3 causes of sleep problems + tips for a better night’s sleep
A good night’s sleep allows your body to recover from the day. It positively impacts the functioning of various systems in your body and helps keep your body and mind in balance. When you’ve had a good night’s sleep, you’re more alert, creative, cheerful, and resilient. You can also focus better during the day, your memory improves, and you have more energy.
Unfortunately, a large number of people experience sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night, or waking up too early. Most of the people who join my retreats tell me that they’ve been dealing with sleep problems for a while. During the retreat, there aren’t the same distractions they have at home and we focus on grounding, bodywork and relaxation. Additionally, there’s more natural light (no blue light), and they have access to healthy food. Their sleep often improves during the retreat week because of these changes and this has a huge positive influence on their wellbeing!
Let’s dive a bit deeper into 3 major sleep disruptors so you’ll have some tools to deal with them at home.
What are 3 major sleep disruptors?
Sleep Disruptor 1 – Stress
Both mental and physical stress affect our sleep patterns. Mental stress can include anxiety, depressive feelings, relationship issues, and overthinking. Physical stress can result from inflammation, excessive exercise, unhealthy food, or harmful substances for your body. This can disrupt the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Since cortisol production always takes priority, your body may produce less melatonin in comparison. However, you need melatonin to be able to fall asleep.
Take some time to explore how stress might be affecting your body and mind. Do you notice that you’re often stuck in your head, making it hard to fall asleep? Then consider focusing more on “grounding.” By paying more attention to your physical body, meditating, spending time in nature, and doing creative activities, you’ll notice that you’re more present in the moment and less in your head. Stones like black tourmaline and agate can also help you ground and release stress. These stones are also great to place on your nightstand to enhance your sleep.
Sleep Disruptor 2 – Blue Light
Blue light, mainly emitted by electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and TVs, has a significant impact on sleep quality. This type of light, similar to daylight, can disrupt the production of the sleep hormone melatonin in the brain. Melatonin is crucial for regulating our sleep-wake cycle, and exposure to blue light—especially in the hours before bedtime—can make your body think it’s still daytime, making it harder to fall asleep.
Scientific studies have shown that blue light can disrupt the body’s internal clock, leading to disturbed sleep patterns. This not only makes it harder to fall asleep but can also affect sleep quality, preventing you from reaching deeper sleep stages and causing you to wake up more often during the night.
To minimize the negative effects of blue light, experts suggest several strategies:
- Use of blue light filters: Many devices offer settings that reduce blue light emission. Apps and software that adopt a warmer color temperature during the evening can also help.
- Limiting screen time: Reducing screen time at least an hour before bed can improve melatonin production and make it easier to fall asleep.
- Use of night lights: Opt for lamps with a red or orange spectrum during the evening, as they are less disruptive to the sleep cycle compared to bright blue LED lights.
By being mindful of blue light exposure and taking appropriate measures, you can improve your sleep and maintain a healthier sleep-wake cycle.
Sleep Disruptor 3 – Gut problems and diet
An imbalanced gut flora can also be a root cause of sleep problems.
In our gut, the amino acid tryptophan—which is derived from proteins—serves as a building block for the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Tryptophan is also a precursor for serotonin, the “happiness hormone.” This explains why sleep problems often go hand-in-hand with emotional issues, mood swings, or depressive feelings. If you’re not consuming enough proteins, or if you can’t digest them properly, less tryptophan—and consequently less melatonin and serotonin—will be available.
Additionally, low-grade chronic inflammation or sensitivities to certain foods can affect your sleep quality. Eating something that doesn’t agree with your body can cause restlessness. Moreover, consuming refined carbohydrates, such as white flour products, cookies, and candy, raises your blood sugar levels. This, in turn, increases insulin levels, which can inhibit melatonin production. If you want to eat something in the evening, it’s better to choose healthy fats or proteins, like unsalted nuts, a boiled egg, some olives, or (coconut) yogurt. Ideally, try to eat earlier in the evening and not right before bedtime.
So, consider adding more protein to your diet, especially sources rich in tryptophan, such as chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and certain seeds and nuts. Also, look into ways to improve your gut health. Eat foods rich in fiber, prebiotics, and probiotics to help restore your gut flora.
Want to read more tips for promoting a healthy night’s sleep? Read on in this blog: click here!
Do you want to work more deeply on the root causes of your lack of sleep? You are very welcome to join a private or small-scale group retreat with me here in Sweden.
Here you can find the links of my services:
– Grounding and aligning meditation-activation (free)
– Online trajectory
– Private retreat in Sweden
– Small-scale group retreat in Sweden
– Courses and meditations page
