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Why can't I sleep at night?

212 Answers
Last Updated: 05/05/2022 at 11:00pm
1 Tip to Feel Better
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Jennifer Patterson, LMFT

Art Therapist

Life can be messy. Sometimes you need a little support to make your way through it. I love to help guide people through their challenges & to find the beauty in our messes.

Top Rated Answers
MimiEcouteAuCoinDuFeu
September 1st, 2019 8:31pm
It may be hard to find sleep for lots of reasons. First : are you in your bed ? If the answer is no : you should wonder why it’s hard for you to go to your bed. I experienced several reasons, like : (1) doing intensive cardio training late in the day, (2) not being tired because I woke up late in the morning, (3) not being tired because I woke too early, had a long day at school, and then took a long nap just before diner, (4) don't want to stop doing something, like reading, or playing. For the 4th reason, I decided to use my internet box parameters to turn wifi off past a certain hour. Now, if it's hard to find sleep when you are in bed : maybe you think in circles, remembering bad memories, (as if your brain was picking the worst chapters of the story of your life) or anticipating bad news... It warms up the body and prevent from finding sleep. I never achieved to stop my brain, but happily it’s easy to cool my body down : I stand 5 minutes in front of the open window, take fresh air, and then return to my bed (which cooled down too). And then it’s so much easier to fall asleep ! Hope it might help you !
Shanekilmartin
September 29th, 2019 10:54pm
There are many factors why you wouldn’t be sleeping at night. The most common is insomnia which is a sleeping disorder. But also being stressed can make you stay up so can anxiety depression or being on the phone before you sleep. Leaving phone away from your bedroom is always advisable it’s good to go to bed with a clear mind and wake up with one too. Going to be stressed is never a good idea having a hot shower or listening to music can help significantly or going for a walk in fresh air
Anonymous
October 20th, 2019 11:15pm
Many people cannot sleep at night because of constant worrying and over analyzing about what happened during the course of the day. I was guilty of this for a long time. I would lye in bed for hours on end with nothing on my brain but worries- worries about being late to work, about being a bad mom, and worrying about how tired I was going to be the next day from all of this! I was stuck in a negative spiral until I finally became so tired of it and started doing some research to see if I could improve my situation. I learned that many suffer from lack of sleep due to constant worrying and that developing a "bed time" routine can ease your mind so you can actually fall and stay asleep. It takes a while to develop a routine that works best for you but it can be done and it changed my life!
DarkPiT23
November 27th, 2020 3:42pm
Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, can be caused by stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Start by trying to take your mind off any racing thoughts. Picture a relaxing scene that involves sleep and build that scene in your mind. ... If that doesn't work and you're still wide awake, try getting up for a short time. ... Avoid technology, like phones, computers, or TV.
Anonymous
March 23rd, 2022 5:42pm
Maybe because you aren't tired enough? You could try exercising more so that you get more tired at night. It could also be that you weren't able to do much during the day so you try to do things at night and that ends up shortening your sleep time. Personally, after I'm at school and practices during the day, I find that the only time I can pursue my hobbies or just do whatever I want to is at night. I'm trying to set my limits as to when I fall asleep because it's been hard to wake up early in the morning if I sleep at, like, 3AM. I don't know what it is you're having an issue with but, anyhow, hope it gets better for you. :)
SupportingStep20
February 23rd, 2022 11:37pm
The answer to this question and to everyone curiosity is broken down to two main possibilities such as technology such as scrolling through social media or even watching your favourite tv programmes or simply playing games can cause insomnia and moving on to the next possibility which was just mentioned is insomnia where you feel tired and you can sleep but you can’t actually drift off as one would simply hope. When this question spring to mind think over these possibilities and if it turns out to be technology especially at night you may want to consider reducing screen time and replace with reading.
