When you feel tired, it should theoretically be easy to fall asleep.
Unfortunately, thats not always the case.
Wanting to sleep but being unable to can happen for many reasons.
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Stress, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, and lifestyle factors can all disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycle.
Here are some of the most common reasons for difficulty falling asleep.
When youre stressed, your body releases excessive amounts ofcortisol.
You may already know cortisol as the “stress hormone,” but thats kind of a misnomer.
Its essentially the counterbalance tomelatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy and sluggish at night.
Stress can trigger an increase in cortisol because you need that energy and alertness to respond to threats.
Use this wakeful time to really reflect onwhats causing your stress.
Then, come up with a plan for addressing that root cause.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can also cause sleep problems.
Not only that, sleep disturbances are often a symptom of a mood or anxiety disorder.
Take care of your mental health.
Poor sleep hygiene is any part of your day that doesnt match that ideal.
Mindful Moment
Need a breather?
For people who menstruate, the monthly fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can also impact sleep quality.
The changes in estrogen and progesterone levels that accompany your menstrual cycle might make it difficult to fall asleep.
Your doctor might recommend a hormonal treatment when you begin menopause.
Circadian Rhythm Misalignment
Your body tries to stick to a relatively consistent 24-hour cycle.
But sometimes, your internal clock doesn’t sync up with your environment.
However, this can also happen if you doshift workand your schedule isn’t consistent from week to week.
Unfortunately, theres no quick fix for this.
Bright light therapy and certain medications may help.
What Should I Do If I Can’t Fall Asleep?
A lot of the solutions above are more long-term fixes and prevention methods.
If you start to feel sleepy at any point, go lay down in bed again.
But if youre still awake 25 minutes later, get up and repeat the process.
Blatantly contradict that train of thought by doing something nice for yourself.
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In: Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms.Elsevier; 2023:56-66. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-822963-7.20008-X
