Sleeping difficulty occurs when you struggle to sleep or wake up many times during the night. This may affect your mental and physical health, while lack of sleep may result in frequent headaches and trouble concentrating.
Staying awake throughout the night, waking up too early, taking many hours to sleep, irritability, and daytime fatigue are some of the most common signs of sleeping difficulty.
One of the major reasons why people can’t sleep is the excessive use of screens at bedtime. However, this issue can be addressed by installing the blue-light protector on your gadgets. This blog will focus on other reasons why some people can’t sleep at night and how to deal with sleep issues.
Changes in Sleep Schedule
Irregular bedtimes and changes in your sleep schedule can affect the circadian rhythm that controls the sleep-wake cycle, causing poor sleep quality. Factors causing inconsistencies in your sleep schedules include social activities, job demands (especially for shift workers), and jet lag for travelers moving across time zones.
An irregular sleep schedule and a misaligned body clock is also associated with various chronic health problems like depression, obesity, seasonal affective disorder, diabetes, and other sleep disorders. If a disrupted sleep schedule is affecting your ability to sleep, consider resetting your sleep schedule.
Your Bedroom Isn’t Dark Enough
Make sure you draw the curtains and switch off all the lights in your bedroom when going to sleep. Moreover, light emitted from electronic devices such as TV or phones also makes it difficult to sleep at night. Exposure to light during the night (especially before bedtime) tricks your brain into thinking that it’s time to wake up.
Consequently, the production of melatonin in your body is significantly reduced. Light emitted by phones, laptops, and tablets mimics sunlight, making it difficult for you to fall asleep.
Inappropriate Room Temperature
Room temperature significantly affects your body temperature, so trying to sleep in a too-hot or too-cold environment may lead to sleeping difficulty. People commonly use bedding and clothing to warm up in a cold environment.
On the other hand, they need a fan or an air conditioner in the room during warmer months. The most suitable temperature to fall asleep is between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stress
When certain conditions or events in life cause stress, you may struggle to sleep at night. Most often, stress is caused by an isolated event like a traffic jam or a work deadline. Moreover, ongoing circumstances like financial troubles and relationship issues are common sources of long-term stress.
Your body releases chemicals to respond to stress. These chemicals increase alertness, cause muscle tension, and elevate heart rate. These are automatic responses that are beneficial in situations when you must react promptly to solve a problem or avoid danger. However, they also make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep.
You’re likely to spend a stressful night tossing and turning, while chronic stress is likely to have severe consequences such as insomnia. Get in touch with your healthcare professional if stress constantly interferes with your sleep.
Mental Health Conditions
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions make it difficult for you to sleep at night. Sleeplessness is both a consequence and a cause of mental health conditions. People with long-term sleeping difficulties, for example, have an increased risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
There are several treatment options available for individuals experiencing sleep problems along with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. These include medication, relaxation techniques, and therapy. Reach out to a mental health professional to determine what options will be suitable for you.
Undiagnosed Sleep Disorders
The presence of an undiagnosed sleep disorder causes sleeping issues in some cases. Individuals with any of these disorders may struggle to sleep or have trouble staying asleep for hours. This may result in distress, difficulty functioning, and daytime sleeplessness.
Some of the most common sleeping disorders include:
- Insomnia – characterized by non-restorative sleep, daytime fatigue, and sleeplessness. If you have insomnia, falling and staying asleep may be difficult, and you may wake up too early.
- Sleep apnea – a condition causing breathing pauses and loud snoring for small periods while you sleep. This can reduce oxygen levels while disrupting sleep quality.
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS) – a condition that causes uncomfortable and, at times, painful sensations in your legs. People with this disorder feel a strong urge to move them constantly. These sensations are usually most intense at night, preventing sleep.
- Circadian rhythm disorders – they disrupt your internal clock that controls the sleep-wake cycle, leading to wakefulness and sleepiness at odd times during the day.
Sleep disorders often remain undiagnosed and untreated, especially because physicians don’t usually discuss sleep with patients. Moreover, sleep disorders are also usually mistaken for mental health conditions like depression or epilepsy.
While experiencing persistent sleep problems, discuss the possibility of sleep disorders with your healthcare professional.
Alcohol Intake
Though alcohol consumption is considered a way to relax, excessive intake has a negative impact on sleep, especially when bedtime is close. Alcohol initially helps you fall asleep, but you’re likely to have poor sleep quality or wake up multiple times during the night as it wears off. Moreover, it can worsen sleep apnoea and induce snoring.
When drinking alcohol, make sure you stop a few hours before you go to bed to eliminate its negative effects.
Caffeine Intake
Caffeine consumption interferes with sleep and increases the time taken to fall asleep. This significantly affects the overall sleep quality. Caffeine is one of the most commonly used stimulants in the world that increases energy and alertness in humans. It is found in energy drinks and soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea, cold medicines and some pain relievers, and snacks, gums, and pills designed to increase energy.
Though caffeine effects peak around 30 minutes following consumption, it remains in your body for a longer period. The amount of caffeine staying in the body differs depending on age, weight, and other factors such as altitude and pregnancy. However, an average healthy adult may feel its effects for six to four hours after consumption.
Inappropriate Dietary Choices
Your food intake and mealtime habits affect your ability to sleep. Some of your dietary behaviors and choices that negatively affect the quantity and quality of sleep include eating too much, eating food that contains saturated fats or high sugar content, eating at odd times or skipping meals, quickly consuming meals, frequent spicy food intake, and eating food that triggers allergies and intolerances.
If your food doesn’t include the essential nutrients your body needs, it may not produce the hormones involved in sleep-wake cycles. Research shows that diets having lower amounts of minerals and vitamins lead to shorter sleep duration.
According to experts, you must take a vegetable- and fruit-based diet to ensure healthy sleep and discourage health issues affecting your sleep patterns.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Individuals getting little or no exercise are more likely to have trouble sleeping at night. A sedentary lifestyle often refers to spending more time using electronic devices and watching TV. Moreover, if you can’t sleep at night, fatigue may prevent you from exercising. Since exercise improves sleep, you must do it daily. However, you must avoid vigorously exercising at night because intense physical activity before bedtime negatively affects sleep.
Screen Time Before Going to Bed
Electronic gadgets featuring screens emit blue light that harms your eyes and affects your sleep-wake cycle. Blue light reduces the amount of melatonin (sleep-inducing hormone) produced by your body, making it difficult for you to fall asleep.
Even if you’re engaged in a soothing online activity, the phone, laptop, or computer you’re using will delay your transition to sleep.
Studies demonstrate that screen time of more than two hours every day can disrupt melatonin production. If you can’t avoid using these gadgets because of studying or work, turn down their brightness and install a blue-light screen protector. The filter reduces blue rays entering your eyes and helps you fall asleep according to your regular sleep cycle.
Important Tips for People Who Can’t Sleep
To embrace healthy sleep habits, make sure you follow a consistent bedtime by waking up and going to bed at the same time every day. Sleep in a comfortable and quiet environment and avoid screen time before bed.
Experts recommend that you should go out in the sun for at least 15 minutes in the morning every day to feel fresh during the day and sleep at night.
At MyBlueProtector, we offer a variety of anti-blue light protectors for electronic gadgets. Check us out today to find amazing blue light-blocking glasses, and other eye-improving products that can help you manage your eye fatigue.
Buy our FDA-registered and MHRA-medically rated anti-blue light screen protectors for your computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, or MacBook. We also have a variety of anti-blue light glasses for men, women, and children.
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