Can"t Get to Sleep? Here"s Why
If you can't seem to get to bed on time these days, there may be a good reason for it.
You see, our bodies have an internal time-clock that is controlled by how much exposure we have to light and darkness.
In the absence of light, and in low light conditions, that clock tells your body to produce a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin is what tells your body it's tired at night.
It naturally induces sleep.
But when you're continually exposed to light, your body doesn't manufacture melatonin.
So the more light you have into the later hours of the night, the longer it will take you to fall asleep.
This wasn't a problem in the "old days.
" There were no electric lights or television to keep people awake.
As a result, your great-great grandparents went to sleep pretty early, probably just after sundown.
Then along came electricity, and all that extra light started tricking our brains into thinking we weren't tired yet.
So people started staying up later.
But most of us have learned to turn the lights out 10 or 11 p.
m.
so we can go to sleep.
Now there's a new source of light tricking your body into thinking it's daytime: Computer monitors, netbooks, cell phones, iPads and televisions.
These devices are constantly shining light into our eyes.
So even though you may turn the lights down at an early hour, if you're still surfing the internet, playing video games, watching TV or texting on your Blackberry, you're exposing yourself to light sources that will inhibit the production of melatonin.
This may very well be the reason there are so many night owls these days...
and why so many of us have a problem falling to sleep as early as we would like.
If you find yourself staying up late on the computer or watching TV on a regular basis, try some of these tips to get back on a normal sleep schedule...
• Consciously turn the computer and television off about an hour before you want to fall asleep, and turn out most of the lights in the house.
Put away the cell phone and any other light-emitting devices.
• Spend the last hour before sleep with quiet activities like reading or listening to music.
Make it a routine, and over time your body will start connecting these activities with sleep.
• Go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time each morning.
This will train your body to sleep at night, and help it produce melatonin at the right times of the day.
• Sleep with the curtains open.
When daylight arrives, the sunlight will help your body awaken on it's own and help your internal clock reset to its natural rhythm.
If you still have difficulty falling asleep, add a melatonin supplement to the routine for a week or two.
You don't need much of it, just a single 1 mg.
tablet about an hour before bedtime.
It will help you fall asleep more quickly and, when combined with the tips above, can help you re-establish normal sleeping and waking patterns.
You see, our bodies have an internal time-clock that is controlled by how much exposure we have to light and darkness.
In the absence of light, and in low light conditions, that clock tells your body to produce a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin is what tells your body it's tired at night.
It naturally induces sleep.
But when you're continually exposed to light, your body doesn't manufacture melatonin.
So the more light you have into the later hours of the night, the longer it will take you to fall asleep.
This wasn't a problem in the "old days.
" There were no electric lights or television to keep people awake.
As a result, your great-great grandparents went to sleep pretty early, probably just after sundown.
Then along came electricity, and all that extra light started tricking our brains into thinking we weren't tired yet.
So people started staying up later.
But most of us have learned to turn the lights out 10 or 11 p.
m.
so we can go to sleep.
Now there's a new source of light tricking your body into thinking it's daytime: Computer monitors, netbooks, cell phones, iPads and televisions.
These devices are constantly shining light into our eyes.
So even though you may turn the lights down at an early hour, if you're still surfing the internet, playing video games, watching TV or texting on your Blackberry, you're exposing yourself to light sources that will inhibit the production of melatonin.
This may very well be the reason there are so many night owls these days...
and why so many of us have a problem falling to sleep as early as we would like.
If you find yourself staying up late on the computer or watching TV on a regular basis, try some of these tips to get back on a normal sleep schedule...
• Consciously turn the computer and television off about an hour before you want to fall asleep, and turn out most of the lights in the house.
Put away the cell phone and any other light-emitting devices.
• Spend the last hour before sleep with quiet activities like reading or listening to music.
Make it a routine, and over time your body will start connecting these activities with sleep.
• Go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time each morning.
This will train your body to sleep at night, and help it produce melatonin at the right times of the day.
• Sleep with the curtains open.
When daylight arrives, the sunlight will help your body awaken on it's own and help your internal clock reset to its natural rhythm.
If you still have difficulty falling asleep, add a melatonin supplement to the routine for a week or two.
You don't need much of it, just a single 1 mg.
tablet about an hour before bedtime.
It will help you fall asleep more quickly and, when combined with the tips above, can help you re-establish normal sleeping and waking patterns.
