8 bad habits that are ruining your sleep

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A good night's sleep has the power to increase productivity, happiness, smarter decision-making, and unlock bigger ideas.

Conversely, research shows there's a direct correlation between getting less sleep and workplace inefficiency.

The prefrontal cortex, where the problem-solving functions of the brain are housed, is degraded if we don't get enough sleep. Working when you're sleep deprived "we now know is the cognitive equivalent of coming to work drunk," Arianna Huffington, author of "The Sleep Revolution" and The Huffington Post editor-in-chief, tells Business Insider.

The trick for getting enough sleep is planning ahead and not letting bad habits sabotage you.

These behaviors are setting you up for a bad night's sleep:

Skipping your workout

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Studies have shown that morning and afternoon workouts can increase a person's quality and amount of sleep at night. One study found that exercise adds around 45 minutes of extra sleep.

"Staying active won't cure sleep complaints," Rodyney Dishman, a researcher at the University of Georgia told Huffington for her book, "but it will reduce the odds of them."

Eating a late night meal

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"If we have a big meal and then go straight to bed, our sleep is not going to be as restorative because our digestive system is occupied digesting, instead of everything being able to slow down and recharge for the next day," Huffington tells Business Insider.

Eating earlier in the day can also help mitigate acid reflux, which often keeps people up at night and is exacerbated by sleeping on a full stomach.

Not unwinding before bed

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"When stress rises and becomes cumulative during the day, it's much harder to fall asleep at night because it's harder to slow down and quiet our brains," Huffington says.

Without taking some time to unwind before bed and shift our thoughts away from work, it's near impossible to fall asleep because you're still thinking about the worries from the day.

One way to unwind, referred to as the "mind dump," involves writing down all the things you need to do the next day before bed. This could help empty your mind and tell your brain it no longer needs to run through your to-do list for the rest of the night.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider