which the Cardins’ explain are the "shortest, highest energy wavelengths in the visible light spectrum." Blue light, combined with artificial household lighting, all interrupt our natural circadian rhythms (a.k.a. our sleep/wake cycles). Aside from shutting down electronics before you retire to bed, consider buying glasses that block and filter out active blue light when you are looking at screens in the evening.

"Focused breathing is a valuable tool to calm anxiety, soothe a restless mind, ease body tension, and promote healthy sleep," says Natasha Kubis, L.A.C., a licensed acupuncturist and yoga practitioner based in Asheville, NC and New York City. She recommends a three-step technique called: The 4-7-8 Breathing Method. Breathe through your nose for four seconds, then hold your breath for seven seconds, and finally exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. This type of deep breathing decreases adrenalin and cortisol — stress hormones that may be keeping you from deep sleep.