5 Things to Do if You Can’t Sleep

Is it one of those nights where you are tired yet awake and staring at the ceiling for some time now? Your best solution of counting sheep also failed. Well, you are not the only one going through sleepless nights and trying to find a better solution. However, not everyone has the same reason for staying wide awake at night when the others are snoring their way into the dream world. To find out the solution for it, you need to work out your reason first. So here are some reasons why you or others may find it difficult to sleep at night.

Reasons that keep you awake

Not cool enough

During the night, our body temperature dips to save energy and transfer it to other body sections. If the room temperature is not the same as your body’s core temperature, you may feel uncomfortable and have trouble falling asleep. Additionally, many mattresses retain body heat, which causes your body temperature to rise rather than drop and disturb your sleep.

Too much blue light

Your ability to sleep is impacted by using electronic devices like a phone, laptop, or television just before bed. The device’s blue light tricks the brain into believing it is daytime. When that takes place, the body stops producing melatonin, a hormone associated with sleep.

Emotional upheaval

There is a connection between emotions and sleep. Your heightened emotions cause sleep deprivation, and not getting enough sleep can make you emotionally disturbed.

Several things might cause you to experience emotional turmoil, including work stress, travel worry, or enthusiasm for a planned family vacation the next day. If this happens, you may have trouble falling asleep at night and wake up frequently.

Health issues

Another thing that frequently keeps you up at night is health problems. Your bodily pains, headaches, or other side effects from taking medications are brought on by health conditions, and they follow you into the mattress with you.

Additionally, when you are sick, you spend most of the day in bed and feel sleepy, making it difficult to fall asleep at night.

Digestion issue

The leading causes of digestive problems are eating large meals, junk food, and improper meal time. These poor eating habits frequently cause stomach bloating, heartburn, and digestive problems at night, which keep you awake and tossing and turning on your mattress.

Mattress

Dust mites, mold, and other microorganisms thrive in old mattresses, ultimately affecting your sleep and health. Additionally, if the mattress does not meet your body’s needs, it might give you bodily discomfort and improper body posture, which would keep you up at night.

Besides, if used for an extended time without being replaced, the worn-out and damaged mattress may result in bodily ailments and suffering.

Solutions

Once you recognize your reason behind sleepless nights, finding a solution and working on it becomes easier.

Though there could be any reason that can keep you awake at night, and it may vary from person to person, here are some simple solutions that work for almost everyone and help you sleep peacefully at night.

Follow the same sleep routine.

Routine is essential to our life, whether it is a workout, eating or hygiene. Since our brain is prone to follow the everyday timetable that we implement in our lives, it turns out to be beneficial if you implement the same routine rules in your sleeping habits.

You need to follow two steps to implement a sleep routine.

• Sleep-wake schedule: Establish a sleep-wake schedule where you will sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time every day with the help of reminders, alarm clocks, etc. Try not to break this routine even on holidays or weekends.
  
• Pre-bed routine: Establish a pre-bed routine such as reading, making your bed, relaxing, having me time or meditation that will help your brain to realize that it’s already sleeping time, and eventually, you will fall asleep.

Prepare bedroom

Everyone, including you, finds sleeping peacefully and waking up with a freshened mood in a place with comfortable and pleasant surroundings. Therefore, make some efforts to make your bedroom sleep-worthy.

Things you can do to prepare the bedroom for sleeping, such as,

• Use positive and best colors that can keep your mood relaxed,
• Add some indoor plants that provide oxygen.
• Turn off all the lights while sleeping. Use thick curtains on the window frame to block exterior light. Also, you can use dim lights if you are afraid of complete darkness.
• Use a bed frame that is adequate for your height and body weight. You can use an adjustable bed that elevates your head, legs and upper body to provide a comfortable sleeping position.
• Use a mattress that provides comfort and support and prevents body and back pain. You can buy mattress online or from retail stores that provide enough body support and give you peaceful sleep at night.
• Keep the bedroom clean and hygienic with the help of disinfectants regularly.
• Maintain a cool temperature in the bedroom with the help of a fan, aircon or cooler.

Leave gadgets away

As mentioned earlier, gadgets like mobiles, laptops, and television emit a blue light that hampers your circadian rhythm. Therefore, minimum or no use of these gadgets at least 30 minutes before bed is essential.

Also, keep these mobile and laptops away from your bed to avoid any radiation that can harm your body.

Practice relaxation methods

There are several relaxation methods practiced across the world for centuries that help people relax and sleep better. You can try some of these and find a suitable method for yourself.

Mediation, Yoga, mindfulness, Breathing exercises, Body scanning and muscle relaxation, are some of the easy and non-harming methods you can practice every day and in any condition, such as sickness.

Eat Proper meals

Our food contains many vitamins, proteins and hormones that help us remain healthy and live longer. Just like that, many food items have vitamins and hormones that induce sleep and help you fall asleep without many issues. Food items such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and poultry products are rich in melatonin and other vitamins that induce our sleeping states.

Apart from that, eating meals on time and in proper proportion is vital to avoid any digestion issues at night. Last but not least, avoid food items with energy-boosting elements like caffeine and alcohol before sleeping to achieve a good sleep at night.

Bottom Line:

Not being able to sleep some nights is a normal thing for many people. Though it is not healthy, taking precautions and following some solutions can help you sleep like a baby every night.

However, if you face sleep deprivation more often or for an extended period, it could be a sign of a significant health issue or cause one in the future. Make sure to visit the doctor for more help and treat the symptoms when there is time.