Are you counting sheep? If you're one of the 68 percent of Americans who has trouble falling asleep at least once a week, you've probably had enough of tossing and turning at night.
Whether you require a super-soft pillow or simply want your brain to slow down and relax, lying awake at night can be not only inconvenient but also detrimental to your mental health and performance the next day.
So, if you can't sleep, what do you do? Here are some frequent causes of insomnia, as well as some suggestions for getting back to sleep.
Causes of Inability to Sleep
If you're having issues sleeping, think about what's causing your problems. Is it a bodily problem, such as being too hot or having backache? Or is it the result of mental stimulation, such as using technology before bed, worry, or a major life change? Check out these typical reasons why you're having trouble sleeping and what to do if you can't.
The First Reason: It's Too Hot
While some people believe that sleeping in a warm room is preferable, it is actually preferable to sleep in a chilly room between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. When you sleep overheated, you may experience night sweats, which can affect your sleep quality.
The Second Reason: You're Being Awakened By Blue Light
It's tempting to check your social media accounts before bed, but did you realize that the blue light from your screen could be preventing you from sleeping?
The Third Reason: You'll Never Be At Ease
Some nights, you may find yourself tossing and turning for hours, unable to find the ideal sleeping posture. If you're having trouble getting comfortable, try getting up for 10 to 15 minutes to allow your body to reset.
The Fourth Reason: Anxiety or stress is keeping you awake.
During the day, stress or anxiety can lead your thoughts to run at night. Too much focus during the day, worry, poor sleep cycles, or quick thought patterns can all contribute to anxiety before bedtime.
The Fifth Reason: You're Having Sleepless Nights
Having a nightmare might make it difficult to fall asleep again, disrupting your sleep routine. Look into what your dreams signify to find the main cause of the problem to assist you to get past the nightmare.
The Sixth Reason: You've Undergone a Significant Life Change
A major life transition, such as getting married, starting a new job, or relocating to a new place, can keep you awake at night. To get yourself in the mood for healthy sleep, set aside time before bed to relax and develop a nighttime routine.
Tips for Falling Asleep Easily Before Bed
Check out these things to do when you can't sleep if you're lying in bed unable to sleep.
1. Take a 30-minute break.
If you've been trying to fall asleep for a while without success, Michael Perlis, Ph.D., director of the University of Pennsylvania's Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, recommends taking a half-hour break before trying again.
Get out of bed and move to a distinct part of the house to do something calming like journaling, yoga, or reading. You'll be looking forward to the cool side of the pillow when you return to bed.
2. Maintain a cool, dark, and comfortable environment.
Make sure your room is cold and dark before bedtime to create a relaxing sleeping environment. According to studies, the ideal sleeping temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (15 to 19 degrees Celsius).
In addition, make sure there are no bright lights (such as a phone screen) that could disturb your sleep. Consider obtaining a glowing light to lull you into a tranquil, deep slumber if you want to optimize your bedroom for a smooth transition between day and night.
3. Try a Different Sleep Position
It can be difficult to switch from your preferred sleeping position, whether you sleep on your back, side, or stomach. If you're having trouble falling asleep, you might want to try a different sleeping position.
Only 7% of the population sleeps on their stomachs, whereas over 55 percent sleep on their sides and 38 percent sleep on their backs. While there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all sleeping position, you can ensure that you have the correct type of pillow for your sleeping position.
4. Sleeping Alone
While it may tempt you to cuddle with your pet, a Mayo Clinic study found that sleeping with your pet causes you to wake up more frequently throughout the night. Instead, cuddle with your pet until bedtime, then transfer them to their own dog bed so you can get some restful sleep.
5. Practice Calming Yoga
It's possible that tossing and turning will make you feel restless. Doing some relaxing yoga for sleep to reset your mind and calm your body is a terrific method to offset this.
Resistance training and stretching before bed helped chronic insomnia sufferers significantly, according to new research – and doing yoga before bed doesn't mean you have to be a human pretzel. A five-minute yoga session with low-intensity positions like a child's pose (Balasana) may be all you need to relax and ease tension so you can sleep soundly.
6. Try Mindfulness Practice
When you can't sleep, mindfulness techniques can help you focus on muscle relaxation and push distracting thoughts out of your mind. Mindfulness has been shown to offer health advantages such as lowering anxiety, assisting with stress management, and improving your capacity to relax.
You can practice mindfulness of the day, but a few minutes before bedtime can help you relax if you're exhausted but can't sleep. Here is some mindfulness prompts to get you started:
Consider your breathing:
- is it normal and even, or is it rapid and irregular?
- Examine your fingers and toes to see if they are relaxed.
- Examine your hearing to see if there is any white noise or if it is completely silent.
7. Muscle Relaxation
If you're having trouble falling asleep, try muscular relaxation techniques. Physical relaxation techniques have been found in studies to increase the quality of sleep.
