Why Can’t I Sleep?
There are several reasons why you may not be able to sleep. These reasons include diet, exercise, health conditions, mental illness, and everyday stress.
Many people have trouble sleeping. The difficulty of going to sleep or staying asleep is something all cultures seem to share. Having a proper night of rest is essential to good health. Having interrupted sleep patterns or not getting enough sleep will result in many health issues that can become more serious.
Today, we’ll look at all the reasons you might be having trouble sleeping and also what you can do to manage it.
There are very many harmful side effects of not getting enough sleep. Some of these can even be life-threatening.
Let’s take a look at the side effects of losing sleep:
Lack of sleep is better known as insomnia; it is called acute or chronic insomnia when you lose sleep for a short or long period.
If you suffer from any of the following symptoms along with loss of sleep, your insomnia may be a concerning health issue for you that could lead to detrimental side effects:
If you suffer from many of these symptoms, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about it. It’s important to not suffer without seeking help because, over time, a lack of sleep can cause you more and more problems.
Stress can be a significant cause of losing sleep at night. Many people lie awake at night contemplating everything they are stressed about. This can include problems in the family or at work. Stress can come from many sources. Even planning a vacation can cause stress. Even those without an anxiety disorder suffer from everyday stress. Stress can cause a drain on the body and cause it not to function as it should, including disrupting your sleep patterns.
The best way to solve the problem of stress is to manage it effectively. It is practically impossible to eliminate stress from your life entirely, so you must learn to live with it more healthily. An excellent way to manage stress is daily meditation to calm your mind and emotions. Another way is to manage your time differently and plan for things ahead of time to be better prepared to deal with them.
Your schedule can also have a significant impact on your sleep. Many people work more than they should, giving them less time to sleep. Even those who don’t work can have too full of a schedule to get enough sleep at night. Parents particularly often have trouble finding time for a full night of rest.
Managing this issue is to make some sacrifices for your schedule. Think about it this way; you are already deciding to sacrifice your sleep and, in turn, your health. Instead, choose to sacrifice something less critical. You can change your schedule for work. Work fewer hours or even just at a more consistent time. Many have insomnia because they go from working mornings to working at night and back and forth. If you are a parent, you can work to have your children on a more consistent schedule over time so that you manage your sleeping time better. If you spend too much time doing unnecessary things throughout the day, sacrifice some of these, so you have more time to sleep at night.
Sometimes it’s our bad habits that cause us to lose sleep. With so much focus on mobile devices, technology, and the internet, many are up late into the night staring at a screen. When you use your phone, computer, or laptop when you should be sleeping, you stimulate your mind, causing you to be even more awake. This makes it exceptionally difficult to fall asleep, even hours after you should.
It’s essential to take the time before bed to wind down your mind. If your brain is full of thoughts and ideas and social media posts before you go to bed, you will find it challenging to slip into sleep. When you are sleeping, your mind is at rest, and the easiest way to get there is to start resting your mind while you are awake.
Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants; this means they have the side effect of keeping you awake. Alcohol can help you fall asleep, but you won’t reach the deepest stages of sleep when sleeping under the influence of alcohol. This causes you to feel that you aren’t well-rested even after sleeping an entire night.
If any of these are used to excess, especially at night, you may have trouble sleeping. It’s best to limit your use of nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol as much as possible if you are having difficulty sleeping.
Many medical conditions can cause people to lose sleep. The symptoms of these issues are usually enough to keep someone from falling asleep or even staying asleep. Medical conditions that can cause insomnia include Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, diabetes, cancer, asthma, heart disease, overactive thyroid disorders, and Parkinson’s.
Several mental health illnesses show up alongside insomnia. Sometimes lack of sleep can worsen mental disorders, and insomnia can even be a symptom of some mental illnesses. People with anxiety disorders such as PTSD find themselves waking up throughout the night and having trouble falling back asleep. Those who suffer from depression usually are known to wake up earlier than they intended.
Several medications are known to make sleeping more difficult. Depression medication, blood pressure medication, and asthma medication are known to cause issues with sleep.
Getting the needed amount of sleep at night is critical of being healthy. Lack of sleep can cause many serious health problems that worsen over time. Insomnia symptoms are hard enough to deal with without developing a severe medical condition. You can avoid almost all of the ways you lose sleep with some simple lifestyle changes. If you suffer from sleep loss due to a medical condition, medication, or mental illness, you should consult your doctor about making sleeping easier for you in particular.