9 Things That Could Be Keeping You Awake At Night

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There’s nothing worse than going to be nice and early only to find yourself lying there for what is seemingly an endless amount of time, unable to sleep. Or, maybe you have no issues dropping off, but you find that you wake frequently throughout the night, which means that when your alarm goes off in the morning, you are left feeling anything but refreshed.

If any of that sounds familiar, it’s worth seeing if any of the following common sleep distributors could be keeping you up at night:



Stress And Anxiety



1. Stress and anxiety

Stress and anxiety had been the cause of many a sleepless night. If you have a lot on your mind, it can be difficult to relax enough to fall asleep. Instead, you keep turning your money worries over and over in your head or you keep replaying the worst-case scenario about that worrying lump you have found, and it just makes you feel worse.

Something that can really help to relieve stress and anxiety before bedtime is to simply write down all of the things you are worried about. The simple act of getting them out of your head and onto a piece of paper can be all it takes to put your mind at rest for the evening, and help you drop off.

Many people also very successfully use herbs that improve sleep to help them drop off when they are anxious, but you may need to experiment until you find one that works effectively for you.

Some people also find that meditation is great for relieving symptoms of stress and depression throughout the day, so if you can learn to meditate, and you take around 15 minutes to do so each evening, you could see an improvement too.


2. Chronic pain

One of the most common causes of sleepless nights is chronic pain, and it is not always obvious that it is your pain that is keeping you awake at night. However, if your back is aching or your head is pounding, it can cause you to become restless, which means you do not get the refreshing night’s sleep that you were hoping for.

If you suspect that your pain is keeping you up at night, it may be worth talking to your doctor to see if the is a more appropriate medication available to you or to perhaps look at switching your medication timings so that they can be more effective as you sleep.

3. Sleep apnea

Millions of people around the world suffer from the condition known as sleep apnea, and it is a primary cause of sleepless nights, not only for them but for their spouses too. 

If you snort a lot it is a good idea to get yourself checked for sleep apnea as it is a serious condition in which you stop breathing for a few seconds multiple times of night Usually, a CPAP machine is required to treat sleep apnea, but losing weight has also been shown to help, Your doctor is, of course, the best person to advise you on this, so if you think it could be sleep apnea keeping you awake at night, get it checked out as soon as possible.

4. Working shifts

It has long been known that working shift patterns can have a detrimental effect on your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Shift working can play havoc with your circadian rhythms and lower your levels of serotonin, which is an important chemical used in the regulation of sleep.

Unless you are able to get another job that does not require you to work shifts, there is not a great deal you can do about this particular cause of sleeplessness, but many people find that sticking to a schedule as best they can depend on their shift patterns helps a little, as does getting regular exercise, good food and plenty of fresh air.



Scrolling Late At Night

5. Late-night scrolling

If you are someone who spends a lot of time on your phone, tablet, or a computer, it could be causing you a lot of sleepless nights. Most devices emit blue light which mimics daylight, and this confuses your body into thinking it is daytime even if it is midnight.

What can you do about this? Luckily, it’s pretty easy to solve this particular sleep problem by switching off your devices at least an hour before bedtime (two or three would better). 

If you absolutely cannot do that, then you may want to consider investing in a pair of blue-light filtering glasses, which will block blue light from entering your eye and confusing your body. 

On some devices, it is also possible to download apps that will filter out most of the troublesome blue light waves so that you will not be troubled by insomnia in the evenings.

6. Hormonal changes

Unfortunately, sleepless nights can often be caused by the hormone changes women face during menstruation, menopause, or pregnancy. If you have noticed that you have had a harder time getting a good night’s sleep lately, and you are cruelty pregnant or going through other hormonal changes as mentioned above, it may be worth talking to your doctor to see if there is anything they can do to support your sleep through this time.

7. Too much caffeine

This is a particularly obvious one, but you’d be surprised by how many people do not link their caffeine consumption with the fact they are still lying wide awake at 3 am every night. The fact of the matter is that any amount of caffeine can have a detrimental effect on somebody’s ability to sleep, although tolerances vary from person to person.

If you cannot identify any other potential causes of sleeplessness, but you consume any caffeine (remember it is in tea and many sodas too) it could be worth seeing what happens when you cut down. A lot of people are very caffeine sensitive without even knowing it and sticking to one cup of coffee a day or none at all if possible, can make a huge difference in their sleep each night. 

8. Smoking

If you are a smoker, and you smoke right before going to bed, your habit could be preventing you from falling asleep when you want to. Nicotine is a brain stimulant, which means, after smoking, your brain will be much more active and you will probably find it tough to relax and fall asleep.

What can you do about this? In the first instance, try to smoke your last cigarette of the evening as early as possible so that it is not close to the time you usually go to bed.

Secondly, it may be worth thinking about giving up. Smoking is really bad for your health in so many ways that doing so is always going to be the best thing for you. These days, there are so many tools to support you in giving up smoking that if you feel ready to try, you should definitely take the plunge.

9. Room temperature

If you like to sleep in a hot bedroom, you could be finding it really hard to get to sleep because the body prefers a cooler temperature for sleeping. In fact, the ideal room temperature for sleep is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, any hotter or cooler than that and you may struggle to get enough shut-eye.

Turn down the thermostat, use a fan or open the bedroom window to bring down the temperature of your room in future. You may want to change to lighter bedclothes too.


Now, maybe you can get a good night’s sleep!

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