What to Do When You Can’t Sleep
By: burgundy bug
Total Solar Eclipse
Source: Total Solar Eclipse | Penelope Peru Photography P³
Sleep disorders are a global epidemic, but they aren’t always the culprit behind why you might have trouble catching winks night after night.
Circadian Rhythm
Everyone has an internal 24-hour clock known as the Circadian Rhythm. This is responsible for the hormones released throughout your sleep and wake cycles, which regulate how alert you feel.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, there are two major energy dips that occur during the circadian rhythm that vary depending on whether you’re a night owl or a morning person. One happens during the witching hour, while the other occurs just after lunch. When you’re sleep deprived, these dips are felt are more intensely.
Although the circadian rhythm is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, it’s also impacted by light. When it’s dark, your eyes signal to the SCN to release melatonin, a hormone that induces drowsiness.
Light isn’t the only factor that could skew your circadian rhythm. Jet lag, shift work, and a number of sleep disorders can completely throw off your body’s clock.
Sleep Disorders
All around the world, the human race is unanimously failing to get enough sleep. It’s not that people just don’t like sleeping. A global survey conducted by Philips found that 96% of their participants valued sleep.
On their homepage, Sleep Cycle documents sleep statistics by country. Residents of Korea, Japan, and Iran get some of the worst quality rest. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Finland report getting in some good quality beauty sleep.
Sleep statistics by country
Source: Sleep Cycle
America is no exception. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35% of adults in America sleep get less than seven hours of sleep per night.
There are many life factors that contribute to sleep deprivation, including work and diet. Sleep disorders have also become prevalent around the world.
The Good Body reports 60 million Americans suffer from Insomnia. 22 million have Sleep Apnea, 12 million have Restless Leg Syndrome, 3 million have a REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, while 0.2 million are struggling with Narcolepsy.
Although there are many symptoms associated with each of the disorders, the most accurate way to diagnose a sleep disorder is through a sleep study.
The Good Body’s research also identified a link between sleep deprivation and obesity, depression, as well as 20% of serious car crashes.
Sleep disorders have left nearly nine million Americans no choice other than to resort to prescription sleeping medication. These same medications contributed to over 500,000 fatal overdoses in 2010 in the United States alone.
Now imagine that on a global scale.
Why You Can’t Sleep
Crescent Moon
Source: Crescent Moons | Penelope Peru Photography P³
Although sleep disorders are ravaging the lives of millions across the globe, they aren’t always the reason behind your restlessness.
While your sleep may be impacted by your day to day schedule, what you put into your body also plays a role in regulating your cycle.
Caffeine – Caught Coffee Handed
According to Villanova University, caffeine is by far the most popular drug in America, with 90% of adults consuming it one way or another. Whether it’s through coffee, tea, soda, or chocolate, Americans are staying caffeinated.
Caffeine is a stimulant. Unlike cocaine, amphetamines, and other traditional stimulants, which block or reverse the effects of dopamine transporters, caffeine acts by blocking our adenosine receptors, according to a book published by the National Academies Press. Caffeine also promotes the release of glutamate and wake-active histamines, as reported in the American Journal of Physiology.
This doesn’t mean you should blame that cup of joe you had at sun rise as you mindlessly scroll through your phone nearly 20 hours after consuming it.
However, Harvard reports the average American drinks about 3 cups of coffee a day. It may be worth skipping your second or third cup at lunch to see if it leads to any improvements in your sleep habits.
Lifestyle
The very way that you chose to live your life could also lead to a few sleepless nights.
Western societies are incredibly monochronic. Time is viewed as linear and we are held to schedules, deadlines, etc… Our lives are dominated by due dates and directed by clocks.
Both school and work may rob you of rest. Between early morning classes, night-shift work, studying, homework, homelife, and attempting to budget in a social life, the average adult in today’s day and age spends their lives scrambling to master this world-class balancing act.
Naturally, this can lead to a lot of stress, which only perpetuates the cycle of sleep deprivation. You may find your nights filled with a whole lot of tossing, turning, and ruminating over your To-Do lists piling up.
