Top 5 ways to improve sleep after late-night sports games

No one wants to miss a moment of the World Series games, so follow these steps to make sure you feel good Wednesday, despite a late night cheering on the Astros.

Limit caffeine and alcohol

Dr. Ritwick Agrawal, Assistant Professor of Sleep Medicine at Baylor, said the most important thing during the game is to limit caffeine and alcohol.

Drinking too much can result in poor quality of sleep and leave you feeling tired and groggy the next day. Even though many people have the misconception that alcohol helps them sleep, Dr. Agrawal assures you, that’s not true.

“The quality of sleep will be very disrupted and it will not be very refreshing when somebody wakes up next morning,” he explained.

Exercise

Just three or four times a week of exercise can give an energy boost, as well it can improve your quality of sleep later.

Catch up on sleep when you can

He says taking time to catch up the next day or on weekends helps with short-term sleep loss.

“It’s OK to catch up later on, but you cannot consistently do it week after week, day after day. It’s just an occasional, and your body has enough reserves to catch up on that occasional loss,” Dr. Agrawal said.

Take screens out of the bedroom

Not only does it provide a distraction that keeps you awake but the blue light is a threat to your natural hormones that make you sleepy.

Get back to the routine

In general, the best thing for your sleep health is to keep to a bedtime within 10-15 minutes of the same time every night

Making an exception for the world series is fine - as long as you return to that regular routine.