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There are times when you know that you should get some sleep, but you just don’t feel tired enough actually to fall asleep for some reason. Then the next day, you’re tired and fighting to stay awake because you spend half of the night rolling in your sheets or trying to get comfortable. Fortunately, this doesn’t need to be the case any longer – there are a few tested and proven hacks and methods that can help you fall asleep even when you don’t feel sleepy at all.
Sometimes a good weighted blanket might be all you need to sleep through the whole night. It’s also possible that your room is simply too hot, and it’s causing you to stay awake against your will, or these innocent naps that you’re used to taking are jeopardizing everything. The harsh reality is that poor sleep can negatively affect many parts of your body and brain, including learning, memory, mood, or emotions, so if you often struggle with feeling tired enough to fall asleep, it’s about time you do something about it.
Take some time to read how to fall asleep in 10 seconds and check out the six tips below to help you sleep even if you feel wide awake.
Weighted blankets have become quite popular recently, and they might just be what you need in order to feel sleepy and get a good night’s rest. The trick behind these blankets is simple – they are heavy, very comfortable, and capable of simulating the feeling of being held or hugged – all of these factors can help you fall asleep faster even when you’re wide awake. On top of that, using a weighted blanket offers a way to help you cope with anxiety, fall asleep easier, sleep deeper, and wake up feeling restored.
If you have any problem falling asleep at night, using aromatherapy diffusers can help.
Two things happen here. First of all, the smell from essential oils directly impacts the brain, making it easier for you to relax and fall asleep. Secondly, the smell of the essential oils can help smooth the transition between wakefulness and sleepiness; for best results, use scents such as lavender, ylang-ylang, bergamot, or chamomile.
There’s nothing wrong with taking a short break in the middle of the day to rest or even take a quick nap, but there are times when this habit can become a problem. If you often feel like you don’t have enough energy or desire to fall asleep at night, your afternoon naps might be the issue.
Napping two or three times a week might be good for your heart health, but daily naps may be a sign of inadequate nighttime sleep or an underlying health problem. If you can’t stop yourself from napping, try to drink a coffee (but only if it’s at least six hours before your bedtime), take a nap that’s no longer than 15 to 20 minutes, or go for a refreshing walk.
Warm milk has been used as an effective remedy for insomnia for many years now. It contains certain chemicals that can help relax your mind and body after a long day and instantly get you ready for sleep. If you’re lactose intolerant or vegan, you can try drinking warm almond milk. It’s actually high in sleep-promoting hormones and minerals, including tryptophan and melatonin.
Food takes time to digest, so if you eat right before going to bed, you will stay awake longer because your body will still be busy processing the food you ate while preparing for sleep. Wait at least an hour or two until digesting food and getting ready for sleep because otherwise, this habit might eventually stop you from getting any rest at all.
If you’re worried that you’re going to get hungry or you’re used to eating something before bed anyways, you can try some walnuts or yogurt for a quick snack.
If you need something more filling, cereal, hummus, or cheese and crackers can also be a good choice.
There are several ways to do this. Try playing music specially designed for relaxation purposes or listening to guided relaxation audio sessions online; sometimes, listening carefully can be enough for relaxing your mind and making it easier for falling asleep quickly. It is better to choose classical music over pop as it has been shown to be significantly more beneficial for relaxing purposes.
You can also try listening to so-called “binaural beats.” A binaural beat is an illusion created by the brain when you listen to two tones with slightly different frequencies at the same time. Research suggests that binaural beats in the delta (1 to 4 Hz) range have been associated with deep sleep and relaxation. You can find such beats on online streaming platforms such as YouTube.
Falling asleep doesn’t need to be a whole ordeal, even if you often find yourself not feeling that tired even though it’s late at night.
All you need to do is to make a few simple lifestyle changes, such as avoiding eating heavy meals before bed or refraining from taking naps throughout the day.
Try out the tips above for yourself. Things like using a weighted blanket or drinking a glass of warm milk can also prove to be helpful. However, if you find that you still have problems falling asleep even after doing everything you could, and you don’t feel tired enough when it’s time to sleep, consider consulting a medical professional.
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Last Updated on August 20, 2021 by Terry Cralle
Sleep disorders and difficulties are getting more and more common in the modern-day and age. We are getting used to working more and sleeping less, which is a terrible trend to follow.
Now, sleep disorders can range from complete inability to sleep, having disrupted sleep, to waking up too early. Another arising issue is not being able to fall asleep because you’re body and brain aren’t tired.
For you to fall asleep, the brain needs to recognize some signals and cues, like that it is night, that your body temperature is lowering, and that you’re physically calmed down. However, the brain ignores these signals, doesn’t produce melatonin and you end up lying awake for hours. That is why in the following paragraphs we’ll present some tips and tricks that will help you fall asleep even when your body and brain aren’t cooperating.
