Picture this. It’s a late summer evening, and you’ve just finished up your nighttime routine. After brushing your teeth, you head to bed and get comfortable - prepared for a good night's rest. In a matter of minutes, you enter a restful sleep and awake the next day feeling rejuvenated, energetic, and satisfied with your sleep.

If only this were true. Instead, you’re still questioning yourself: “why can’t I sleep through the night?” If only you could figure out what was going on with your sleep and why you seem to be having so many problems. Even when you’re tired and your eyes are closed, you still can’t sleep.

In today’s article, we’ll be breaking down several factors that could be causing your inability to sleep. Keep reading to learn more.

Lifestyle choices

There are many activities and choices we make throughout our day that could impact our ability to sleep at night. This includes things like consuming caffeine close to bedtime, not getting enough exercise, and even exposure to bright lights before bed.

All these factors can affect our sleep negatively. When you expose yourself to too much light close to bedtime you risk slowing or even stopping the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that’s responsible for feelings of drowsiness before bed.

Caffeine can interfere with our circadian melatonin rhythms. If it’s consumed too close to bedtime it can cause difficulties in falling asleep. And it’s not fully understood why exercise can help with sleep, but researchers say its ability to stabilize mood and clear your mind could be a reason why.

There are many moving parts involved with sleep, and your lifestyle could just be one reason why you’re having trouble falling asleep. Practicing habits that help with sleep, and avoiding habits that prevent sleep will help you in the long run.

Comfortability and relaxation

Attempting to fall asleep when you’re uncomfortable can be a serious task. And it plays an important role in your ability to relax. A comfortable mattress, pillow, sleeping environment, and even position can do wonders in helping you get a good sleep.

As mentioned above, it helps you relax. However, sometimes you may find yourself still unable even with all your comfortable sleeping options. For example, loud noises can make it hard to sleep, and some people can’t sleep due to anxiety.

It’s best to create a comfortable and quiet environment if you want a good night's rest. If you experience overwhelming thoughts at night, taking part in a relaxing routine can help as well.

Meditation, breathing techniques, and even reading before bed are just a few things to do when you can’t sleep.

Sleep disorders

When you can’t sleep there may be many reasons why. A common problem people face is dealing with sleep disorders.

Sleep insomnia is by far the most common one, it’s defined as your inability to sleep at night or through the night. It can be caused by many factors we’ve already discussed such as coffee, anxiety, and even jet lag.

Sleep apnea is another common disorder. With sleep apnea, your breathing stops temporarily during sleep, which results in people awakening from their slumber.

There are so many moving parts with sleep it can be hard to boil down the exact problem you might be facing. Whether you can’t sleep because your heart is beating fast at night, or your mind is racing and you can’t sleep from anxiety. Whatever the case may be, working on each aspect can help you have a better night's rest.

BetterSleep also offers a variety of techniques to use to help you fall asleep. Try BetterSleep for free today!