Keep waking up at 3 a.m.? Stop making these 4 bedtime routine mistakes, say doctors

Many people toss and turn at 3 a.m., even after perfecting their bedtime routine by cutting out alcohol, caffeine, and heavy meals. However, there are other mistakes in your nightly rituals that could be keeping you awake. Dr. Saema Tahir, a sleep and pulmonary specialist, explains that your bedtime routine plays a crucial role in training your body clock to help you sleep through the night. Here are four common nighttime routine habits that may be disrupting your sleep:

1. Completing one last productive task. Even with a flawless routine, allowing a few more tasks to creep in as the day winds down can hinder your ability to fall asleep. Engaging in mentally stimulating activities, such as working or using electronic devices, can increase stress and anxiety, which in turn raises your cortisol levels.

This heightened stress can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night when your body naturally starts producing more cortisol around 3 a.m. To improve sleep, Dr. Prather suggests avoiding such tasks and instead focusing on winding down mentally.

2. Drinking too much bedtime tea. While sipping on a warm cup of chamomile tea or another sleep-promoting beverage can be soothing before bed, consuming too much liquid close to bedtime can lead to frequent nighttime awakenings. Excessive fluid intake can cause you to need to urinate frequently during the night, disrupting your sleep.

Studies have shown that drinking more than 500ml of liquid in the two hours before bedtime can result in lower sleep efficiency, more nighttime awakenings, and even nocturia (the need to urinate during the night). To mitigate this issue, Dr. Prather recommends sticking to a moderate or low amount of liquid before bed and limiting your intake to at least four hours prior to bedtime.

3. Winding down with stimulating activities. Many people believe watching TV or scrolling through social media before bed can help them relax and fall asleep. However, engaging in these activities can be mentally stimulating and delay the production of melatonin, a hormone that signals your body it's time to sleep. Additionally, the blue light emitted by screens can trick your brain into thinking it's daytime, making it harder to fall asleep.

Dr. Prather advises avoiding these stimulating activities at least an hour before bedtime to promote better sleep.

4. Overoptimizing your nighttime routine. While it's important to prioritize your sleep routine, the trend of seeking the "perfect" sleep through elaborate bedtime rituals and sleep tracking can be counterproductive. When you become overly focused on optimizing every aspect of your sleep, you may experience increased stress and anxiety, leading to what's known as orthosomnia.

This obsessive pursuit of optimal sleep metrics can result in disrupted sleep patterns and even worsen sleep quality. Dr. Prather warns against this overengineering of your bedtime routine and instead encourages maintaining a balanced approach to promote restful sleep.