Ah sleep; it seems like I long for it the most until I actually need to be sleeping. Sound familiar? It probably does, considering some 30-35% of American people suffer from insomnia.
Not being able to sleep is one of the most frustrating things to deal with. It’s like you’re exasperated, tired, fatigued, and exhausted all wrapped up into one, but you still can’t manage to fall asleep. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, resulting in unrestful sleep. Insomnia is primarily defined by your quality of sleep and how you feel when you wake up. There are many things that can cause one to suffer from insomnia too. Maybe you drank too much caffeine during the day, or you have a lot on your mind. Either way, it’s just as aggravating, and it can start to affect your health!
We need to be able to sleep to maintain a healthy body. It’s not a good thing to lay there for hours at a time and wonder if you’re ever going to be able to sleep. The longer you sit there and muster about it, the harder it gets to fall asleep. Instead of worrying all night about these eight things, think about them rationally!
1. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
While lying in bed, you might begin to stress about not being able to sleep. You are worried you’re not getting the correct amount of sleep and that it is going to affect you somehow. Instead of sitting there wondering if you’ve had enough sleep and what problems it’s going to cause, simply stop. Stop worrying about not sleeping and actually try. Remember that people can easily function off of 5 or 6 hours of sleep, it’s just not healthy to do so. However, a few power naps through the night won’t kill you.
2. You’re Gonna Feel Bad Tomorrow
You might also lay awake thinking about how badly you’re going to feel tomorrow, but it might be your perception instead of your insomnia that’s causing that. Yes, things are better with an adequate amount of sleep, but you’re still in control of your day! You can’t let it ruin your entire day just because you couldn’t sleep well.
3. You Think You Need Medications
Depending on medications for anything is a bad idea, but you should especially never rely on sleep meds to fall asleep. Sleep is a naturally occurring process and if it isn’t, it’s not real sleep. Being dependant on medications can cause an extremely unhealthy habit and dependence and decrease your health overall. They also make it harder to fall asleep without them.
4. You Dread Tomorrow
Don’t lie in bed and dread everything you have to do the next day. If you can’t sleep, instead of dreading tomorrow, plan for tomorrow. Think of things you can do to make your day go by easier and make it better as a whole. Don’t dread tomorrow, just make it better! Dreading it all night is only going to make it harder to sleep, and harder to get up in the morning.
5. Lack of Sleep Is Hurting You
You might even be worrying about the negative side effects of not getting enough sleep. While it is terrible for your body and you need sleep to repair and recover from each day, you’re not going to die after a restless night. It’s normal for people to have a bad night from every now and then. It’s really not insomnia that causes health effects, it’s the other complications that come alongside as a result – like depression.
6. You Have To Have Eight Full Hours
Not everyone has to sleep a full eight hours. The amount of sleep you need really varies from person to person, and the activities you’ve performed in one day. If you exerted a lot of energy, worked hard, and ate unhealthy food all day, you probably need a good eight hours. However, if you were moderately active, happy, and ate some food with nutritional value, you’ll be good on six hours.
7. Try Harder
Try harder? Really? How is that working out for you? If you’re sitting there thinking you need to try harder to fall asleep, stop. In all honesty, you need to try less, or none at all. Let go of all stress and anguish from the day and lie down and rest! Sleep does no good if you’re just going to bed and stressing out more about not being able to sleep.
8. You’re Cursed
You’re not cursed or bewitched by a restlessness spell by an enemy. You just might not be finding the right measures for your comfortable sleep. You might just need to change the sheets, get fluffier pillows, or a new mattress! Stop being so hard on yourself, and just relax. Let go of the stress and anguish from the day and let your body – and mind – be at ease.