There may come a time when you lay awake at night and wonder why you can’t sleep, even if you avoid caffeine late in the day and quit scrolling through social media two hours before bed. Common causes of insomnia include alcohol and caffeine intake, eating too close to bedtime, poor sleep environment, and stress.1 You can get to sleep by relaxing with a book or calming music, keeping your bedroom cool, and removing distractions.2

Insomnia means trouble falling and staying asleep. It can also result from poor sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene describes behaviors like going to sleep and waking up at the same time daily, which allows good-quality sleep.3The average adult needs about seven to eight hours of sleep per night.2

Many people believe that good sleepers fall asleep in a flash. This attitude can trigger anxiety when sleep onset isn’t rapid, further delaying falling asleep.1 Read on to learn why you can’t sleep and how to fix it.

What Is Insomnia?

Insomnia causes trouble falling, staying asleep, or waking up too early. This sleep disorder can impair sleep quality and make you frustrated, which also makes it hard to sleep.1

Insomnia symptoms can come and go or last for long periods. Symptoms include:1

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Falling asleep during the day
• Feeling tired or having trouble focusing
• Not feeling refreshed in the morning
• Waking up during the night

Why Can’t I Sleep?

Getting a good night’s rest is key to maintaining your overall health. Sleep helps your brain function and supports your nerve cells.4 You may have trouble sleeping from time to time, or you might regularly find yourself tossing and turning in the middle of the night.

Some of the most common reasons why you can’t sleep include:1

• Alcohol and caffeine intake: Alcohol can make you sleep, but it may wake you up during the night. Caffeine, found in coffee, soda, and tea, is a stimulant that keeps you awake.
• Change in your sleep schedule: Work and travel can affect your circadian rhythm, or the internal clock that regulates your sleep-wake schedule. A disruption to your circadian rhythm increases the risk of insomnia.
• Eating before bedtime: You might have a light snack before bed, but eating too much may trigger acid reflux when you lie down. Acid refluxcauses stomach acid to flow backward up the esophagus. This can lead to an uncomfortable symptom called heartburn.
• Health conditions: Some conditions, such as acid reflux, cancer, chronic pain, diabetes, and heart disease, are linked to insomnia.5
• Medications: Antidepressants may increase the risk of insomnia.6Medications that contain stimulants can also make it hard to sleep.7
• Mental health conditions: Insomnia may be a sign of certain mental health conditions. These include anxiety, bipolar disorder, and depression.
• Poor sleep environment: It can be hard to fall asleep if your bedroom is too noisy, too bright, too hot, or too cold. Using screens that emit blue light, such as a computer, phone, or TV, can also disrupt sleep.8
• Sleep disorders: In addition to insomnia, other sleep disorders can make it hard to fall asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and restless legs syndrome (RLS) can impair your sleep quality.9
• Stress: You may have trouble falling asleep if your mind is racing with stressful thoughts about family, money, school, or work. Insomnia can also increase stress if you are worried about falling asleep.

Techniques and Remedies

Getting a good night’s rest is key. Poor sleep quality increases your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.4 Some sleep disorders, like insomnia, can be linked to anxiety and depression.1

It’s important to avoid alcohol, caffeine, blue-light screens, and exercise close to bedtime. A healthcare provider may recommend other techniques, such as meditation and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), if you have insomnia. These methods are part of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Research has shown that CBT-I is a highly effective non-pharmacological way to treat insomnia.10

1. Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine 

Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bedtime. Drinking alcohol may make you feel sleepy and can wake you up multiple times during the night to go to the bathroom. Alcohol also reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which supports brain function.11

Caffeine may likewise keep you up at night if you drink coffee or energy drinks in the late afternoon or evening. Caffeine can stay in your body for up to six hours before bedtime.12

2. Avoid Blue-Light Screens

Electronics, like phones, computers, and TV screens, emit blue light. Blue light has one of the most potent effects on your sleep-wake cycle. Scrolling through social media or watching a TV show in bed to relax may adversely affect your sleep.13

A poll from the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America found that people with high screen times right before bed had poorer sleep quality than others.14 Try turning off your phone and leaving it in another room at least two hours before bed to help you fall asleep.

3. Consider the Military Method

Service members typically use the military method to help them relax and fall asleep. You can use the following steps to do the same:

• Slowly relax parts of your face, starting at your forehead and working your way to your jaw
• Rest your arms at your sides, allowing them to relax and releasing tension from your shoulders
• Breathe deeply and then slowly exhale
• Gradually relax the lower half of your body, starting with your hips and working your way to your toes
• Try to clear your mind by imagining something that relaxes you, such as being at the beach

4. Exercise During the Day

Staying physically active during the daytime can help you rest. Try adding 20 to 30 minutes of daily exercise.4 Just be sure to stop exercising at least three hours before bed.

The National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America poll found that physical activity affects overall health, including sleep quality. The poll found that people who sat less during the day reported excellent or good health compared to those who sat for eight hours or more daily.14

5. Get Out of Bed

It’s perfectly normal to lay in bed for 10 or 20 minutes before you drift off. You’ll still want to refrain from tossing and turning in bed awake. It’s time to get out of bed and do something else if you’ve been doing so for more than 20 minutes.15

Try doing something like laundry or reading a book until you’re sleepy. Just be sure to avoid looking at any blue-light screens.