The military method, which entails lying down on your bed and slowly relaxing the muscles in your body, starting with your face and going down to your toes, is a common muscle relaxation technique.
When you're tired but can't sleep, follow these steps to use the military method:
- Relax your body by lying down in your bed and releasing tension.
- Start with tensing and relaxing the muscles in your face, then work your way down your body until you reach your toes.
- Start taking deep, relaxing breaths after your entire body is at ease.
- For 10 seconds, clear your mind of all thoughts. If your mind wanders, try focusing on a simple scene, like a quiet lake or open prairie.
- Allow yourself to relax in bed by focusing on your mind, body, and breath.
8. Become a commando
You read that correctly. Sleeping naked may be good for your health, and most individuals who sleep naked say it's for comfort. Sleeping naked can help you regulate your body temperature, bringing it closer to the optimal range of 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit, and it can also serve as a biological cue to inform your body it's time to sleep.
9. Conduct a full-body scan
A self-body scan is an excellent technique to relax your body. Although a body scan may appear to be a frightening procedure performed in a hospital, it is actually a simple procedure that you may perform from the comfort of your own bed. This form of relaxation technique, like the military method, has been shown to increase sleep quality.
To perform a body scan, simply relax one region of your body at a time until you feel completely relaxed from head to toe. A body scan is unusual because it takes 10 to 20 minutes, giving you plenty of time to check in to yourself and gradually relax each muscle.
When you can't sleep, here's how to take a body scan:
- Lay down in your bed.
- Concentrate all of your energy on a single region of your body, starting at the top of your head, until it feels completely relaxed.
- Slowly work your way down your body, starting with the muscles in your face and neck.
- Back up through your torso and down your tummy, move down through each arm.
- Working your way down to your toes, slowly relax each leg.
- Check in with yourself after 10 to 20 minutes to determine if any leftover tension has emerged.
10. Keep a journal
Journaling might be a pleasant pastime to do when you're weary but can't sleep if your mind is racing at night. According to a study, writing about your to-do list before bed will help you fall asleep faster. Consider spending five minutes drafting down a precise to-do list for the next few days the next time you're up counting sheep to see if it helps you catch some Zs.
11. Pay Attention To Your Breathing
If you have problems sleeping at night, try turning inward and concentrating on your breathing. Controlled breathing techniques, such as a sequence of slow, deep breaths, are one approach to do this. The 4-7-8 approach, which uses your breath to assist distract you from sleep anxiety, is recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona.
When you can't sleep, here's how to use the 4-7-8 method:
- Exhale slowly and fully until your lungs are entirely empty.
- Inhale deeply for four seconds via your nose.
- For seven seconds, hold your breath.
- For eight seconds, exhale.
- At least four times, repeat this process.
12. Melatonin Supplementation
Melatonin is a hormone that is produced naturally and can aid in the promotion of sleepiness. Melatonin supplements are offered over-the-counter as a sleep aid for those who have problems falling (and staying) asleep.
Melatonin is created in the brain's pineal gland, which converts serotonin to melatonin according to your internal body clock. When your body's melatonin levels rise, your blood pressure and body temperature drop, putting you in the mood to sleep. Age, coffee intake, light exposure, body size, and tobacco usage are all factors that can alter how long melatonin takes to operate.
Soft ambient noises, whether they be the sounds of a relaxing stream, heavy rainfall, or the air conditioner, have a soothing effect.
13. Move your phone to the other side of the room
Most of us have developed a habit of scrolling through social media before night; in fact, 9 out of 10 Americans use technological devices before bed. However, it has been proven that utilizing technology before bedtime has a negative impact on sleep quality. This is due in part to the blue light emitted by displays, which should keep you awake and alert.
If you reach for your phone after a few minutes of tossing and turning (no judgment), consider turning off the screen and moving your phone across the room so it's more difficult to reach for at night.
14. Listen to the Calm Ambient Music (Peaceful Sleep Sound)
Various ambient noises, such as white, pink, or brown noise, can help with sleep problems. While white noise is commonly linked with sleep sounds, there are other types of noise that can also help you sleep better.
White noise creates a buzzing sound by encompassing all sound frequencies. A fan, TV static, air conditioner, or air purifier are all examples of white noise.
Pink noise has a lower frequency of sound than white noise. Rainfall, wind, and rustling leaves are all instances of pink noise.
Brown noise has a frequency that is even lower than pink or white noise. Waterfalls and thunder are instances of brown noise.
Tips to Fall Asleep Easily in the Big Picture
If you've been having trouble falling asleep, try incorporating these sleep recommendations into your daily routine to set yourself up for a restful night's sleep.
15. Maintain Good Sleep Hygiene
Good behavioral and environmental practices that can lead to a better night's sleep are referred to as sleep hygiene. The premise behind sleep hygiene is that you may set yourself up for success and better sleep by adopting excellent sleep habits during the day and at night.
