Common sleep disorders like insomnia, restless legs syndrome can affect every aspect of your life including your safety, relationships, school and work performance, thinking, mental health, weight and the development of
diabetes and heart disease. Not getting enough quality sleep can hurt your quality of life.
Not getting the proper amount or quality of sleep leads to more than just feeling tired. Sleepiness interferes with cognitive function, which can lead to learning disabilities in children, memory impairment in people of all ages, personality changes and depression.
People who are deprived of sleep experience difficulty making decisions, irritability, have problems with performance, and slower reaction times, placing them at risk for automobile and work-related accidents. Sleep loss can also adversely affect life by contributing to the development of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Next Steps
If you have any psychological issues do consult. Counselling and cognitive behavior therapy. Such counseling helps you “recognize, challenge and change stress-inducing thoughts” that can keep you awake at night.
Health Tips
If you feel like you don't have any psychological or medical issues related to sleeplessness.
Practice sleep hygiene
Maintain a regular sleep routine
Go to bed at the same time. Wake up at the same time. Ideally, your schedule will remain the same (+/- 20 minutes) every night of the week.Avoid daytime napsNaps decrease the ‘Sleep Debt’ that is so necessary for easy sleep onset.
Each of us needs a certain amount of sleep per 24-hour period. We need that amount, and we don’t need more than that.
When we take naps, it decreases the amount of sleep that we need the next night – which may cause sleep fragmentation and difficulty initiating sleep, and may lead to insomnia and sleep deprivation.
Don’t stay in bed awake for more than 5-10 minutes.If you find your mind racing, or worrying about not being able to sleep during the middle of the night, get out of bed, and sit in a chair in the dark. Do your mind racing in the chair until you are sleepy, then return to bed. No TV or internet during these periods! That will just stimulate you more than desired.If this happens several times during the night, that is OK. Just maintain your regular wake time, and try to avoid naps.
Don’t watch TV, use the computer, or read in bed.When you watch TV or read in bed, you associate the bed with wakefulness.The bed is reserved for two things – sleep and ‘hankypanky’.The blue light from the screen can actually adversely affect your circadian rhythmUsing an inexpensive pair of blue light blocking glasses 2 hours before bed has been shown to improve the duration and quality of sleep.
Drink caffeinated drinks with caution
The effects of caffeine may last for several hours after ingestion. Caffeine can fragment sleep, and cause difficulty initiating sleep. If you drink caffeine, use it only before noon.Remember that soda and tea contain caffeine as well.
Avoid inappropriate substances that interfere with sleepCigarettes, alcohol, and over-the-counter medications may cause fragmented sleep.
Exercise before 2 pm every day. Exercise promotes continuous sleep.Avoid rigorous exercise before bedtime. Rigorous exercise circulates endorphins into the body which may cause difficulty initiating sleep.
Have a quiet, comfortable bedroomSet your bedroom thermostat at a comfortable temperature. Generally, a little cooler is better than a little warmer.Turn off the TV and other extraneous noise that may disrupt sleep. Background ‘white noise’ like a fan is OK.If your pets awaken you, keep them outside the bedroom.Your bedroom should be dark. Turn off bright lights.Have a comfortable mattress.If your bed partner snores, this could be fragmenting your sleep. Consider snoring remedies to help stop snoring.
If you are a ‘clock watcher’ at night, hide the clock.Have a comfortable pre-bedtime routineA warm bath, showerMeditation, or quiet timeSome find ASMR helpful
Some who are struggling with sleep regularly find it helpful to bookmark this page and review these recommendations regularly. If you accidentally miss some of recommendations, or have a bad night, do not fret. By following these sleep hygiene recommendations, you will help yourself to get into a routine that promotes good sleep opportunities.