5 Common Causes of Insomnia to Avoid

5 minutes

When you go to bed try to change your habit of checking email on your phone to a good book or magazine to avoid overstimulating your brain

Last update: 18 November, 2018

How many times each month are you having trouble sleeping? Is recurring insomnia a problem in your life? Is your lack of sleep interrupting your normal daily activities? If so, then it’s time to start taking action. We’re bringing you 5 common causes of insomnia that you need to avoid!

Getting deep and restful sleep improves your quality of life and gives you the energy you need to get through the day. But sometimes it’s easy to make mistakes that are unknown to us but which overexcite the brain and the body, keeping you from getting adequate rest at night.

In today’s article we invite you to learn about some of the bad habits that can cause insomnia.

1. I have to sleep, I have to sleep…

This is a most common causes of insomnia. We’ll start by giving you a simple example so you’ll understand what we mean. You come home late from work and you’ve made a list of countless things you need to have done by the end of the day. When you’ve finished everything, you suddenly realize it’s very late.

You climb into bed and close your eyes while saying to yourself, “I have to go to sleep right now or I won’t get enough rest to face tomorrow.” Do you know what happens every single time you do that? You lay awake for hours!

Your brain needs to be able to “switch off” and relax at least two hours before you go to bed. When you focus your attention on one thing it can raise your stress levels, keeping you from being able to relax.

What’s the solution? Try not to do anything that causes you anxiety before going to sleep. Finish the work you have to do two hours before going to bed and then read a good book to distract your mind. Sleep will come on naturally.

2. Erratic schedules: one of the main causes of insomnia

Your body needs routine and habits, ways to help it regulate its basic needs like food consumption and sleep cycles. What does that mean? You can’t go to bed at 10pm today and 2am tomorrow. Try to stick to a pattern and a more regular schedule.

Ideally you will be able to eat dinner two hours before going to bed, giving your body time to digest. This is also the time that your brain must begin to rest and you can simultaneously relax your muscles by taking a hot shower. The best time to go to sleep is always between 10:30 and 11pm, although that doesn’t mean that on occasions you can’t stay up a little longer.

3. Electronic devices

Another of the common causes of insomnia are our electronic devices. How can you not check your emails, keep an eye on Facebook and Instagram, send a few text messages, or watch a movie or TV show? It’s very common. But you should also be aware that the screens of electronic devices overstimulate the brain with electromagnetic waves, so it’s important to maintain a balance.

Your TV won’t cause as many problems with sleep as a cell phone, tablet, or laptop, for example. Why not? Usually you’re watching TV from a distance, where the brain isn’t as stimulated. Regardless, however, the best way to avoid insomnia is to turn off all your devices and pick up a book (yes, a book!) or a magazine.

See also: Four Negative Effects of Cell Phone Use That You Did Not Know

4. What do you eat at night?

Many people come home very hungry after a long day at work, consistently making dinners that take their stomach too long to digest. You might think of this the last part of your day, but what you’re actually doing is giving your body an “extra” task to complete when you should really be sleeping.

Try to make lighter dinners that have some protein but are also easy to digest and fat-free. Soups, steamed vegetables, fish that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and teas are always great choices.

Beware of pre-cooked meals. We all know that these are easy and quick to prepare when you come home and don’t feel like cooking. However, they usually contain high levels of preservatives and refined ingredients that make them enemies of your health and only enhance your insomnia.

Read more: 7 Foods that Aren’t Good to Eat at Night

5. The worries in your head

Stress and anxiety that build up during the day tend to emerge especially at night. They wait until you climb into bed and are suddenly surrounded by the silence. That’s when that inner voice almost obsessively appears, reminding you of all your worries. You’ll find yourself thinking about these things for hours when you should be sleeping instead.

Managing stress is complicated and not always easy. But it’s important that you set priorities and ensure that your problems don’t become the most important thing in your life. Let off some steam, breathe deeply, and go to bed free from all the clouds trying to form inside your head.

Put these tips into practice and you’ll avoid these common causes of insomnia, and get some much needed sleep!