Is there anything more frustrating than not being able to fall asleep? You’re tired, and it’s time to sink into a deep and restful sleep. The problem is that your mind wants to run through every event that happened at your 10th birthday party, 20 years ago.
All the while, precious seconds are ticking by, and you’re getting anxious. You look over at your clock, and it’s 2:00 am. If only you could fall asleep — even a few hours would be better than nothing. Unfortunately, though, your brain won’t switch off, and you resign yourself to being a zombie at work in the morning.
Does this sound like something that’s happened to you? Is it something that happens often? In principle, sleeping is simple. It’s something that our bodies need to restore themselves. In practice, though, there are times when falling asleep or staying asleep are just not on the cards.
It can happen because you are feeling anxious about something—stress and anxiety are major causes of insomnia—or even just because you watched TV too late. This is because artificial light inhibits the body’s production of the sleep hormone, melatonin.
So, if you’re not feeling sleepy, even though it’s past your bedtime, it could be time to switch off your computer, phone, and so on. You can read a lot more about how sleep works, and how to get a better night’s sleep in the infographic titled This Is No Dream. We’ve republished it below so that you can see for yourself.
You will learn:
- More about how our ancestors slept
- What the sleep stages are
- The mystery surrounding the amount of sleep we get
- Whether or not daily naps are a good idea
- More about sleep duration
- How to improve your sleep quality and quantity
- What you need to avoid to improve sleep
- How technology affects your sleep
There’s a lot of information, but it’s been condensed down into just the pertinent facts. So while the infographic covers a lot of ground, it won’t take long to read. It’s filled with interesting and actionable information.
If you want to start sleeping better tonight, give it a quick read and apply some of the ideas for yourself.
Also read: Getting Started on a Gluten-Free Diet