Getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night is essential for optimum health. Lack of sleep greatly increases the risk of dementia and other brain-related issues. However, many people struggle to get the sleep that they need. This article will explore some common reasons that people have trouble sleeping, and offer some helpful tips for how to start sleeping better.
Why am I not sleeping well at night?
There are a huge number of different reasons why people may not sleep well at night. These can include factors related to the sleep environment, such as too much light in the room or the temperature being too hot or too cold.
Consuming substances like caffeine or alcohol too close to bedtime can also be an issue. The timing of meals is also important; eating a meal too close to bedtime or going to bed hungry can both interfere with sleep.
Good sleep also depends on your brain’s production of melatonin. This is a hormone that is produced in the brain when it’s time for sleep. Bright light, especially towards the blue end of the spectrum, suppresses the brain’s production of melatonin.
The light produced by screens, including phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs, has been shown to have a significant impact on melatonin levels, and can cause sleep problems. This is why it’s not recommended to use your phone or laptop, or to watch TV, right before bed.
How can I get a better night's sleep?
Addressing any issues that are interfering with your sleep can make a huge impact. This could include changing when you eat and drink, altering the sleep environment, and avoiding bright lights and screens before bed.
In addition, it can be very helpful to train your brain to fall asleep when it’s time. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule can make a big difference in your sleep, because the brain doesn’t do well with changing sleep and wake times.
It’s often very helpful to create a regular bedtime routine. This should begin at least half an hour before you go to sleep, and should include some relaxing activities that don’t involve screens. When you have a consistent sequence of events that leads up to sleep every night, this helps to train your brain to go to sleep when it’s time.
10 Tips to sleep better at night
1. Have a consistent sleep schedule
Your body operates on a 24-hour clock, known as the circadian rhythm. You can make it easier for your body to set this clock by having a regular bedtime and wake-up time. Even though society is different on weekdays and weekends, your brain is not, so keeping the times as consistent as possible will help to improve your sleep.
To help set your internal clock, try getting some sunlight in the morning. Even going outside while you drink your coffee will make a difference. Getting an input of light in the morning will help your brain to set that time as “morning,” which can actually help you to fall asleep later at night.
2. Create a bedtime routine
The brain is extremely good at recognizing patterns. When you create a bedtime routine, there’s a particular set of experiences that always comes just before it’s time to fall asleep. This helps to train the brain to shift towards sleep mode when it’s time.
Your bedtime routine should start at least half an hour before sleep, and potentially longer. It could include activities like a warm shower, drinking some herbal tea (with no caffeine), eating a small snack, reading, drawing, journaling, or meditation. Whichever activities you choose, they should be relaxing and should not involve screens at all. Consistency is the key; your bedtime routine needs to be the same every night in order to get the benefits.
3. Get regular exercise
Exercise is beneficial for health in many different ways, including helping to promote good sleep. People who get enough aerobic exercise during the day are more likely to sleep well at night. To be effective, this needs to be of moderate intensity – brisk walking, jogging, or dancing are likely intense enough, but a gentler activity like yoga may not be.
You can exercise at any virtually time of the day that works best for you. The most important thing is to create a routine that you enjoy and that you can stick with. However, try not to exercise right before bed, because the increase in body temperature may interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Allow at least one to two hours between your workout and bedtime, and a little longer may be even better.
4. Time your caffeine intake
Coffee in the morning is unlikely to be an issue. However, if it’s consumed too close to bedtime, caffeine can be very disruptive to sleep. It takes several hours to clear just half of the caffeine contained in your coffee, tea, soda, or chocolate from your system. The exact rate of clearance varies from person to person.
In general, the recommendation is to stop consuming any caffeine at all at least six hours before bed. Many people still find that this is too close, and they need to stop caffeine eight or even ten hours before bed. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, try stopping caffeine earlier in the day.
5. Turn off screens at night
Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain, which is very important for sleep. Multiple studies have confirmed that nighttime exposure to light in the evening, particularly blue light, reduces melatonin production in the brain.
Screens are bright, and produce enough blue light to suppress melatonin production. This includes all types of screens – phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. To help improve your sleep, all screens should be turned off at least half an hour before bed, and longer is better.
6. Try taking a warm bath or shower before bed
Some studies have shown that taking a bath or shower in warm water an hour or two before bedtime can actually help you to get to sleep faster and get better quality sleep.
There’s a natural drop in body temperature that occurs just before sleep, and warming up the body promotes a natural cooling down afterwards, which helps to shift the body and brain towards sleep mode. This can be a great way to start your bedtime routine.
7. Pay attention to what time you eat
It’s better not to eat a large meal too close to bedtime. This can interfere with your sleep. When the muscles of the digestive system have to work to digest your meal rather than resting, this can prevent your brain and body from accessing the state of deep rest that you need to feel refreshed the next day. You may also suffer from indigestion due to laying down with a full stomach, and the discomfort will tend to make it hard to sleep.
However, it’s also not ideal to go to bed hungry. When you’re hungry during the night, your brain will sense this as a serious problem, and will tend to awaken in order to deal with it. Many people wake up hungry in the middle of the night and have a very hard time falling back to sleep.
If this happens to you, try eating a small snack about an hour before you go to bed. Choose something easy to digest, like a banana or some crackers. Studies have found that a carbohydrate-rich snack like this may help to improve sleep.
8. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime
Some people find that they feel sleepy when they drink, and it can be tempting to have a “nightcap” in order to fall asleep at night. However, this is actually not good for your sleep. Although alcohol may cause you to fall asleep, it’s also metabolized into a compound that is a stimulant, which will tend to wake you up a few hours later.
If you drink alcohol, try to finish your last drink at least four hours before bed, to give your body time to process it before you go to sleep.
9. Keep the bedroom as dark and quiet as possible
Even a tiny bit of light can interfere with your sleep. You may want to invest in blackout curtains, which are thick curtains that keep light from entering through your windows. This is particularly important if there’s light from streetlights or traffic in your room at night.
Cover up or remove the charging lights on any electronics. Don’t use nightlights. You may also want to consider sleeping in a sleep mask, to keep light out of your eyes at night.
In addition, it’s best to keep your room as quiet as possible for sleep. For many people, eliminating noise is harder than eliminating light. You could try using earplugs.
In some cases, you may want to use white noise, which is a type of noise that’s consistent. You could try a fan in your room, or a white noise machine. This helps to cover up any extraneous noises that you can’t eliminate, so that they don’t interfere with your sleep.
10. Ensure that the bedroom isn’t too hot or too cold
The temperature in your bedroom can also have a significant impact on the quality of your sleep. When it’s too hot or too cold, then it can be harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. One study found that a cold room damaged sleep quality more than a hot one, although the participants were not given blankets and other bedding to help them stay warm. Other studies have found that people generally report that being too hot has a significant impact on their sleep.
In general, the suggested room temperature is about 60 to 68°F (15 to 20°C). If your room is hotter than this, you may need to open windows at night, or you may even need an air conditioner to achieve this temperature range in some climates. If the room is too cold, turning up the heat or adding additional blankets may be helpful.
