10 Things That Interfere With Your Sleep
Your Sleep.
Have you been wondering why you’ve not been getting restful sleep lately?
No matter how long you sleep, you don’t feel rested when you wake up.
You know you have to do something about it because your lack of good sleep is already interfering with your daily activities.
Here are some 10 things that interfere with your sleep.
Note which of them is responsible for keeping you awake when you should be sleeping.
Then try to work your way around them.
External Factors That May Interfere With Your Sleep
First… Your Eating Habits May Interfere With Your Sleep.
There are a lot of ways your eating habits can affect the quality of your sleep.
If you fail to eat well before you sleep, you could end up just rolling on your bed without being able to get good sleep.
That is why you should, at least, go for a snack (about 150 calories) about an hour before you sleep if you ate nothing else before 6 PM. This energizes your body to sleep well.
Also, if you ate too much shortly before laying to sleep, you may find it hard to sleep. Your body may be too busy trying to sort and digest the food to sleep.
Skipping breakfast could also lead to your not getting enough sleep.
Although there seems to be no connection between these two, having breakfast is a way of alerting your internal clock that the day has begun.
And when the body has gone through hours of alertness after breakfast, it slows down during the evening for a rest.
To maximize your chances of getting restful sleep, try to maintain a healthy eating habit.
Second… Noise May Interfere With Your Sleep.
Noise could also interfere with your sleep, and it doesn’t even have to be something really loud. Y
ou probably already know that the brain never stops working even when you sleep. So, if there is a constant background noise around you while you sleep, your brain notices it and tries to do whatever your brains do on sounds. This leads to extra work for your brain. And when you wake up, you feel tired or anxious.
Regular conversations around you while you sleep could reduce the quality of the sleep you would get.
It might even cause you a headache when you wake up. Snoring, continuous laughter, or a lively conversation around you while you sleep can cause your nervous disorder. Anything louder than that could increase your chances of having a stroke.
But if you are stuck trying to sleep in a noisy environment, all hope is not lost.
There is equipment that aid sleeps out there, each with the ultimate purpose of helping you get a well-deserved sleep full of sweet dreams and rest.
Third… Lighting May Interfere With Your Sleep.
Too much light in the room you are sleeping in can prevent your brain from going to rest. Our body clock often sets its timing to match the environment we are in.
Bright lights can trick the brain into thinking it is still daytime, keeping it from going to rest.
Even the little notification lights from your smartphones can keep you awake.
Although these little blinking lights may not be enough to alter your internal clock, they are enough to keep your brain from resting.
That is why it is better to place your phone face down on a surface before going to sleep. However, make sure the surface is smooth to avoid scratching your screen.
Fourth… Jet Lag and Shift Work May Interfere With Your Sleep.
If you travel across time zones very often, you may be more familiar with insomnia than many others.
The reason this happens is that you are constantly forcing the internal clock in your body into new routines, and it might take some time before it adjusts.
For instance, if your body was used to sleeping around this time, and you traveled to a different time zone where it’s daytime over there.
Your internal clock gets confused as it tries to decide if it should go to rest. And until your body decides, you remain awake.
The same effect happens to people who are engaged in shift work.
Many of these people confess to dozing off during their shift.
This is because their bodies are constantly being jerked from one “sleeping time” to another.
Fifth… Pets Sleeping Next To You May Interfere With Your Sleep.
Yes, your pets.
Pets hardly ever sleep throughout the night.
Dogs are more sensitive to noise than we are, so the slightest disturbance could trip them off. Imagine your dog jumping around in your room while you try to get some sleep.
Let’s not even get started on cats, those cute little monsters.
Proud as ever, with no respect for personal space. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night on the edge of the bed because your cat, as small as it is, managed to claim most of the space?
Or has your cat ever woken you up by standing on your head so you can feed it at 2 AM? That’s what sleeping in the same bed with pets can cost you.
Many pet owners complain of a lack of good sleep and the pets are responsible.
Sixth… Sleeping in an Unorganized Room May Interfere With Your Sleep.
You may not think this is not a big deal, but it is for your brain.
Before you sleep, your brain subconsciously captures your surroundings.
And when there is a lot of disorderliness, your brain may keep you awake until you bring order to your chaotic room.
Internal Factors That May Interfere With Your Sleep
Seventh… Medications and substances May Interfere With Your Sleep.
Some chemicals affect the quality of sleep you get.
The most common chemicals that affect your sleep are nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, and antihistamines.
Medically prescribed drugs like antidepressants, alpha-blockers, and beta-blockers, can also interfere with your sleep.
Eighth… Aches and Pains May Interfere With Your Your Sleep.
It is pretty obvious how this may interfere with your sleep.
How well do you sleep when your head is throbbing with aches, no matter how little? Or are you able to have a sweet sleep when you have menstrual pain?
Why do you wake up with heel pain? Aches in any part of the body cause your body to be uncomfortable and in pain. It would be hard for your body to get some rest in this condition.
If you can’t sleep because a part of your body aches, try to solve the pain problem first.
If you still find that the ache persists, visit your doctor.
Ninth… Anxiety, Stress, and Depression May Interfere With Your Sleep.
Conditions like anxiety, depression, and stress often interfere with a night of restful sleep.
Stress, for example, triggers some hormones in your body that make it hard for you to have a good rest. The cause of the stress doesn’t always have to be major.
People who experience these often have a hard time sleeping. And even when they are finally able to get some sleep, it never lasts long and they wake up feeling tired.
When stress is trying to keep you away from a restful sleep, try to get rid of it.
Try to get rid of anything that stresses you if you can, and if you can’t, try to find a way around the stressor so it doesn’t stress you anymore.
Engaging in exercises that tire your body can also help you to reduce stress and earn you a more restful sleep.
Finally… Medical Conditions May Interfere With Your Sleep.
There is a long list of medical conditions that could deprive you of restful sleep.
Sleep apnea is one of the leading medical conditions that can get in the way of your sleep. An individual suffering from sleep apnea could wake up multiple times in one night alone from difficulty in breathing.
Sundown syndrome is also another condition that affects the elderly, allowing them to get restless and anxious when they are supposed to sleep.
Parkinson’s disease where individuals sleep less than most people in similar age groups could also affect the quality of sleep an individual gets.
Women who are just making the transition into menopause have also complained that they had less sleep.
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