5 Reasons Why You Can’t Sleep

Do you find yourself physically exhausted but lying in bed wide awake for hours at night?  A lack of sleep leaves us tired, grumpy and unfocused the morning after.  So how do we break this pattern?  There are five things that many of us do that keep us from sleeping well.

Using a cell phone or other electronic equipment an hour or less before bed.  The blue light that we can’t see from cell phones, TVs and other electronics suppresses the hormone, melatonin that we need to sleep.  Conclude all of your business that requires the use of electronics at least an hour before bed.
Consuming coffee, tea, caffeinated sodas and chocolate after 10:00 a.m. Caffeine can stay in the body for up to 15 hours after you consume it.  Having two cups of coffee at lunch could be keeping you counting sheep at night.  Plan to eliminate all caffeine 12 hours before your bedtime.
Using the bedroom as a home office, TV room or other work space. The bedroom should be reserved for sleeping and marital relations.  Make your bedroom an oasis of calm.  Use peaceful blues and soft pinks instead of bright yellows and reds.
Having an inconsistent sleep schedule. If you go to bed at 9:30 p.m. during the week but stay up until after midnight on weekends, you’re disrupting your body’s natural rhythm.  Aim to go to bed and get up within a two hour window seven days a week.
Engaging in stressful activities immediately before bed. If you have difficult conversations or do other nerve-racking things right before bed, you’re taking all that tension to bed.  Replaying conversations and wondering about unfinished tasks can produce just enough anxiety to keep you awake for hours.  Use the last hour before bed to relax.  Have a cup of naturally decaffeinated tea.  Take a warm bath.  Read an enjoyable but not too exciting book.

If you are practicing one or more of these sleep-robbing habits, try eliminating one each night and see if you start sleeping better.  If these strategies don’t help, discuss your problem with your health care professional for additional recommendations.

When you get a good night’s sleep, you’re ready to wake up and be your absolute best.  You are more alert, more focused and in a better mood.