On the flip side, taking too many naps throughout the day will throw off your circadian rhythm.
Your Body’s Clock May Naturally be Off
In some cases, your body’s clock may naturally be off. This could be classified as a Circadian Rhythm Disorder.
There are multiple Circadian Rhythm Disorders including:
- Advanced Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (ASP): a sleep pattern that may be classified as an “early bird” circadian clock. These individuals tend to fall asleep between the hours of 6 and 9 P.M. and wake between 2 and 5 A.M.
- Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (DSP): a sleep pattern that is delayed by at least two hours. Although sleep is generally normal, the individual tends to prefer going to bed later at night and waking later in the day.
- Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder: sleep that is so disorganized, it doesn’t appear to follow a clear pattern. These individuals tend to get their sleep fragmented in a series of naps throughout a 24 hour period.
- Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Rhythm Disorder: a pattern of sleep that shifts a little every day. While individuals may appear on schedule one night, these shifts eventually lead to major disruptions in their cycle.
In the case of a Circadian Rhythm Disorder your body may be tuned for sleeping at times outside of what society considers “normal”. Those with ASP would be classified as “early risers” (or “reverse nightowls”, as I often call myself), whereas those with DSP would be your “late risers” or your “night owls”.
What to Do When You Can’t Sleep
Panel 1
Source: My Brain 03 | Penelope Peru Photography P³
Celeste: HONESTLY, DON’T YOU EVER, LIKE, GET BORED OF SLEEPING?
Panel 2
Rose: DON’T YOU EVER GET BORED OF BEING AWAKE?
Panel 3
Rose: I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU EVEN DO ALL NIGHT ANYWAYS?
Panel 4
Celeste: UHH…
Panel 5
Celeste: I GUESS I’LL JUST DO THE DISHES WHILE THESE DRY
If you can’t sleep, lying in bed, hemming and hoeing over how many hours you have left to get in some sleep is the last thing that will help. It’s time to tire yourself out.
Exercise
While you can’t exactly go for a jog around the neighborhood at 3 O’Clock in the morning without raising a few eyebrows, there are plenty of light and simple exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home.
Drop and give me twenty! Strengthen your core, legs, and triceps through workouts such as sit-ups, squats, and pull-ups. You could also try a little yoga.
Exercising allows you to kill two birds with one stone. Keep it up regularly enough and you may notice parts of your body becoming a bit more toned. Getting up and getting active might also tire you out enough to get some good quality sleep, after the initial release of adrenaline and other hormones your body produces while working out.
Clean
Similar to exercising, cleaning gets you up and active. In fact, even just engaging in light cleaning may burn as many as 140 calories, according to LiveScience. Knocking out your laundry or scrubbing the counters is productive and may just put you to sleep.
Night time is perfect for cleaning, anyways. Chances are, no one else is awake to interrupt what you’re cleaning and no one else is awake to mess up whatever you have just cleaned.
The only downside is you can’t be too loud. If you live with others, it may be best to hold off on vacuuming until daytime. Try to avoid banging around too many pots and pans if you decide to do the dishes in the wee hours of the nights.
Cleaning is also busywork, so it doesn’t require too much thinking. You can’t exactly mess up while cleaning – and if you do, you can always reorganize it the following day.
Read
Reading is rapidly becoming synonymous with a good night’s sleep. While some drift off at the sight of a book, other’s swear up and down that a chapter or two is all it takes to get a good night’s rest.
It’s an undemanding and somewhat “boring” activity that may relax you enough to lull your body to sleep. According to research conducted by Dr. David Lewis, reading is more effective at reducing stress than music, tea, going for a walk, and playing video games.
Reading does require some level of light, which could disrupt your sleep cycle by inhibiting the release of melatonin. However, if you’re already awake, I’d say it’s probably not the table lamp throwing off your circadian rhythm.
Work
If you can’t sleep, you might as well be making money while you’re at it.
In the first issue of The Burgundy Zine, the article How to Make Bank Without Ever Leaving the Bed details the endless ways to reap the benefits of working online.
