Trouble Falling Asleep

We’ve all had problems falling asleep at some point in our life – but is yours a consistent issue each night? Is it causing you to miss work or school, or remain constantly tired throughout the day? If you’re having trouble falling asleep, you most likely feel alert and awake, when you know it’s time to get rest. There are many factors that could play a role in why you may be having trouble falling asleep or have onset insomnia.

What causes it?

• Blue light exposure – If you don’t turn off your electronic devices such as television, smartphones or tablets, the exposure of blue light can cause your natural circadian rhythm to shift, preventing the levels of melatonin released that typically would help regulate your sleep. This can cause you to be more alert rather than sleepy.
• Depression – Depression is one of the most common causes of insomnia, and the two are closely related. Even when asleep, people who suffer from depression are unable to move through the normal sleep process.
• Eating Right – Research has shown that the diet choices you make during the day can affect your sleep habits. Also, eating too close to bedtime can result in stomach acid backflows into the esophagus. This is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and according to the National Sleep Foundation, is one of the most common causes of disrupted sleep in Americans between ages of 45 and 64.
• Prescription medications – Several prescription medications can cause difficulty in falling asleep. Some of these include:
  • Steroids; prednisone
  • Antidepressants; bupropion, venlafaxine
  • Stimulants; methylphenidate, modafinil
  • Adrenal
  • Thyroid replacement medications
  • Theophylline (used for asthma)
• Over-the-counter medications – Over-the-counter medications can also cause difficulty falling asleep. Some of these include pain medications, allergy and cold medications, and even weight-loss products.
• Hormones – Women near or past the age of 50 may be experiencing hormonal changes leading up to menopause that can have a significant effect on women’s sleep quality.
• Nasal Issues – Many people have a deviated septum or a chronic sinus condition which narrows one nasal passage that may contribute to trouble falling asleep due to discomfort and difficulty breathing.
• Sleep Apnea – If you have sleep apnea, you snore loudly and wake up a lot throughout the night. This causes you to stop breathing several times during the night and deprives your body of oxygen.
• Sleep Schedule – Many people are not on a regular sleep schedule. Maybe you get up at different times during the week due to your work schedule. Maybe you sleep in late on weekends to catch up on sleep you missed during the week. Having a consistent sleep schedule can help avoid sleep deprivation and insomnia and can make falling asleep and waking up much easier.
• Stress – If you’re experiencing a lot of stress in your life—whether it be workload, family, school, etc., you’re probably lying awake thinking about it. This stress is likely interfering with the biological process that would naturally allow your body and mind to fall asleep at night.

 Possible solutions

• Be sleep positive— research shows that eliminating your negative self-talk about sleep will help you feel calmer and enable you to fall asleep easier. The next time your brain is thinking “I’m going to be up all night again” replace it with “It was a busy day, I’ll be asleep in no time.”
• Brew some chamomile tea – Studies have confirmed that this popular herb can reduce anxieties, allowing you to be mentally more prepared for sleep, just like your grandma said.
• Cover your eyes – darkness is essential for quality sleep. Keep even the slightest amount of light from creeping in by using an eye mask or a warm washcloth to cover your eyes.
• Focus on a single thing – maybe counting sheep isn’t your thing, but the idea behind it can be just what you need to fall asleep. Focus on a single thing like your breathing or allow a positive, calming mantra to replay over and over in your head.
• Immerse your face in very cold water for 30 seconds – if you’re anxious or distressed, submerging your face in a sink full of cold water can trigger an involuntary response called the Mammalian Dive Reflex, which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, allowing you to relax and making you better prepared for sleep.
• Put on some calming music – research indicates that music, with a slow rhythm of 60 to 80 beats a minute, can boost sleep quality and make you peaceful, relaxed and ready to fall asleep.
• Set your worries aside – if worry is keeping you awake by kicking in just after you close your eyes, jotting them down in a journal quickly before heading to bed each night. Set that journal to the side as you climb into You might find that simply knowing your concerns are recorded allows you to get to sleep faster.
• Take care of the thing that’s keeping you awake – if you have a fairly quick task that’s keeping you awake, take 10-20 minutes to take care of it quick. It’s not going to go away magically, so just do it so you can get to sleep without it nagging you all night. Draft that email, create the agenda for your meeting, respond to the important email, or take the meat for dinner tomorrow out of the freezer – just don’t get sidetracked with other tasks or spend all night working on it!
• Tell yourself you’re tired – sometimes you just need to give yourself permission to be tired or even trick your brain into thinking you’re exhausted by simply pretending you are. Focus on the feelings you have when you’re really tired, like heavy eyelids, the comfort of your blankets, and the darkness as you relax into your bed. Chances are that you’ll be asleep before you know it.
• Try a hot bath or shower – Stepping from warm water into that pre-cooled bedroom will cause body temperatures to drop slightly, which can trigger sleepy feelings by slowing down metabolic activity.
• Try breathing exercises – breathing techniques can help you fall asleep quickly by relaxing you as the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream increases, your heart rate slows, and you release more carbon dioxide from your lungs than normal.
• Warm up your feet – Researchers from a Swiss study published in the journal Nature observed that warm feet and hands were the best predictors of rapid sleep onset. Shifting blood flow from your core to your extremities cools down your body, working in concert with melatonin.
• Wear comfortable clothes – There is a direct correlation between sleep and core body temperature as studies suggest. Wearing comfortable sleepwear or no clothes at all will help regulate your body temperature better and help you snooze faster.

Why get treatment?

The ability to fall asleep—and stay asleep long enough to feel restored and refreshed in the morning—is vital to your overall health and well-being. Sleep is also essential in helping your body heal from an injury, process memories, cope with pain or illness, and do its housekeeping.

Resolving issues with having trouble falling asleep is critical as it can escalate quickly into a more serious problem. The more bad nights of sleep you have, the more likely you are to feel anxious around bedtime about being able to fall asleep, resulting in the very problem you’re worrying about, which in turn creates a vicious cycle of anxiety and bad sleep.

If you’ve tried a variety of self-help solutions without much success, it’s time to talk with a sleep specialist, especially if your insomnia is starting to impact your mood and health. Use your Sleep Profile to provide your physician with as much supporting information as possible.