It is definitely easier to fall asleep when your brain and body are tired. However, when you’re body isn’t tired at all, sleeping can be a real struggle. Here are some of the ways you can lower brain alertness and wakefulness and finally get some good night’s sleep;
Even though naps can be refreshing and useful for people who generally don’t get enough sleep, napping can also disrupt your circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle. If you really need to take a nap during the day, try to limit it to 20 or 30 minutes. Other than that, you should try not to nap so your brain starts craving sleep right at bedtime.
Especially in the combination with the warm bath, by changing the sheets you will trick your brain into getting sleepy itself.
So, eliminate all sources of light and you will see how easier it is to fall asleep in the dark.Also Read:
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That can only be done via sleep, especially deep sleep. So, try going for a run, walking instead of going by car, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or simply try doing some relaxing exercises like yoga or meditation. Each should help you to tire out your body and the brain.
Both are associated with frequent awakenings, excessive sweating, and difficulty falling or staying asleep. It is recommended you don’t consume caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime, and alcohol at least 3 to 4 hours.Go to top
Accept the fact that it might take you some time to fall asleep and try to lull yourself by thinking of something relaxing, meditating, and calming.
This means that you should do everything to stay awake, and this way tire yourself and your brain out. Eventually, your brain will become tired enough that it will start producing enough melatonin and inducing sleep.
It is important to bear in mind that sleep strategies don’t often work the very first time. Because your body and brain don’t feel tired, you will need to try the methods over and over again, until they start tiring your body out.
So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t fall asleep tonight right away. Instead, use your inability to fall asleep as an opportunity to try out some of the methods and see which ones are actually helpful.
There are numerous things you can do, and if none of them work, then make sure to discuss the issue with your doctor or medical professional.
You May Also Like: 9 Fastest Ways to Force Yourself to Sleep (More breathing method )
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Image caption,New research shows that eight hours of sleep is too much. But too much sleep, as well as too little sleep, can lead to an untimely death, scientists say. Any deviation from the golden mean increases the risk of disease and even death. Why is it so dangerous, and should we all immediately give up the opportunity to “sleep off” on a day off?
How many hours of sleep does it take for the body to fully recuperate? Most people will answer eight hours. However, recent medical studies have shown that this is too much, and too much sleep can cause health problems.
The journalists of the BBC program "More or Less" decided to find out if the usefulness of the traditional eight hours of sleep is really a myth?
Dr. Greg Jacobs works at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.
According to him, over the past decade, research has shown that eight hours of daily (or rather, nightly) sleep can harm you.
"A total of 34 different studies were conducted," says Greg Jacobs. "Doctors tracked the behaviors and health of more than two million people. It turned out that the relationship between sleep duration and life expectancy can be represented in the form of the letter "U".
"Mortality is lowest at the very bottom of the 'U' arc, and this point corresponds to seven hours of daily sleep. As you start to move away from the ideal of both more sleep and lack of sleep, the risk of early death begins to rise Moreover, the risk for those who like to sleep increases faster than for those who sleep less than the norm.
So, according to Dr. Jacobs, seven hours of sleep is the ideal. Sleep less and you have a real chance of dying sooner; sleep more - and the chance of an untimely transition to another world becomes even higher.
Photo author, Getty
Photo caption,It is quite difficult to calculate exactly how much we sleep: what if we dozed off in transport?
However, another sleep specialist, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Franco Capuccio at the University of Warwick in Britain, advises not to panic. Anything between six and eight o'clock, from his point of view, is the norm. If only because it is extremely problematic to accurately measure the duration of sleep.
“In the study of sleep,” he says, “we tend to rely on people's own judgments. And they, for the most part, are not able to say to the minute how long they slept. how much we overslept. , then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.0005
Anyone who sleeps less than six to eight hours or more is at risk for health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
"If you sleep more than eight hours or less than six, then the risk of developing any of the above diseases increases dramatically. And this, in turn, leads to early death," says Franco Cappuccio.
But how big is this risk? Scientists have found that among those who are chronically sleep deprived, mortality was 12% higher than among those who sleep six to eight hours in the golden mean.
So how much sleep should we have? Despite the fact that in most cases it is difficult to rely on our own feelings, Greg Jacobs believes that the ideal can be calculated.
Image copyright, Getty
Image caption,If you love to lie in bed, you're probably fine
“Every spring, the National Sleep Organization in the US surveys several thousand adults. A rather curious pattern emerged: most of them claim that they sleep an average of seven hours a day, which, by the way, corresponds to the average sleep duration all over the world.
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Dr. Jacobs thinks that these seven hours may well be the natural cycle for a healthy brain.
After seven hours of sleep, most adults report that they feel rested and alert, and only 5% complain of drowsiness and fatigue.
However, if you naturally like to soak up under the covers, after which you feel just fine, then most likely nothing threatens you. After all, so far no one has proven with accuracy that the tendency to lie in bed leads to an untimely death.
If you regularly start yawning in the middle of the working day, and your eyes close by themselves, most likely you have excessive daytime sleepiness. Don't be alarmed: according to the 2020 National Sleep Foundation study (yes, there is one), almost half of those surveyed experience heavy sleepiness three to seven days a week. 40% of adults who took part in the survey said that this sleepiness interferes with their lives.