Anonymous
February 12th, 2022 3:29am
I personally had to stop having caffeine of any kind after noon or I find I will be awake all night. I also made a point to discontinue watching television or looking at my phone or computer at least thirty minutes prior to trying to go to bed so that my mind could calm down and relax. Another thing I was doing was exercising late at night, showering, and trying to sleep and the exercise made me feel too energized to sleep so now I exercise in the morning. Perhaps you can think about what your bedtime regiment looks like to see if you can make adjustments like I did that might help you sleep better.
SunnyKlouds
January 27th, 2022 6:02pm
Individuals constantly have something or the other in their mind 24*7. Mind is constantly occupied in thoughts throughout the day. At night some of these thoughts are still present in our mind and we keep thinking about it. Besides while sleeping one usually thinks about things done during the day and then about things to do the next day. Also at times we are anxious, worried about something that makes us to think even when its too much and when one should sleep and take rest. Its the anxiety, stress and worry that makes it difficult to sleep at night.
CrinoCalculateVar9
December 26th, 2021 4:53am
The probable reason can be divided into two aspects for the physical one and the psychological one. For example, probably you take too much caffeine before going to bed and certainly your brain will be active and you won't feel sleepy. For the psychological reason, you may have the hobby to think about something before sleeping so you could try to allow yourself not to think about them before sleeping. You may feel insecure when you fail to sleep as well, or you are facing some trouble caused by some psychological issues. You can ask for help from trustable people around you or ask a psychological counsellor for help! Listeners on 7cups can also listen to you if you would like to find someone to tell something worrying you! Being unable to fall asleep is a terrible feeling so hope that your problem can be solved and my answer provides some help :)
KaiZager
December 24th, 2021 1:47pm
Insomnia is a very common thing for people of all ages. It is what keeps us from falling asleep at night. It is very uncomfortable feeling of not being able to fall asleep even if you are extremely tired or need to be up early the next morning. Luckily it can be helped! There are many ways you can try and improve it by cutting down caffeine, only using your bed for sleeping and not lounging, exercising, not taking naps, and staying away from using electronics before you sleep. If you've tried all of these and it still isn't working, checking up with your doctor can be beneficial!
Anonymous
October 6th, 2021 7:24pm
Do you give yourself time to relax prior to getting into bed to sleep? Do you sit in your bed when you do homework, or when you go to bed do you sit on your phone or laptop, do you get into bed immediately after doing something active. Take some time to unwind, maybe take a warm shower to wash yourself of the stress of the day and calm your body down. Put your phone down an hour before bed, and try to read a book or write in a journal. Your brain could be running a million miles a minute and it doesn't take the time to wind down and rest.
Anonymous
October 6th, 2021 4:34pm
Sometimes we struggle to sleep because we have a lot on our minds. It might be that we are subconsciously thinking about things that we are you addressing in our lives currently. It might not always be obvious a lot of us go through life doing everyday tasks and getting on with life we sometimes might dismiss things that might be troubling us. This can be a reason why you will struggle to sleep at night Another reason why you might be struggling to sleep is because you’re worrying about tasks you need to complete the next day. That can cause us to worry and not sleep at night.
Anonymous
September 19th, 2021 2:41am
There are two crucial things to be maintained for peaceful sleep. The first is enough physical activity in the day. Our mind doesn't think we should get rest at night if we don't strain our physical body enough in the daytime. The second is keeping away gadgets 30min-1hr before sleep is mandatory because our brains get hyperactive when it gets access to dynamic information on the internet. It takes hours to get back to normal states. We can't get quality sleep until our minds return back to normal states. This is also a reason why people sleep for long hours yet wake with exhaustion/restlessness. Because they think they slept but it won't be the quality deep sleep. These two things will ensure to push away majority of sleep issues. Little things like waking up in morning, not taking naps in afternoon, intake of proper food on time will add up.
