Problems falling asleep

Do you ever go to bed, feeling tired, but then you just lie there, tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep? This is a common problem that can have many different causes. Troubles with falling asleep can be a result of stress, caffeine intake, hormonal imbalance, or even something as obvious as disturbing sounds. Let’s look at the most common causes of problems with falling asleep.

Stress and adrenaline

Stress is probably the most common reason why people are unable to fall asleep. Stress will make your body tense and produce adrenaline, a hormone that will keep you alert and, consequently, awake. Adrenaline is also known as a “flight or fight” hormone. Normally, it’s released by your body in times of danger and emergency. The hormone then increases your heart rate and blood sugar, and boosts the supply of oxygen and glucose to your brain and muscles.

The purpose of adrenalin is to prepare your body for a dangerous situation. Obviously, if your body keeps releasing it while you’re lying in bed, you won’t be able to fall asleep.

While stress is the most common cause of inability to fall asleep, it’s probably also the hardest one to overcome. Some people relieve stress through various relaxation techniques, meditation, or prayer; others try to forget about their daily problems by focusing on something pleasurable in the evening. Moderate exercise is also a good way to relive stress, but make sure you do it at least a couple of hours before going to bed. Otherwise, it too, can keep you awake.

Caffeine and other chemicals

While adrenaline is naturally released by your body, there are many other chemicals keeping us awake at night that we ingest voluntarily. The most common one is caffeine, but other over-the-counter stimulants and medications may work in the same way.

The purpose of these chemicals is to keep us awake. So if you’re having hard time falling asleep, you really should stay clear of them. The problem is that because you can’t fall asleep at night, you feel tired in the morning and, consequently, drink more coffee. This coffee then keeps you up the next night… Because of this cycle, it’s usually really hard breaking the caffeine habit. There are also some side effects of caffeine withdrawal, headaches being the most unpleasant one.

If you decide to reduce caffeine intake (which I would strongly suggest doing), make sure you do it gradually. For example, go from 3 cups of coffee to 2 (or even 2 and a half). This way you should be able to avoid the side effects.

Light and Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that our bodies secret when we are in darkness. Because of that, some people are calling it the Dracula of hormones. You don’t have to know exactly how melatonin works, but you do need to know that melatonin is what triggers us to fall asleep. So if you try to go to sleep in a bedroom that is to bright, your body might not produce enough of this hormone and you might have troubles falling asleep. But that’s not all, even if you do fall asleep, your sleep will not be as deep as it should be. Sometimes this can even cause you to wake up a couple of times during the night.

Can’t sleep – will a glass of milk help?

You have probably heard that drinking a glass of milk will help you fall asleep. But is there any truth to that old belief?

The answer is yes, a glass of milk might help you fall asleep. Let me explain…

Milk contains a chemical called tryptophan. This amino acid is important, because our body uses tryptophan to synthesize Serotonin. Now, serotonin will help us fall asleep (it is also an antidepressant and regulates our mood, but you really don’t need to know that).

So if you can’t fall asleep, eating something that contains tryptophan might do the trick. Tryptophan is found in turkey, soybeans, lentils, chicken, tuna, certain nuts, and, of course milk. To benefit from the effects of tryptophan on your body, it’s best if you eat these foods on an empty stomach in the evening or close to bed time.

A word of caution: a lot of people lactose intolerant. If that’s the case, it’s best to stay away from milk. It should be mentioned that if you have a mild intolerance you might not even be aware of it.

Conclusion

I hope this will help you find out why you have troubles falling asleep. But always remember, falling asleep is just a start. To really enjoy all the benefits of a good night rest, you should make sure you get through the night without waking up and that the quality of your sleep is a high as possible. The truth is that just 4 hours of quality sleep will be better than 8 hours of poor quality sleep. Most people find this hard to believe, but it really is possible to greatly increase the quality of your sleep. Wouldn’t that be great? Imagine sleeping the same amount of time, yet waking up feeling refreshed and full of energy in the morning – every single day.