Random musings: 11 Reasons You Can’t Sleep And Are Struggling to Stay Asleep

Part 1 of a 3 part series based on a blog post by Dr. Michael Breus. Today's post will cover the introduction and the first three reasons.

I’d like to discuss 11 reasons you can’t sleep and are struggling to stay asleep but first, let me take a moment and wish you a happy holiday no matter which one you celebrate this time of year. I’m grateful that you spend your time with me each week and to have this opportunity to share my work and experience with you.

This holiday, my daughter is in China on a student exchange program so we are spending the holidays in Bejing and touring around China. It will be an interesting experience but I’m really excited to see my daughter, it’s been a while!

I've never been to China myself, although I did spend the night in Japan once.

While I used TimeShifter and everything I know to minimize my challenges with the multiple timezone difference, holiday travel always makes sleeping more difficult.

And, with all of the travel and extra people in our houses, this is the time of year when a good night’s sleep can be even harder to come by.

With the holidays here and a new decade right around the corner, I know many of my patients are fighting to carve out enough time for proper sleep. I’ve heard and seen it countless times: You’re busy, both at work and scrambling to buy gifts, and it inevitably leads to you burning the candle at both ends.

But even without the added stress (and fun) that comes with the holidays, our country is struggling to get enough rest. A recent study from Ball State University made this clear, showing more than 35% of working Americans aren’t getting sufficient sleep.

There are a variety of reasons why that could be the case for you — reasons that could impact you not just during the holiday but at any point during the year. Because it’s not just about setting aside time for enough sleep. There are also a number of issues that could be interfering with your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep long enough to complete the four stages of sleep.

That’s why this week I wanted to give you a quick rundown of the 11 major reasons you may be having a hard time getting a good night’s sleep. Poor sleep contributes to a number of health issues like heart disease and stroke and shouldn’t be overlooked. If you’re waking up feeling tired, irritable and suffering from brain fog, please be mindful of these potential triggers.

1) Your Temperature

The ideal room temperature is around 65 degrees but our body temperature is important too. The cooling of our bodies is a primary indication to our brains that it's time to go to sleep. That's why taking a warm bath or shower right before bed is good for you. It raises your body temperature a little bit more and it'll cool even more rapidly when you go to bed.

2) Everyday Concerns

This may be a good time for yoga or meditation. I used to do 20 minutes of yoga before bed because I had read an article in Reader's Digest that yoga could help you sleep better. (I just checked their website but the article wasn't there...but it was about 15 years ago. Although there was a different one on yoga and sleep)

3) Alcohol

I wrote about this one recently. Basically, stop drinking alcohol three hours before bedtime.

That's it for today. I'll cover the next four reasons tomorrow and the remaining four reasons the next day.