Anonymous
September 16th, 2021 7:13pm
There can be many reasons why you are not sleeping at night. It could be due to anxiety, stress, or in general just going through a lot in your life. I am also one who also has trouble sleeping at night. I have tried different things such as Melatonin, meditation, praying (I am Catholic which is why I pray, different things to help me sleep. I was desperate at times in which I took Benadryl because it would knock me out (which I highly do not recommend doing) but what I have found most effective is training my mind. I do say a daily night prayer and meditate but I try my best to focus on not letting things get to me, especially those I cannot control. I also try to workout several hours before bed (not right before) so that way it can tire me out. One app in particular that has helped me sleep is called Headspace. This app on my phone has helped me with my anxiety, as well as helping me sleep at night. Lastly, one other thing that has helped has been doing deep breathing exercises. If I am just tossing and turning, I will get up, walk around inside the house then try to fall asleep again which has helped me as well. There can be many different reasons as to why you are not sleeping but the best is to try and find what works for you so you are able to fall asleep. If you have not tried what I mentioned above, I would consider! Because it has really helped me and allows me to get a good night sleep
Anonymous
August 25th, 2021 5:42pm
There are many reasons why people might find it difficult to sleep at night. These can range from underlying reasons having to do with health to issues with sleep hygiene. If the problem persists or interferes with your daily life, consider seeing a doctor or other licensed healthcare professional for care and advice. If you would like to improve your sleep hygiene, for a better chance at sleep, consider the following: 1) Do not do work in bed, reserve the bed for sleeping. 2) Turn off all lights and TVs to maintain a dark, quiet room for sleeping in. 3) Keep your phone on silent and out of reach while sleeping. 4) Set regular times to sleep each night and wake up each day. Keeping a schedule will help reinstate your body's natural rhythm. 5) Avoid caffeine or any stimulating foods or beverages before bed. You may want to experiment with when to have your last tea or coffee of the day, as having it earlier in the day might improve your ability to fall asleep at night. If you do not notice improvement with these tips, or if your lack of sleep is persistent and affecting your life, seeing a doctor for the issue may help you find a more effective solution.
colorfulSugar8571
August 25th, 2021 4:19am
I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble sleeping! many things can contribute to this. you may be experiencing anxiety from the day that is keeping you awake. Feeling anxious will keep your body awake if it can’t get rid of the feeling or if you are anxious about specific things. depression is also a factor to consider. depression can leave your mind wondering making it hard to fall asleep at night. if you have any stress from the previous day it could also contribute to your lack of sleep. i am so sorry to hear that you are having trouble sleeping! i will be here to chat any time!
magicalSunshine5882
June 2nd, 2021 5:56pm
From my personal experience there can be few things. It could be something purely physical like having a heavy meal before sleeping or having slept during the day. Also lack of physical activity could be a major reason. People who have high screen time on mobile phones and laptops suffer from sleep depravation. Are you shutting down your screen(laptop/mobile) before 30mins of going to bed ? If you have any chronic issues like high blood pressure or sugar , you might have issues sleeping. You can check that with your physicist. Are you thinking about calming and relaxing thoughts before sleeping ? Another reason could be ,having a worked up body, going to bed without freshening up or going to bed all sweaty and in uncomfortable clothes. Please check if you are doing any of these and take corrective action.
magicalEars
May 29th, 2021 4:10pm
There could be multiple reasons a person can't sleep. Psychologically your mind isn't in a calm state. At night most people start to think about the mistakes they have done, and wishing how could they do better. But does it helps you to sleep better? Certainly not. It will just make you stress and gives you anxiety. Or you have any trauma which doesn't make you feel safe with the environment, in that case, a change of place where do you feel safe would help. If you tend to overthink, that's another thing, it's hard to control your thoughts, but it's not impossible, instead of letting it run for different thoughts, focus on one and choose that is something that makes you happy, it will calm your mind and let you fall asleep soon.
sunnydee8504
May 15th, 2021 7:26am
I used to have trouble sleeping at night. I learned that the key to better sleep was a better diet and more exercise. Also, drinking a sufficient amount of water everyday made a huge impact on my falling asleep quicker and sleeping better at night. By adding more vegetables and fruits to my diet I saw changes in my sleep as well. I also did away with complex carbs and I choose only carbs from vegetables and fruits now. I immediately began to see a change in my body and my sleep. With adding exercise, it helped me to be more tired at night to sleep more soundly as well.
