Sleep problems typically involve trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or problems reaching critical stages of sleep. Sleep problems may have a variety of independent causes (e.g., drug use, having an erratic sleep schedule, etc.) or multifactorial causes (combined effects of various factors).
Chronic or severe sleep issues likely will qualify as a sleep or wake disorder. If you are experiencing sleep problems, mental health counseling can help you to determine the cause or causes and develop a treatment plan. Treatment for major sleep problems often includes medical evaluation, as well, so your therapist may refer you to a medical provider or a sleep specialist.
When investigating the cause or causes of sleep problems we want to rule out some of the most common causes first. Go through this list and see if any of these apply.
- Having an irregular sleep schedule.
If your sleep schedule changes a lot your body will become “confused” about when to start releasing sleep inducing hormones. - Using too much caffeine or using caffeine within 8 hours of bedtime.
Caffeine works by blocking the action of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. On average, the half-life of caffeine in the body is around 5-6 hours in healthy adults. This means that after 5-6 hours, half of the caffeine consumed will still be present in the body, and after another 5-6 hours, half of the remaining caffeine will still be present, and so on. Because of this you will want to put a sufficient amount of time between your last caffeine consumption and bedtime (typically 6 to 8 hours). - Over-using recreational drugs like cannabis or alcohol.
Alcohol and cannabis can disrupt a person’s normal sleep cycles. Paradoxically, these drugs may help a person fall asleep, but the person’s quality of sleep will be diminished. For example, a person may not enter the deepest, most restorative cycle of sleep while under the influence of alcohol or cannabis; or they may have trouble staying asleep once the sedative effects of these drugs have worn off. Alcohol and cannabis have rebound effects — that is, when their sedating, euphoric, or calming effects wear off, you may experience opposite effects like anxiety, depression, or agitation. - Using electronic devices with screens (TVs, phones, tablets) or being around lighting around bedtime suppresses the body’s natural melatonin production.
It is the blue light emitted from devices and sources of lighting that most suppresses the body’s ability to produce its own melatonin. The effects of blue light can be mitigated by using blue light blocking glasses, switching to light bulbs with a warmer color temperature / using special light bulbs designed to filter out blue light, or scheduling your device to filter out blue light after a certain time. It is recommended to start eliminating light sources or blocking blue light 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. - Stress / anxiety
If you are experiencing stress or anxiety you may have trouble sleeping or staying asleep. Mental health counseling can help you to work through and manage stress and anxiety. Please see our page on stress management — techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation have been shown to be highly effective for inducing sleep. - Medical conditions
If none of the above apply to your sleep issues you should be evaluated by a medical provider and / or a sleep specialist to see if there is some medical reason for your sleep issues (examples: sleep apnea, thyroid or other hormonal problems, etc.). - Side effects of a prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medicine.
If you are on a prescription or OTC medicine you will want to check with your medical provider to see if these drugs may be causing your sleep problems.