When was the last time you felt like you got a truly good night’s sleep? It can be easy for us to blame a poor night’s sleep on various contemporary factors when there could be something else at play. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you might be struggling to sleep at night.
Sleep Hygiene
The first step in understanding why you might be struggling to sleep at night will always be to work out whether or not you have a poor sleep hygiene. This is not hygiene in a usual sense, but rather how well you are sleeping at night. If you are not getting enough shut-eye to last throughout the night, you can’t expect to feel well-rested and ready for the day ahead.
You need to make sure that you are taking steps to improve sleep hygiene so you are able to get the rest that you need. Too many of us try to operate on too little sleep and not enough good-quality rest time. Understanding your sleep hygiene and making changes to your routine so that you can get to sleep at a more reasonable hour is going to be key.
Too Much Light
Some of us struggle to sleep if there is too much light in the room. You might live in a busy city that has a lot of light pollution, or maybe even a streetlamp right outside your bedroom window. This obviously can’t be moved, and you are going to have to learn how to sleep with it there and on at night. You might also find yourself waking up early in the summer months when the sun rises that little bit earlier. Though this can be a very good and natural way to wake up, it isn’t the best when you’ve had a poor night’s sleep prior.
One of the easiest ways to cut down on the light pollution in your bedroom is with a good pair of blackout curtains, or a blind with similar properties. You need to make sure that you are able to make your room sufficiently dark so you are not disturbed. You could also try to find a sleep mask, though these are not for everyone as they can be slightly uncomfortable to wear.
Too Much Noise
Another key factor that might be keeping you from the sleep you need is too much noise in your surrounding environment. Whether you are trying to sleep during the day because you are on night shifts, or you just live in a busy place like a city with lots of ambient noise, it can be enough to keep you from getting the rest you need.
The obvious choice here is ear plugs. However, if you have an alarm that you need to wake up for, you might be concerned that you will miss it if you do decide to wear earplugs. There are a few other alternatives that you might like to try. For example, you can find sleep masks that also come with headphones built into them. You can use these to drown out some of the noises around you, whether this is through listening to a podcast, music, or even just white noise like rain sounds.
Overheating
Our body temperature does drop as we sleep, but that also doesn’t mean that we don’t run the risk of overheating. Many of us feel that we can’t get to sleep in a cooler room, when in fact that is exactly what we should be doing. If we overheat, it can lead to unpleasant dreams and waking up sweating and feeling unpleasant rather than refreshed.
There are several things that we can do to beat overheating in our sleep. The first is often to sleep in layers. We might think that one big duvet is going to be enough to keep us warm. However, if we get too hot, there is nothing to push aside. It might be better for you to choose to sleep with layers of sheets and blankets instead. This means that you will be able to adjust your layers as you need them, whether you get too hot or too cold throughout the night.
The other issue might actually be to do with your mattress. You need to make sure that you have one with good air circulation, to help keep you refreshed. Those prone to overheating might also want to consider one with a gel topper, as these can help you cool down immensely.
Electronics
Blue light can seriously disrupt our sleep. However, too many of us are guilty of staring at electronics right before we go to sleep. It could be our phones, a laptop, or even a TV. Instead of getting in bed with the lights out and going for an aimless scroll or watching one last episode of your favourite TV show, you should think about stepping away and trying something else. There is too much of a chance that all you are going to do is strain your eyes and end up waking up repeatedly.
Put the electronics to one side, and learn to relax a little. You will then – hopefully – be able to find something like reading or drawing that will help you to unwind a little before sleep. Whatever you can find to do will make things much easier to manage.
Stress
Do you feel like you are very stressed in your personal life? If so, you might be carrying that stress into your sleep. If you feel like you lie in bed with your mind going at a mile a minute, you are obviously going to find it very difficult to go to sleep. Instead, you need to think about some of the ways you could manage your stress a little.
There are various essential oils that could help you to unwind. Lavender and chamomile are very popular choices. Adding some drops to your bath, or buying a spray that you can mist over your bedclothes, could be great ways to introduce these calming products into your life subtly. You could also try guided meditation practice before you go to sleep in an attempt to let go of some of the stress that you might be holding. Sleep is supposed to be a time for rest and rejuvenation, and you simply can’t do that if you are too stressed to get to sleep in the first place.
Look at Your Sleep Habits Now
Sleep is one of the most important functions our bodies need, and if you aren’t getting it you need to work out why. We can be fussier than you might first believe. Not everyone is able to simply put their head down and go to sleep, others need to have very specific conditions that they know they are going to be able to rest up in.
If you feel like you struggle to get to sleep, you need to think about what it might be that is holding you back here. It could be something very simple or something that you need to work on to fic. Whatever it might be, you deserve a good night’s sleep.
