Why can’t I sleep well? Top reasons why sleep has been evading you!

It is nearly 4 am. You find yourself staring at the clock, worrying about the time you’re spending in bed not sleeping—and how it is affecting your personal and professional life. Your friends and family members notice this too as they see the stress, the long work hours and the lack of sleep in your eyes.

Many of us today are sleep deprived even while working from home. As our work hours seem to become never-ending, we end up working until late in the night and wake up early to start work the next morning—with fatigue becoming a part of our daily life. Additionally, as smart and mobile devices become a part of our daily routine, we end up sacrificing the time we should be sleeping for other, less important endeavours. Unfortunately, most of us do not understand that anxiety caused by worrying about the lack of sleep will only lead to insomnia and not a good night’s sleep.

Here are the top 5 things that can interfere with your sleep patterns and how you can address them:

1. Too much tea or coffee

Caffeine can stay in your body for a surprisingly long amount of time—nearly 12-15 hours! Although 75% of it is gone within 10 hours, the rest of 25% is enough to disturb your sleep pattern.

Quick-fix: ensure that your afternoon or evening fix is limited to one cup of tea or coffee. If possible, reduce it to half a cup.

2. Heavy dinners

Although that mutton curry or butter chicken might seem like a good idea when you start cooking it, if you’re going to eat a protracted dinner that ends by 10 pm, it is going to keep you up for a long time. Protein takes a long time to digest and that keeps you wide awake while you’re actually trying to get to bed.

Quick-fix: eat your dinner early, and if you get the munchies by bedtime, try a low-carb snack such as a banana or some walnuts.

3. Lumpy beds and temperature variations

If your room is too hot or too cold, you will end up tossing and turning all night to either snuggle up and get warm, or to toss the sheets to cool down. Another problem that affects sleep is a lumpy bed. A firm—yet comfortable mattress is your best bet.

Quick-fix: keep your bedroom temperature and your bed comfortable.

4. Intensive workout sessions

Although our work regime might leave night time as the only time of the day when we can exercise, a workout can tire you out and keep you up instead of helping you wind down and get ready for bed.

Quick-fix: Intensive workouts for the morning, a short walk for the evening is the best.

5. Bright lights

We all love watching TV in bed, but those binge-watching sessions can wreak havoc on our nightly routines. Mobiles, TVs and other electronic devices emit blue light, which is not good for our sleep patterns. Using a soft light in your bedroom is good to induce sleep quickly.

Quick-fix: Instead of watching TV or playing on your mobile phone, read a book.

Getting a good night’s sleep helps us in many ways—you will look and feel refreshed, you will be more productive at work, and you will end up sleeping in time! The best way to get a good night’s sleep every night is to have a set sleeping pattern and avoid the stressors and stimulants we described above.

However, if you are unable to sleep for days at a stretch, do not hesitate to reach out for help. Sanrai’s sleep specialists can help you figure out the root cause of your problem and identify if an underlying cause such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea is responsible for it. Contact our sleep specialists today!