Can’t Sleep? Here’s the Solution
The answer to your biggest problem
In a world that doesn’t seem to rest, it seems as if we aren’t given a chance either. We’ve all been there — tossing and turning in bed, counting sheep, staring at the ceiling — but have you ever wondered why we’re there?
1. Blue Light Exposure
Blue light, a part of the visible light spectrum, plays a crucial role in hormone production, alertness, and sleep cycles. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with blue light as natural exposure from the sun assists in setting our body clocks, the problem lies in nighttime exposure.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been on our electronics in bed before. However, these electronics emit blue light that interferes with our sleep. Blue light is purposed to assist in alerting us during the day, but when our bodies are exposed to it at night, our bodies still thinks it’s the day.
As a result, our bodies suppress the production of melatonin, a sleep hormone that plays a crucial role in preparing us for sleep. Darkness is typically the trigger for melatonin release, but because blue light exposure tricks the body into believing it’s still the bright day, our bodies will suppress melatonin production and not prepare itself for sleep.
In a past research that compared people who read e-books and people that read physical books before bed, the group of e-book readers had disrupted sleep patterns and were more lethargic. Additionally, that same research concluded that the e-book readers also had significantly shorter REM (rapid-eye movement) which plays a crucial role in memory and learning.
While some believe that blue light filtering technology can mitigate the consequences of nighttime exposure, there’s no scientific evidence supporting that claim. Instead, a more effective strategy is to avoid all blue light exposure for 1–2 hours before bed. This allows our melatonin levels to rise naturally, preparing us for sleep.
2. Stress
After a long, exhausting day, all we want to do is collapse in bed and drift away into a deep slumber. However, the second we lay in our beds, our minds start racing. Family issues, exams, finances, relationships. Suddenly, we find ourselves unable to sleep. Sound familiar?
That’s the work of stress. Stress is one of the most common culprits behind restless nights. When we’re stressed, our bodies enter a state of heightened alertness, triggering a ‘fight or flight’ response, an evolutionary mechanism designed to protect us from immediate danger.
During the activation of this mechanism, our bodies release stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to physically prepare us to address any dangers. However, there is no danger in our beds (hopefully). Instead, these stress hormones increase our heart rates and blood pressure, making it difficult for our bodies to relax and prepare for sleep. This physical hyperactivity also results in our minds becoming hyperactive with stressful thoughts, increasing the difficulties associated with sleeping.
Nonetheless, it’s imperative to understand that the effects of stress vary from person to person. This variation can be explained with the concept of ‘sleep reactivity.’ Sleep reactivity measures the degree to which stress disrupts sleep, with the degree often varying because of genetics.
Research conducted by researchers David A. Kalmbach, Jason R. Anderson, and Christopher L. Drake, better illustrates this variation in sleep reactivity. When comparing the sleep of individuals with low and high sleep reactivity during stressful periods, findings indicated that people with high sleep reactivity experienced greater sleep disturbance from stress compared to those with low sleep reactivity.
Regardless of your sleep reactivity, it’s undeniable that stress still affects everyone to some extent. Fortunately for us, there are lifestyle changes that can help us manage our stress by regulating our cortisol, the previously mentioned stress hormone. These changes include increasing physical activity to assist in cortisol regulation, doing yoga to help our bodies relax from tension, and maintaining proper and consistent sleep habits, behaviors, and environments such as following a sleep schedule or ensuring your room is dark, cold, and quiet.
By actively avoiding these mistakes and making changes to your life, you won’t have to count sheep ever again. Although it may seem challenging at first, remember to take it one day at a time. Good luck on fixing your sleep and feel free to clap, follow, or comment if you learned something!
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