How to Make Bank Without Ever Leaving the Bed
Source: The Burgundy Zine Issue #1: More Money, First Issues | The Burgundy Zine
Some of the websites mentioned include Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and Indeed, which are wonderful platforms regardless of your field of expertise.
For those who are artsy fartsy, your hobby could evolve into a lucrative side business thanks to platforms such as Etsy, Sellfy, Shopify, and Redbubble.
If you’re a writer who’d like to follow in my footsteps, I can’t recommend ghostwriting for Verblio enough.
Bug’s Two Cents
The stars are quite a delight outside tonight
Source: My Brain 10 | Penelope Peru Photography P³
The first time I remember pulling an allnighter, I was about five years old. I vividly remember watching sitcoms on my living room floor as my cousin was fast asleep at my side. I quietly played with Pokemon toys before sitting atop my kitchen counters and proudly eating frosting straight from the container. I went into my dad’s room to catch sunrise from the other side of the house. He was curious as to why I was up so early and just sort of shrugged when I chirped that I hadn’t slept a wink that night in response.
Since then, I have spent my life in a near constant game of tug-of-war with sleep. I can recall countless nights throughout my childhood spent watching syndicated sitcoms or staring at my ceiling.
By my adolescence, I had given up on the foreign concept of a good night’s sleep. I bided my sleepless nights with social media browsing binges and Skype calls. I’d repost, reblog, listen to music, or play video games. It also wasn’t uncommon for me to stay up all night drawing, animating, writing, or programming, depending on what my obsession was at the time.
Fortunately, I had been homeschooled from 6th grade onwards. Although I had felt the effects of sleep deprivation as early as elementary school, I mandated my schedule during my years of secondary education. It didn’t matter when I did my schoolwork so long as I got it done.
I graduated early and began college right after my sophomore year. I’m about a semester shy of wrapping up my Associate’s Degree and sleep has been a reoccurring dilemma over the last two years.
During my first semester, I opted for afternoon classes. It seemed logical. Who would actually choose to have school first thing in the morning?
There’s just one problem – what most people consider “morning” typically isn’t “morning” for me. By the time I’d get to school, I would have already been awake for well over 12 hours without any naps. I was exhausted by the time I got to class. I’d fall asleep as soon as I got home and sometimes even on the way home.
This eventually lead to some of the worst sleep maintenance of my entire life. I would wake up sometime between 8 P.M. and 12 A.M. after falling asleep sometime between 4 P.M. and 5 P.M., on a good day.
In many cases, I’d drink massive amounts of caffeine in the hopes of staying up throughout the evening. Which, would inevitably lead to drinking even more caffeine to stay up throughout the night at that point.
It wasn’t uncommon for me to stay awake for 40 consecutive hours multiple times a week. On days that I did manage to catch sleep, it was generally for about four hours. I was still awake for 20 hours at a time, day in and day out.
I don’t know how I did it. Seriously. I’m not even sure how I filled my time. I mainly remember doing a lot of homework, reading, and art. I also spent a good bit of time updating my photography website and ghostwriting content articles.
Since my first semester, I’ve selected classes that are bit more conducive to my body’s clock. I also go out of my way to prioritize sleep, unlike before.
Currently, I attend class every day from around 9 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. My sleep fluctuates, but I generally doze off some time in the evening and wake around midnight or 2:30 in the morning.
Most of my nights are spent studying, writing, cleaning, and updating both of my websites.
In Conclusion
Sleep disorders are a global epidemic, however they aren’t always the root of your restless nights. Everyone’s circadian rhythm is a little different and some individuals may even have a Circadian Rhythm Disorder.
If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, try cutting back on the caffeine or refrain from taking naps throughout the day. Engaging in some light exercise, cleaning, or picking up your favorite book for a bit might work as a short-term solution for lulling you to sleep. If all else fails, you could consider starting up a side business to help time stand a little less still while the sun is down.
In the event that your life is being torn apart by sleep disturbances or deprivation, it’s definitely worth discussing the situation with your doctor. A lack of sleep can lead to many short term as well as long term health effects and there may be another underlying condition causing your circumstance.
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