5 reasons you’re losing sleep at night

The inability to sleep can lead to major problems throughout your every day life. If you can’t sleep at night, try to figure out what’s going on and then try to do something about it. Here are 5 everyday things that are affecting your sleep:

Night time problem-solving

All of us, at some stage or another wake up during the night, and the first thing that pops into our head is a big problem we’re worried about. The best thing you can do is stop yourself from going there and redirect your thoughts to something less stressful. Maybe try a mindful meditation. If you get caught up in solving the problem, you’ll stay awake much longer.

Lights

Believe it or not, ambient light from lamps, mobile phones, and alarm clocks could be keeping you awake. “Even a small amount of brightness can be strong enough to enter your retina when your eyes are closed,” says Amy Wolfson, PhD, author of The Woman’s Book of Sleep: A Complete Resource Guide. “At night, it sends a signal to your brain that upsets your internal clock and makes you feel awake.” A good tip for anyone having sleep issues is to leave all electronics out of the bedroom. Get a old-school alarm clock if you need help waking on time.

Food…of the unhealthy variety

Diets are vitally important to our overall health and well-being, and this includes our sleep. Our bodies use amino acids, vitamins, and minerals to create the calming neurotransmitters that allow us to sleep. When our diet lacks variety, or contains a lot of junk food, we miss out on some of those beneficial nutrients. This means our bodies struggle to complete the biochemical reactions that help us get to, and stay asleep. When we eat healthy food (think fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains), we give our body the best chance of getting to sleep naturally.

Caffeine

The average half-life of caffeine is 5 hours, which means that you still have three-quarters of the first dose of caffeine in your system 10 hours after you drink it. For those of us who drink more than one cup of coffee a day (and let’s face it that’s most of us), try drinking coffee as early as possible. Anything past lunchtime and you could be in trouble.

Inconsistent sleeping schedule

Having a solid work and sleep pattern Monday to Friday is extremely beneficial, but if you operate totally differently during the weekends you will end up putting your natural rhythm out of sync. Our hormones can’t tell it’s a Saturday! It can be tough to pass up the opportunity to sleep in or stay up late, but setting a consistent pattern is a brilliant way to improve the quality of your sleep.

If you’re having issues sleeping The elbowroom is hosting the amazing Deirdre O’Connor who will be holding her famous Deep Sleep Workshop on Sunday 16th October 14:30-17:00. Deirdre has trained for over 20 years and integrates the best solutions that Yoga, Embodied Mindfulness, Somatic Psychology, Trauma Resolution, Body Rolling and Somatic Movement offering us help in our search for deep restorative sleep.