Sleep issues are common in people who have experienced a distressing situation, such as grief, trauma, a difficult relationship or work environment. These are psychological causes of a sleep disorder which are often temporary and can be helped when the person learns strategies to cope better with these experiences. However, in many cases, prolonged sleep issues may actually cause or exacerbate Depression, Anxiety and ADHD.
Alcohol, caffeine, illicit or prescribed medications directly affect our central nervous system which can then alter the body’s natural ‘circadian rhythm’ (or “sleep clock“). Even when these substances feel to have a sleep-inducing effect, this is often due to the substance’s sedative properties, which is different from falling asleep naturally.
Diabetes, neurological disorders, breathing issues, heartburn and restless legs syndrome are examples of chronic conditions which can have a negative effect on sleep. Specialist physicians should be consulted in these cases to make the best possible effort to alleviate the illness. Addressing sleep should, therefore, be seen as a complex interdependent process, which would ideally be addressed concurrently to the illness.
Sleep is quite regularly affected by a number of evolving environmental conditions which have evolved from a fast-paced society. Light pollution, noise pollution, shift-work, unhealthy food all have a role to play in our health and can affect sleep more than is generally understood. Exposure to bright blue light in the evening (or not being exposed to enough sunlight during daylight hours) plays a key role in sleep (see below.)
The body “gets used“ to falling asleep at certain times, try to get your body into a healthy routine and stick to it. On weekends, the time you wake up shouldn’t differ more than 1.5 hours from your regular wake up times during the week.
Try to replace “screen time“ with different activities; reading a book, yoga, relaxing to music. Consider blue light blocking glasses, or dimming the light of the screen to warmer colours if you do watch something on a screen.
Regular cardiovascular exercise during the day, particularly in the morning or early afternoon, can help deepen sleep. It is not recommended to exercise within the 2 hours before bedtime.
If you take regular or long naps throughout the day, it will make it harder to fall asleep at night, because you will not have worked up enough “sleep pressure“ or tiredness.
Coffee, tea, cola, many other soft drinks and also chocolate contain caffeine. Your body will find it more difficult to fall asleep if there is caffeine in your system 4 – 6 hours before bedtime.
Many people believe alcohol helps them fall asleep, however, a few hours after drinking, when the alcohol levels in your blood start to fall, there can be a stimulant or wake-up effect, disrupting your circadian rhythm.
Sleeping pills induce sedation rather than natural sleep. Sedation can disrupt our natural circadian rhythm, which in turn affects mood, attention and many other negative symptoms in mental health.
if you feel any of your prescribed medications are preventing you from falling asleep naturally. Ask about Melatonin supplementation if necessary.
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