6. Improve Your Sleep Environment and Routine

Your environment may make sleep difficult. You may toss and turn at night if the room is too noisy, too bright, too hot, or too cold. Reducing the noise (if it’s in your control), turning the lights down or off, and adjusting the temperature may help you get a good night’s rest.15

Research has found that going to bed and waking up at the same time every day can also improve your sleep quality. A study published in 2020 found that those with more variability in their sleep-wake schedules had poorer health outcomes than others.16

7. Meditate

Meditating might help you fall asleep if anxiety is keeping you awake. Meditation can reduce stressful thoughts and feelings by focusing your attention.17

There are several ways to meditate. A healthcare provider may teach you body scan meditation as part of CBT-I:18

• Lay down with your arms resting at your sides. Take a few deep breaths to control your breathing.
• Bring your attention to different parts of your body, starting at your feet. Don’t focus on whether the sensations in your body feel good or bad.
• Breathe deeply and then slowly exhale as you become less aware of each body part
• Slowly make your way up your body until you reach the top of your head
• Continue to breathe deeply as you fall asleep

8. Relax Your Body

PMR, a CBT-I technique, can help you relax if you’re so tense that you can’t sleep. Pick a set of body muscles (e.g., your legs, arms, or shoulders), then take turns tensing and relaxing them. You’ll recognize if you’re tense in certain areas and be able to relax when you’re trying to fall asleep.19

There are also in-office biofeedback options. A healthcare provider uses a device with electrodes to see how your body reacts in tense and relaxing situations. They’ll be able to see your body temperature, pulse, or breathing rate on a screen connected to the device and check how your sleep affects them.20

9. Relieve Anxiety

Being worried about not being able to fall asleep might be the reason you’re having sleep trouble. Try focusing on something else to calm down if that’s the case.

Here are some ways to refocus your attention and relieve anxiety:21

• Challenge negative thoughts and reframe them with positive ones
• Get plenty of exercise and eat regular meals during the day
• Talk to family members or friends to help you cope with anxiety
• Try relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or mindfulness
• Write in a journal

10. Think About Calming Scenarios

You might get into bed and not fall asleep if something is on your mind, sending it into overdrive. It’s important to recognize this and then distract yourself with relaxing thoughts and images. Imagery allows you to focus on mental depictions of putting yourself in a relaxing place, which can allow your body to physically relax.

Try imagining you are on the beach, for example, relaxing in a hammock. Employ your senses: You can feel the sun’s warmth on your skin, hear the ocean waves, and smell the saltiness of the ocean.

11. Treat Any Underlying Health Issues

Poor sleep can be the result of an underlying sleep disorder. Some of the most common sleep disorders include:9

• Circadian rhythm disorders: This causes problems with your sleep-wake cycle.
• Hypersomnia: Staying awake during the day may be hard. One example of hypersomnia is narcolepsy.
• Insomnia: This is the most common sleep disorder. Insomnia happens when you regularly have trouble sleeping and staying asleep.
• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): This happens when you stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer while sleeping.
• Parasomnia: This includes walking, talking, or eating while sleeping.
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS): This causes tingly, prickly feelings in your legs. You may need to move your legs to alleviate these feelings.

Consult a healthcare provider to figure out what’s causing your sleep difficulties if you regularly have trouble falling asleep. They can prescribe remedies to treat any underlying health issues, which may help your sleep.

12. Try Sleep Medication or Supplements 

A healthcare provider may prescribe medications to help you sleep. Sleep medications are typically only used for short periods and usually not the first line of treatment. It’s important to make lifestyle changes and adjust your sleep environment in the meantime.

Medications that can help you sleep include:

• Hypnotics, such as Ambien (zolpidem) and Lunesta (eszopiclone), which are prescribed by a healthcare provider
• Drugs that treat anxiety and depression
• Over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills, which often contain antihistamines and treat allergies

Supplements like melatonin and valerian can also help you relax and fall asleep. Melatonin is a hormone your body naturally makes to regulate your sleep-wake cycle.22 Valerian is a herb that acts as a sedative.23

Keep in mind that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) minimally regulates supplements, including melatonin and valerian. These supplements can have side effects and interact with other medications. It’s important to talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist before starting any new supplements.

13. Try Some Relaxing Activities

Another way to relax your body is to try some calming activities if you can’t sleep. You may try taking a warm shower or bath, reading a book, or listening to soothing music.4

14. Use Autogenic Training

If you’re so tense that you can’t sleep, try relaxing with autogenic training. Autogenic training helps you become aware of different body parts and relax them. With enough training and practice, you can even use this method to control automatic functions like your heart rate.24

15. Use Breathing Techniques

You can use breathing techniques to sleep. The 4-7-8 breathing pattern, for example, is when you inhale through your nose for a mental count of four, hold for a count of seven, and then exhale through your mouth for a count of eight.

Another simple relaxation technique is diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing is when you take slow, deep breaths while keeping your chest still and contracting your diaphragm. Place your hand on your abdomen to feel your stomach move in and out.25 Breathe in slowly and deeply, counting to four. Exhale slowly, counting to eight. This can help you relax and prevent the racing thoughts from interfering with your sleep.

When To Contact a Healthcare Provider

Insomnia can take a toll on your mood and overall health. You may consider talking to a healthcare provider if you’ve tried home remedies and still have trouble falling or staying asleep. They might refer you to a sleep specialist who can evaluate your sleep patterns and advise further treatment.1

A Quick Review

Sleep helps your brain function and supports your nerve cells. Without quality sleep, the risk of chronic diseases, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, increases.

Try breathing techniques, reading a book, and adjusting your bedroom temperature and noise level if you can’t sleep at night. You may consult a healthcare provider if you regularly have trouble falling and staying asleep. This may be a sign of insomnia, a common sleep disorder.

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