There are some days when we finally finish work at the company, restaurant,.. And we think: "Finally, I can take a rest now." After that, we go home, take a shower, have dinner, do some personal things, and climb into bed ready to sleep. 5, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours later, we couldn’t sleep. So what are the reasons?
Subjective Factors: Things We Can Control
There are some reasons that make it hard for us to sleep at night, such as:
- Napping: According to the National Sleep Foundation, the percentage of adults in the US who take a daily nap is 30%. In fact, some countries in Asia have a nap culture after lunch. It usually takes 30 to 45 minutes for napping. Although nap helps we stay alert and refresh, ready for last half shift, but taking nap for a long time makes us difficult to fall asleep at night.
- Eating Before Bed: There are some research shows that eating before going to sleep can interfere your sleep, especially when you eat too much. We know that when we sleep, our organs keep working to maintain our health, detox the toxins from blood,.. That means after eating at night, we force our body to work more, and the feeling of a full stomach can make us stay up late.
- Caffeine & Alcohol: Caffeine is a molecule that makes you alert. This could be helpful during the day when you would like to be awake. But consuming it 4 to 6 hours before bedtime could affect your sleep. Besides, alcohol may make you drowsy, it’s actually not good for your sleep, even a small amount of it. When you drink alcohol before sleep, it can make you wake up a lot of times, and decrease the quality of your sleep.
- Screen Times: No matter whether it’s from television, tablet, phone,… staring at the screen before bedtime makes it difficult to fall asleep. This is because the screen emits the frequency of light (blue light) that sends a wake-up signal to our brains.
Objective Factors: Things We Can't Control
Besides subjective factors, we also have some objective factors why we can't sleep at night like:
- Jet lag: When you move to another country, it’s hard for your body to change its body clock. It causes a temporary sleep disorder called jet lag. It leaves you feeling sleepy and unwell during the day, but makes it hard for you to sleep at night. But the good thing is it will go away on its own in a few days when your body adjusts.
- Anxiety and Stress: We have to deal with a lot of things at the workplace, and sometimes we go home with the deadlines still hanging over our heads. Even when we lay on the bed, we keep thinking about it, and what we need to do when we wake up tomorrow. And that makes it hard to sleep.
- Medication: Many common medications can cause sleep problems, too. These include prescription medications used to treat depression, anxiety, and ADHD. And some the-counter medications (like decongestants) can lead to insomnia.
What You Can Do to Have A Good Sleep?
There is something we must accept that we can not control them. In that situation, we should seek treatment from a specialist. But we still can control the subjective factors such as:
- Good Sleep Schedule: This means making lifestyle choices that support a good night of sleep, like sleeping and waking up at a specific time, working out if you have time, stop eating and scrolling your phone before bedtime.
- Meditation: Practicing meditation may potentially have many health benefits, including helping you to sleep better at night.
- Product Matters: Maybe we can not sleep because of objects around us. The pillow is too firm, the blanket is not warm enough,.. Having good products can help you sleep easily at night. You can check them here!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the quality of sleep is vital for our mental and physical health and productivity. No matter what the reasons for your sleep problems are, take action and get back to sleeping soundly.
You can check more about “sleep tips” here!