Zaborona journalist Polina Vernigor, specifically at the request of her colleagues, figured out the possible reasons that we constantly want to sleep.
“Thanks for the advice. Very useful!" - you will notice disappointedly. But sleep deprivation or trouble sleeping is the most common cause of excessive sleepiness. Sleep deprivation can be short-term or chronic, in both cases there are several possible causes.
The first, most obvious and easiest to solve is the wrong daily routine. If you're sacrificing sleep for TV shows, work, or morning workouts, it means that sleep is not a priority for you. In this case, most likely, you sleep too little - and the next day you suffer the consequences. If the neglect of sleep has become a habit, its lack accumulates and results in insufficient sleep syndrome.
Sleep deprivation syndrome can cause desynchronization between sleep and waking behavior - for example, you will confuse what really happened and what you dreamed about.
People with this syndrome may also be poorly adapted to the environment: concentration and ability to analyze events may be impaired. If you understand that you are suffering from this syndrome because you neglect healthy sleep, the only thing that will help you is to establish a routine and start getting enough sleep.
Insomnia is a more serious cause of sleep deprivation. If it's not caused by an irregular daily routine (for example, you're used to going to bed at 3 a.m., so it's physically difficult for you to fall asleep earlier), it may indicate health problems. In this case, you need to consult a doctor and undergo an examination.
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders also often cause insomnia or sleep disturbance. This is when a person's sleep pattern does not match the local day/night cycle: for example, you change time zones or work the night shift.
The simplest explanation is that you are tired.
Fatigue is characterized as a lack of energy - emotional, mental and physical. Therefore, it is quite logical that when you do not have the energy to do what needs to be done here and now, the body “turns off” like a laptop that has run out of charge. There is only one advice: rest. If you do not rest now, then your fatigue will become chronic, and there it is not far from emotional burnout.
Another reason why you may want to sleep all the time is poor sleep quality. This may be due to the same irregular daily routine or lack of sleep. But sometimes the reasons are deeper: for example, the quality of sleep deteriorates due to apnea - a breathing disorder characterized by short pauses in breathing during the night. It leads to the fact that a person is constantly in a phase of superficial sleep, often waking up and, as a result, not getting enough sleep. To identify sleep apnea, ask a loved one to watch you in your sleep and count the number of breath-holds, or turn on a voice recorder next to you.
There are several options for solving this problem - from lifestyle changes to surgery. But which one is right for you, the doctor must decide.
Restless legs syndrome can also affect sleep quality. It is characterized by the need to move the limbs during sleep and reduces the overall duration of sleep. This is mainly indicative of medical problems: low iron levels, kidney failure, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, pregnancy, and celiac disease (a bowel disorder that causes gluten intolerance). Other possible causes of this condition include the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, antihistamines, and calcium channel blockers.
Almost any disease that causes constant pain can cause you to be sleepy all the time.
Usually chronic diseases, in particular arthritis, hernia, arthrosis, etc. can make it difficult to sleep and make a person prone to daytime sleepiness. The quality of sleep is also spoiled by diseases of the genitourinary tract: due to the need to constantly get up to the toilet at night, a person does not have time to reach the deep sleep phase and, accordingly, does not get enough sleep.
In all these cases, a doctor should be consulted and treated. Just drowning the problem with sleeping pills in such situations is a very bad idea. After all, sleep problems are a reaction of the body to a disease that should not be ignored.
Quite. Sleep disturbances and daytime sleepiness are often associated with mental conditions or medications that treat them. Antidepressants, painkillers, and antihistamines, in addition to restless legs syndrome, can also cause general drowsiness.
Regarding mental health disorders, it is believed that 80% of people who experience depressive episodes have excessive daytime sleepiness.
At the same time, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and general anxiety disorder cause problems with sleep and can also be the reason why you constantly want to sleep.
Neurological problems that interfere with normal sleep include narcolepsy, neurodegenerative diseases (particularly Parkinson's disease and dementia), neurodevelopmental disorders, and other brain problems. During narcolepsy, for example, the brain cannot properly regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Patients with this diagnosis tend to fall asleep at the wrong time and in the wrong places.
Traumatic brain injury and concussion in most cases cause problems with sleep, and brain tumors or lesions can provoke excessive sleepiness.
Infections (such as meningitis and encephalitis) also cause sleep deprivation syndrome.
At least 31% of children with autism spectrum disorder have daytime sleepiness, and sleep problems in people with autism spectrum disorders may persist into adulthood.
Metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hypothyroidism also cause sleep problems. Medical conditions such as anemia, abnormal sodium levels in the blood, and electrolyte imbalances also cause excessive sleepiness.
Yes. Even when excessive daytime sleepiness is caused by diseases or conditions that cannot be cured, sleep can be rehabilitated with medication. But it is very important not to prescribe any medications on your own: they can make things worse.
