MENS HEALTH: 7 Reasons You're Exhausted After a Full Night's Sleep
Alcohol also triggers heartburn and reflux," says Rajkumar Dasgupta, M.D., spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Since symptoms like coughing and choking caused by reflux worsen when you are lying down, you’re practically guaranteeing a bad night’s sleep.
It might be a no-brainer, but caffeine wreaks havoc on your sleep in more ways than one.
"Caffeine in particular can lengthen sleep latency and make it hard to fall asleep, because it is a stimulant,” says Dr. Winter.
And it may have you running to the bathroom more during the night, since it has diuretic effects, says Dr. Dasgupta.
Making multiple trips to the bathroom at night will also leave you more dehydrated in the morning, since you lost electrolytes without replenishing, says Dr. Dasgupta. That can contribute to you waking up feeling crappy.
While you may not be aware you're grinding your teeth, your sleep partner probably does—so you may need their help letting you know you're doing it.
The medical term for grinding your teeth is called bruxism, and can also have pretty serious dental repercussions like TMJD, or temporomandibular joint disorder, a misaligned jaw bone which causes pain surrounding the muscles and joints that connects your jaw bone to your skull, says Dr. Dasgupta.
