9 subtle and dangerous things that might be causing your insomnia

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:54 pm

In our society today, sleep is precious but many Singaporeans are having trouble sleeping. Why? Why are we unable to sleep despite having packed our days with so many activities and we’re usually left drained of energy at the end of the day? Well, if you’ve been doing these 9 things, they might just be the reason for your insomnia.

Exercising too late
Exercising is good. Don’t get me wrong. However, try to refrain from exercising 3 hours prior to your bedtime.  If you exercise near to bedtime, you will overstimulate your metabolism and increase your heart rate unknowingly, causing you to wake up frequently throughout the night.

Caffeine
Yes, it may be because you still retain the caffeine system within your body. And when we say caffeine, we don’t just mean coffee. Beside coffee and tea, many soda drinks such as Coke and Sprite contains caffeine too. While the caffeine level is minimal, drinking too much in a day may cause sleeplessness as well.

Solving problems
We all attempt to solve big problems or life toughest issues in the middle of the night when we’re lying in bed with nothing to do except think. Somehow, we’ll be emotional and start thinking of all the possibilities and probabilities. Trust us, 12am is not a good time to think. We won’t be able to solve those questions within the night too. So why not, tune your brain into thinking about something less stressful. That way, you’ll fall asleep faster.

Watching TV
We all have the bad habit of using our smartphones, tablets or TVs before falling asleep. Sometimes, we think that by watching boring YouTube videos or dramas, we’ll be able to fall asleep soon. What you didn’t account for is the light from the screens which will stimulate brain activity, the last thing you’d want to do before sleeping.

Brightness
Your room is not dark enough. Sometimes, it may have traces of light be it from your smartphone screens or the lamp post right outside your house. Wear an eye-mask to bed and you’ll be fine. Hopefully.

Too warm
Our brains need to cool down while falling asleep. If your room is too hot, it will affect your brain and keep it from cooling down. Having a fan would actually be good enough. The white noise produced will actually trick your brain into entering the “resting mode” much faster.

Drinking alcohol too late
To all party-goers and drinkers out there, alcohol may be the reason to your sleeplessness. Even though you think that drinking would make you feel sleepy, alcohol content actually affects the Rapid Eye Movement(REM) portion of your sleep and make you feel tired the next day.

Clockwatching
Do you have a clock in your room and do you often wake up in the middle of the night with the first thing you see being the clock? Somehow, having a clock can increase our anxiety level subconsciously. And if the first thing you do when you wake up in the middle of the night is to stare at the clock, trust us, before long, you’ll start waking up at 315 because you’re training circadian rhythms the wrong way.

Smoking
As much as smoking is thought of as relaxing for most smokers, nicotine is a form of stimulant and might keep you awake at night. Don’t believe us? Ask your smoker friends and ask them if smoking help to perk them up.

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