Five Things That Might Be Contributing to Your Insomnia
If you’re struggling with sleepless nights, there might be some hope—an expert could have figured out the root causes of your insomnia.
Sleep experts have long recommended a few basic tactics: cutting out technology before bedtime, steering clear of caffeine, and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. These are all supposed to help with sleeplessness.
However, a sleep researcher from Royal Holloway University of London suggests that these strategies aren’t necessarily the most effective for achieving better rest.
Kirsty Vant points out five habits that could actually worsen your insomnia.
When sleep eludes you, it’s tempting to either hit the hay earlier or linger longer in the morning to “make up for it.”
But this approach often backfires, she explains.
The more time spent awake in bed, the weaker the mental connection between bed and slumber becomes—while the association between bed and frustration grows stronger.
Instead, she advises going to bed a bit later while keeping a consistent wake-up time each morning.
This method enhances sleep pressure—the body’s natural urge for rest—and helps reframe bed as a sign for sleep rather than for wakefulness, Vant explains.
There’s also the common advice to avoid screens before hitting the pillow because the blue light they release can inhibit melatonin, a crucial hormone for regulating sleep patterns.
This light can create harsh contrasts and shadows that tire your eyes and trick your body into thinking it’s still time to be awake, disrupts the calming process, and adds to fatigue.
However, Vant notes that “lying in the dark with nothing to occupy your mind can be a recipe for anxiety and overthinking, both of which feed into insomnia.”
Her solution? Don’t eliminate screens entirely but use them wisely.
Select calming, non-stimulating content, enable ‘night mode,’ and avoid mindless scrolling.
For those sensitive to caffeine, it may be beneficial to steer clear of it later in the day.
But cutting it out altogether isn’t always necessary; understanding your personal reaction is crucial.
Recent surveys indicate that about one in nine women in the UK—around 4.5 million—utilize sleep or health apps to monitor their night’s rest.
These apps often display sleep patterns through charts illustrating time spent in light, deep, and REM sleep, complete with alerts if users fall short of their target hours.
Yet, the pressure to optimize sleep can ironically lead to an uptick in insomnia and “orthosomnia”—an obsession with sleeping “correctly,” Vant notes.
“Sleep is an automatic function, similar to digestion or blood pressure. While we can influence it with healthy behaviors, we can’t force it. Fixating on sleep quality can actually make it worse,” she adds.
Sometimes, it’s best to worry less about slumber and allow your body to do what it naturally does.
Even the anticipation of getting a set amount of sleep can heighten the chances of insomnia, she observes.
“Seeking exact consistency creates unrealistic standards. Some nights will be better; some will be worse—and that’s merely human. Healthy sleep is dynamic and adjusts according to various life factors like stress, health, age, and even parenting responsibilities,” she explains.
“Insomnia is common and treatable—and no, it’s not entirely your fault.”
Typically, individuals take about 10 to 20 minutes to drift off after turning off the lights, notes the Sleep Foundation.
A recent study found that one in six Britons experiences insomnia, but 65 percent never seek assistance for their sleeplessness.
A survey involving 2,000 participants, conducted by The Sleep Charity, revealed that nine out of ten encounter sleep challenges, while half admit to engaging in risky behaviors when they can’t rest.
Poor sleep has been associated with several health issues, such as cancer, stroke, and infertility.
Experts have consistently stated that waking during the night doesn’t automatically indicate insomnia, which is believed to affect up to 14 million individuals in the UK.
However, sleep deprivation has noticeable consequences, ranging from irritability and lack of focus to a heightened risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
The American Sleep Association reports that nearly 70 million Americans experience a sleep disorder.
