We all have sleepless nights when we turn from side to side and can’t find the right position to fall asleep.

Have you ever wondered what the cause is?

It can be different for everyone, so we will list 10 general causes that affect the quality of sleep with a detailed description of the indirect factors that contribute to insomnia.

#Empty stomach

The last meal should be consumed a few hours before bedtime. Not coincidentally, we often hear that the ideal interval between going to sleep and eating something is three hours.

This is the time in which our body has had time to digest the food and is not demanding another dose of calories. If the interval were to last longer, there would be a good chance that we would experience hunger, which would have a bad effect on the quality of our sleep.

Remember not to be influenced by the hours at which we eat, but more by the hours at which we fall asleep and get up. It is to these that we can perfectly adjust the schedule of our food intake.

#room temperature

It is very important to ventilate the room properly before going to sleep to refresh the place where we fall asleep.

Fresh air oxygenates the brain, which makes us feel more relaxed and helps to put us in a melancholic mood.

The temperature in the room should be between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius, which is best suited to our climate.

#Excessive thoughts

This is perhaps the hardest issue related to proper sleep. Days, when we have a lot of unresolved issues before going to bed, will not be conducive to our falling asleep, in fact, the opposite.

A very good way to solve this problem is to write down all the thoughts going through your head on a piece of paper.

We will then be sure not to forget anything the next day and that every thought has been transferred safely to paper.

#Caffeine

The first thing we think of when we read this headline is coffee. We’re right. Coffee, as well as other caffeinated drinks, makes it difficult to fall asleep freely. We can also include Coca-cola and all kinds of energy drinks.

Few people know that tea, like coffee, is an energy drink – it contains theine, a substance that acts in the same way as caffeine.

White and black tea has the highest theine content, so excluding them before bedtime would be a good suggestion. You can also replace them with herbal or calming teas.

#Cigarettes

Cigarettes raise blood pressure, and heart rate and speed up the heart rate. In general, they stimulate the body by producing endorphins. This does not have a good effect on falling asleep because after smoking a cigarette you feel highly stimulated for the next 20 minutes.

After this time, blood pressure drops considerably, and heart rate decreases. Eight hours after the last cigarette is smoked, the amount of oxygen in the blood increases and the amount of carbon dioxide decreases, which is why non-smokers sleep better and more efficiently than smokers.

If you are a smoker and don’t want to change this- at least try to reduce smoking before bed. It will work in your sleep’s favor.

#Training

Physical activity in everyone’s life is a very important element. It affects mental health as well as physical health. It leads to a healthy lifestyle and regulates respiratory processes in the body.

Unfortunately, we should not always train. Workout-like energy substances-raises blood pressure and heart rate, so it is discouraged to do it immediately before bedtime and at times close to sleep.

#Unregular sleep

A very important factor affecting sleep is its regularity. Getting up and going to bed at the same hours every day supports the proper functioning of a person and provides energy for the whole day.

It brings balance to our lives because it normalizes the day and helps with time management and day planning.

The most effective hours of sleep are between 23:00 and 7:00, so it is very good to fall asleep during such periods.

#Stress and negative emotions

Tension and nervousness focus thoughts on negative situations. Our mind stops thinking rationally and puts all its energy into tormenting ourselves with failures.

Note that every negative emotion entails another one, and this is how we get into a whole vortex of unpleasant thoughts. We start winding ourselves up and focusing only on our failures, forgetting about the positive situations in the day.

This also affects our sleep because we feel a constant barrage of thoughts that do not allow us to relax and unwind before falling asleep, resulting in insomnia. In stressful situations, it is the same – we get nervous and think about what is going to happen – which makes us stressed.

#Lack of routine

Habits are activities that we acquire through exercise or regularity.

A very good method for falling asleep is to create a list of activities for ourselves to do before we go to bed.

These can be a few things that relax us or things that are important for us to do in the evening. A lot of people are not aware of their habits, which they have had for years. For example, washing the body, and teeth and pinning up the hair before bed is a habit – if it is a constant in one’s life.

Example: I always make myself herbal tea before bed, then go and brush my teeth and wash my make-up off my face- after which I apply the cream. I go to bed and wait for the cream to be completely absorbed into the skin of my face. I turn off the internet and set my alarm clock for 8 a.m. These are my pre-sleep habits.

#Using the phone/computer/TV before bed.

We have all day to ‘sit on the phone or watch TV. I always wonder: Why do people watch TV in the evenings instead of getting down to a good book and not tiring their eyes?

Realize this:

staring at a screen for more than two hours a day causes headaches, neck pain, and eye problems. Some of us work on a computer, which means we spend eight hours a day staring at a monitor. This is still nothing. We come home after a day’s work and what do we do? We sit down in front of the TV because we need to relax.

Let’s think about how we tire our eyes when we do this and to what extent it affects our sleep.