Following are some simple techniques to practice healthy sleep hygiene:
Avoid stimulants before bedtme: Stimulants like caffeine and alcohol can degrade your sleep quality and cause more nighttime disruptions.
- Make your bedroom a haven for rest and intimacy: Spending too much time in your bedroom throughout the day can encourage you to identify your sleeping space with other activities. To avoid this, make your bedroom a sleep and intimacy-only zone.
- Spending too much time in your bedroom throughout the day can induce you to associate other activities with your sleeping place. To avoid this, make your bedroom a sleep and intimacy-only zone.
- Optimize your bedroom layout: To make your bedroom feel like your personal paradise instead of a sleepless night chamber, make sure it's designed for sleeping. Making sure your mattress is the proper size for your room is one of the greatest methods to do so. A king-size memory foam mattress, for example, would seem too small in a 10-by-10 room but would fit perfectly in a major bedroom.
16. Avoid Caffeine in the Afternoon
Although coffee is traditionally associated with the morning, many individuals enjoy a second cup in the afternoon. Coffee can stay in your system for up to 10 hours so that caffeine hit at 2 p.m. might keep you awake into midnight.
If you're used to drinking two or more caffeinated beverages per day, try switching to a decaf version in the afternoon.
17. Exercise in the Morning
Although a nightly sweat can help you get more deep sleep, working exercise releases endorphins, the "happy hormone" that can keep you up at night. Exercise can also boost your core body temperature, signaling to your body that it's time to wake up, according to Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep.
To avoid the unwanted results of a late-night workout, attempt to finish your workout at least one to two hours before bedtime.
18. Don't Take Too Many Naps
Napping is a common practice for about one-third of American people. While a few power naps might help you feel refreshed and ready to face the day, napping regularly can disrupt your normal circadian cycle, making you feel more alert at night.
According to studies, five-minute naps are too short to allow you to recuperate, yet naps longer than 30 minutes can cause people to feel foggy when they wake up. Keep your naps between 20 and 30 minutes long so you wake up feeling refreshed rather than drowsy.
19. Improve the Sleeping Environment
Creating a sleep-friendly environment begins at the very beginning. You want your sleep environment to feel quiet, relaxed, and warm, just as you want your workspace to inspire creativity and your workout room to get you pumped.
Creating a sleep-friendly environment is personal, and it can include everything from choosing the finest bedroom colors to placing the proper plants in your room.
According to studies, changing your sleep environment's temperature, humidity, light, and noise levels can improve your sleep quality.
20. Maintain a Regular Sleep Schedule
While your sleep schedule may be unexpectedly maintaining a consistent sleep pattern can help you feel more productive and focused. This is due to your body's circadian rhythm, which is an internal clock that informs you when to wake up and when to go to bed.
If you're used to an irregular sleep pattern, however, gradually change your routine to a more constant sleep schedule in 15-minute increments each night.
If you usually go to bed at 2 a.m. and wake up at 10 a.m. (hey, we've all been there), start with sleeping at 1:45 a.m., then 1:30 a.m., and so on until you reach your goal bedtime.
21. Consult With Sleep Experts
If you're having trouble sleeping, it might be time to contact a sleep specialist about your issue. Sleep specialists are equipped to assess you for deeper disorders such as a sleep disorder and may provide you with more detailed information tailored to your unique needs.
It can be quite frustrating to be exhausted but unable to sleep. It can be much more difficult to wake up the next morning if you've been awake all night. We hope this article can help you figure out what to do when you can't sleep and give you some advice on how to deal with it, whether it's a onetime incident or you're up counting sheep regularly.
Are you prepared to switch out the lights? For the kind of sleep that dreams are made of, check out our range of drool-worthy memory foam mattresses and buttery soft bed sheets.
CONCLUSION
Try a Different Sleep Position It can be difficult to switch from your preferred sleeping position, whether you sleep on your back, side, or stomach.
Only 7% of the population sleeps on their stomachs, whereas over 55 percent sleep on their sides and 38 percent sleep on their backs.
Maintain Good Sleep Hygiene Good behavioral and environmental practices that can lead to a better night's sleep are referred to as sleep hygiene.
The premise behind sleep hygiene is that you may set yourself up for success and better sleep by adopting excellent sleep habits during the day and at night.
Maintain a Regular Sleep Schedule While your sleep schedule may be unexpected at times, maintaining a consistent sleep pattern can help you feel more productive and focused.
Consult with Sleep Experts If you're having trouble sleeping, it might be time to contact a sleep specialist about your issue.
Disclaimer:
This text is for
educational purposes only and does not make up medical advice. Before taking
any supplements, starting any diet or exercise plan, or starting any therapy
for a health concern, talk to your doctor.
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