Dwinn
May 5th, 2021 7:41pm
There are many reasons why you can't sleep at night. Often it is because the thoughts are too loud, even the suppressed ones, and therefore the mind can not find peace. Try to face these thoughts instead of suppressing them. Instead of watching TV or reading the news before going to bed, try to concentrate on yourself. Often we do all these things (TV, cell phone, ...) because they distract us, distract us from ourselves. So we can live our lives easier during the day but at night it all catches up with us and we start thinking about things much too late. Try to imagine a quiet place in your mind, a place where you exist as a soul. A place where you feel comfortable as yourself. But don't think about everything at the same time, don't let your thoughts overwhelm you. Just try to really notice what you are thinking. Whether it is important or not does not matter. Also try to focus on the things that have made you happy, because often we don't take the time to appreciate them and then just come to rest slowly.
Anonymous
April 28th, 2021 12:47am
There are several reasons a person might find it difficult to sleep at night. It could be physiological reasons (ill-health, flu, side-effects of medications, breathing problems etc), psychological reasons (stress, anxiety, insomnia, mania, depression and other mental health difficulties) or spiritual reasons (sin, consequences of sin, relationship with God), relational problems (relationship stress/strain, hurt, abuse etc) or simply could be sleep disorders like apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, jet lag etc. Regardless, if you're having difficulty sleeping at night, I'd suggest you go and get examined by your GP/family doctor who'll likely examine you and find out the real reason you can't sleep at night. In any case, I do hope you manage to get a good night's sleep.
Anonymous
April 21st, 2021 4:01am
Constantly being on your phone at night will keep you up. Blue light radiating from your electronic devices will prevent you from feeling sleepy. Before you go to bed, try to limit yourself from looking at your devices for at least an hour prior. Try to read a book. Practice meditation and deep breathing to calm your mind down after a long day. By doing so, it will help you fall asleep faster. Moreover, some people like to read a book at night or listen to soft music before they sleep as a way to calm the mind. I hope this helps :)
Ylbirda
April 18th, 2021 6:53am
There can be many reasons, which can make it hard to find the issue. One of the reasons can be overworked brain - first, maybe you are so stressed, that your brain can't "turn off" and calm down. Then it might be helpful to try to lift some of the stress. There are different possibilities - you can try to meditate before going to sleep, to read, or to listen to some calming music. You could also try to write your sorrows down, so that you don't have to think about them constantly. There can also be "physical" issues. Maybe you slept too much during the day and the body doesn't feel tired. Maybe you ate recently and your body needs time to process the food (it's suggested to stop eating about two hours before going to bed). It might be your brain - maybe you watched your TV/computer/phone and the blue light keeps your brain "awake" (so like with the food, ideally stop looking at screens two hours before going to bed). Lastly, maybe you had too much sugar or caffeine (the half-time of caffeine is 6-8 hours, so you should stop drinking coffee around 2 pm). There are many possibilities why you can't sleep, but also many solutions :)
Anonymous
April 8th, 2021 9:50am
As someone who has dealt with insomnia for a long time, I can talk from my own experience. An important factor that made me unable to sleep was that I always went to bed while still feeling a lot of tension. Including working out to get physically exhausted during the day can be a good way to release all this tension and sleep easier at night! However, it's always a bad idea to do it right before bed. The ideal choice is too do it a few hours before. Also, downloading a blue light filter app for my phone, so I turn it on during the night time hours, helped me fall asleep more easily. The blue light on the screen of electronic devices makes one more awake, due to it's connection with the blue colour of the sky. Lastly, consuming herbs, such as levander, can help someone relax before bed and sleep peacefully.
