Most of us know about the essential habits of a good night’s sleep, get eight hours, avoid caffeine late in the day, and keep your bedroom dark and quiet.

But what if you’re doing all of that and still waking up feeling sleepy, restless, tired or just not quite yourself?

Going to bed on time is not the culprit, but some night habits can quietly affect the quality of our rest.

Good sleep isn’t just about the number of hours you lay on your bed sleeping. It’s about the quality of rest you can get in those hours, and whether your body has the right conditions to properly rest and recover.

When small daily habits get in the way, they can prevent you from reaching the deeper sleep stages that are vital for physical health, mental clarity, and emotional wellbeing.

These are some common habits and how to fix them.

1.    Scrolling on Devices Before Bed

Scrolling on your device is one of the most common sleep disruptors, using laptops, phones, or TV before bedtime can influence your quality of rest. Blue light exposure before bed can disrupt your sleep cycle. The Blue light that emits from the screen of your device disrupts your body from producing melatonin, this makes it difficult to fall asleep naturally.

To avoid this, set a “screen time off” before bed, switch to calming music, or a meditation instead. If you must use your device, use blue-light- blocking glasses instead, enable night mode on your device.

2. Eating close to bedtime

Having a late-night snack is not always bad but taking heavy or sugary foods before bed can disrupt your sleep.

Your digestive system needs time to process what you have eaten and giving it a large meal just before sleep can trigger discomfort, bloating, acid reflux or even heartburn.

If you’re genuinely hungry close to bedtime, eat something light and that is easy to digest. Wholemeal toast with peanut butter, almonds, or a low-sugar yoghurt are all good options.

3. Consuming Caffeine Late at night

Caffeine stays in your system for a long time. Avoid the intake of caffeine at least 4–6 hours before bedtime. Even when you don’t feel alert, caffeine can still disrupt sleep quality.

Try to limit the intake of your coffee, tea, and energy drinks. You can switch to caffeine-free herbal teas instead.

4. Having a messy bedroom

A cluttered bedroom might not seem like a big deal, especially once the lights are off. But your environment plays a huge role in how easily you can relax and stay asleep.

A messy bedroom can feel mentally overstimulating, even if you don’t notice it. It can consciously create a sense of stress, making it harder to relax and fall asleep naturally.

Clear off your bedroom space, arrange and keep everything in their place, use softer lighting to relax your mind, and constantly change your sheets and pillowcases. This helps your body to relax easily and get quality sleep.

5. Exercising Too Close to Bed

While exercise is generally good for sleep, working out intensively close to bedtime can stimulate your body which will make it harder to fall asleep.

Try working out earlier in the day and instead adopt relaxing pre-bed routines like stretching or gentle yoga in the evening.