I can’t sleep well: possible causes and what to do about it

Let's take a look at the common causes of sleep problems and what can be done about them.

Problems sleeping well are among the most frequent health disorders in Western countries. Moreover, their harmful effects are as varied as they are severe, if not addressed as soon as possible.

For example, in most people, spending a couple of days sleeping less than six hours at a time causes our ability to concentrate and reasoning to decrease significantly throughout the day (although fortunately they return to normal when we return to a good quality of sleep), and if the situation is prolonged and maintained in the medium term, the chances of developing psychological and psychiatric illnesses increase significantly.

For this reason, not being able to sleep well is much more than a source of discomfort and subjective discomfort.The result is also poorer health and a reduced ability to adapt to the challenges that life presents us with. And in this sense, to understand this kind of problems is very important to know how to deal with them well.

Common causes of the inability to sleep well

These are some of the most frequent causes of sleep problems; in the vast majority of cases, there are several of them at the same time.

• Poor time management in fulfilling responsibilities
• Bad work schedules, or too changeable schedules
• Genetic predispositions to the development of anxiety problems.
• Health problems parallel to sleeping difficulties
• Poor management of intrusive thoughts and psychological rumination
• Habits that lead to staying in a high state of arousal until shortly before going to sleep.
• Routines that lead to postpone a lot the moment to turn off the light and try to go to sleep.
• The bedroom is a place where it is difficult to fall asleep.
• Side effects of drugs

What to do about this problem?

Each case of insomnia must be examined individually.The most effective solution (and the only one possible in cases where the quality of life is compromised in a sustained manner over time) is to attend therapy. In the psychologist's office it is possible to obtain the tools of emotional management and adoption of habits necessary to overcome sleeping problems, starting from the particularities of the person.

Taking this into account, there are also there are some guidelines to follow that can help to get back to sleep well within a few days. We will see them below as general tips to promote a deep and quality sleep.

1. Make sure that if you have trouble sleeping it is not because of discomfort.

Ahings as simple as being hot or cold in bed can be among the main obstacles to a good night's sleep.. That's why it's worth checking your bedroom for possible sources of discomfort: do you remove everything from the mattress when you sleep, are you exposed to noise from another room, or your own?

Sometimes, we do not see the problem for the simple fact that we have become so used to it that we do not even notice its existence.

2. Make your last hours of wakefulness free time

If you dedicate the last hours of your day to take care of your work or domestic responsibilities in the medium term, you will be generating a predisposition to continue thinking about your obligations when you go to bed, or even worse, you will run the risk of having work pile up on you and you will have to leave it for the next day. Ideally, you should be able to disconnect during the moments before trying to fall asleep, so that you can avoid psychological rumination when you turn off the light and are alone with your thoughts.

3. Exercise, but do it in the morning or at noon.

You should avoid at all costs doing sports or exercise in general a few hours before going to bed; otherwise, you will be altering your Biological clock, causing it to start working as if it were your own.Otherwise, you will be altering your biological clock, making it start working as if these sessions of muscular effort were the time of the day when you need to be most active.

However, exercise well used is not only not an impediment to sleep well, but it will help you. The best thing you can do is to incorporate it into your weekly routines with a 60-35 minute aerobic exercise session every two or three days, always taking into account your physical condition (and possible injuries you may have). This is not limited to running, you can also use the exercise bike, the elliptical trainer, go for a swim, etc.

The important thing is to use the large muscle groups of your body (at least those of your legs) and to focus more on endurance than explosive strength. That is to say, it is more interesting to do long sessions than a few movements in which you do a lot of strength.

Aerobic exercise has been shown to be effective in combating anxiety, both because of changes in the production of energy in the legs and because of changes in the body.both for the changes in the production of hormones in your body, and for its ability to make us "disconnect" from what worries us by providing short-term incentives and focused on the present moment. In other words, it allows us to reset our mind.

4. Eat well, especially in the first half of the day.

If your body has all the macronutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs, you are less likely to lack the energy to achieve your goals and less likely to develop stress or anxiety. But beware of eating heavy meals shortly beforehand, beware of eating heavy meals shortly before going to sleep.If digestion is a problem, you will also have trouble falling asleep and may wake up more during the night.

5. If you have been trying to fall asleep for a long time, get out of bed for a few minutes.

If you find that you are having a hard time falling asleep, it will probably pay to get out of bed and go to sleep for a few minutes. it is probably worth getting out of bed and spending 15 or 20 minutes to "disconnect" by doing some activity that does not require too much effort. by doing some activity that does not require too much effort, either psychological or physical: for example, reading a light novel, practicing Mindfulness, etc. Of course, avoid staring at a screen or any other light source. Lugo, go back to bed.

If you are looking for psychological assistance, please contact me.

In case you are looking for psychotherapeutic help to cope with anxiety, please contact meI am a psychologist with many years of experience dealing with anxiety and sleep problems. I currently conduct sessions in person (in Almeria) and online.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Madrid: Panamericana.
• Del Río, I.Y. (2006). Stress and sleep. Revista Mexicana de Neurociencia, 7(1): 15 - 20.
• World Health Organization. ICD 10. (1992). Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. Mental and Behavioral Disorders: Clinical Descriptions and Guidelines for Diagnosis. Madrid: Meditor.
• Reyes, B.M.; Velázquez-Panigua, M. and Prieto-Gómez, B. (2009). Melatonin and neuropathologies. Revista de la Facultad de Medicina UNAM, 52(3). Center for Genomic Sciences. Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
• Valdés, M., De Flores, T. (1985). Psychobiology of stress. Barcelona: Martínez Roca.