Anonymous
March 25th, 2021 10:05am
For me, cannot sleep at night due to financial stress. In my situation it seems like it is a constant battle of turning throughout the night, and over thinking everything. what seems to be helpful in my situation is meditation. every night before bed, I meditate. I have been doing this in the last week and it seems to be working. I turn on relaxing music, relax my mind, and just free my mind of thoughts. Once, I have freed my mind every issue is forgotten. Although, i have to do this every night, it is something that is working for me. Maybe it will help you?
kindEars2121
January 17th, 2021 10:14am
Improve your daytime habits. Regardless of your sleep problems, sticking to a consistent sleep schedule, getting regular exercise, limiting your intake of caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, and managing stress will translate into better sleep over the long term. Develop a relaxing bedtime routine to prepare your mind and body for sleep. Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool, avoid heavy meals and too many fluids late at night, take a warm bath, read, or listen to soothing music to unwind, and turn off screens at least one hour before bedtime. Get back to sleep when you wake up at night. Whether you have a sleep disorder or not, it’s normal to wake briefly during the night. If you’re having trouble getting back to sleep, try focusing on your breathing, meditating, or practicing another relaxation technique. Make a note of anything that’s worrying you and resolve to postpone worrying about it until the next day when it will be easier to resolve
Anonymous
January 3rd, 2021 10:51pm
The medical term is Insomnia which can be : Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up. Many people experience short-term insomnia, which lasts for days or weeks. It's usually the result of stress or a traumatic event. So if you are going through stress maybe because of schooling, work or some other personal problem it might be the cause of it. Usually after the source of the stress is gone you will be able to sleep again, but if you keep having insomnia for a long period of time or are unable to identify the problem that caused it you should seek professional medical help. There are currently many treatments for sleeping problems.
walkingpresent
April 10th, 2020 2:23am
There are several ways to deduct on why you have trouble sleeping at night especially in this modern era. You may already know that the blue light from your phone and TV can trick your brain to think that it is not yet night time, causing you to feel refreshed even when you are sleepy before. This is why it is not recommended to spend your time playing with your phone or watching TV right before you go to sleep. Especially if the stimulation is so high that your brain will need some time to bring the stimulation down before you can fully relax to go to sleep. I recommend you to put away your phone at least 1 hour before your bed time to avoid this to happen. There is another reason which is more uncommon - You are having a lot of thought in your mind right now, so much that you can't stop thinking about them even when you are suppose to go to sleep. This won't go just like that, at least not in a short time. You can layout your bare thoughts on a paper and write it all down until you can't think of anything to write out. Had this experience before and it took me almost 20 minutes of non-stop writing just to get my thoughts out, well it is better than not having sleep at all.
Carousel33
March 21st, 2020 1:27am
There are a variety of factors to consider if you are having difficulties falling asleep. Are you overstimulated? Are you anxious about past or upcoming events? Did you consume anything with caffeine? Caffeinated Soft-drink can contribute to that. Screens-time right before bed has also shown to contribute to the challenges. Medically, insomnia (to varying degrees) can also be the cause, Some strategies that may help include taking a bath before going to bed, having white noise in the background, meditating, or even taking Melatonin (available over the counter). Exercising before bed can also be an option if you want to tire your body out.
SirJayalot
April 2nd, 2020 2:15pm
Why can't I sleep at night? The answer might be like this: Anxiety, stress, and depression are some of the most common causes of chronic insomnia. Having difficulty sleeping can also make anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms worse. Other common emotional and psychological causes include anger, worry, grief, bipolar disorder, and trauma. But it can also be as easy, as looking at your screen (phone laptop desktop tv) before you want to sleep. So you might want to avoid that. You can try to read a book (a paper one) about 1 hour before bed. With just a little bit of light on in the room. It really changed a lot for me. Go give it a try!