If there’s one thing we haven’t mastered, it’s good quality sleep. Good sleep continues to evade even the best of us trying to fix our sleep issues. But what makes it difficult for us to fall and stay asleep?
Science has provided extensive knowledge about our sleep problems, from the impact of our sleep routine and mattress quality to the influence of late-night caffeine and screen time. Yet, we are only beginning to understand the full scope of our struggles with sleep.
Current research has unveiled other significant factors that can disrupt our sleep and, if left unchecked, can cause substantial harm to our overall health. Here are three key reasons you might need help to get a good night’s sleep.
Effects Of Trauma On Sleep
Experiencing trauma may increase the risk of mental and physical health issues, which has the potential to affect sleep quality, according to the Sleep Foundation. Trauma can be personal and vicarious. Personal trauma is a direct experience of a distressing event, while vicarious trauma is the emotional residue of exposure to another’s traumatic experiences.
Various sleep disorders develop following a traumatic event, including TASD, also known as trauma-associated sleep disorder. TASD consists of trauma-related nightmares and disruptive nighttime behaviors and shares similarities with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a 2024 review published in Sleep Medicine Clinics journal. Other sleep issues that are common after a traumatic event include alertness and hyperarousal, which are some symptoms of insomnia.
Additionally, after experiencing trauma, many people have trouble falling asleep, wake up more often during the night, and have difficulty falling back asleep. It will require an effective trauma-informed intervention to address sleep issues related to trauma directly.
The Strain Of Overwork
While sleep is crucial for our mental and physical well-being, overworking ourselves can lead to sleep difficulties, as highlighted in recent research from the International Journal of Social Psychiatry. Overwork also harms our quality of life and longevity and leads to less productivity. And even business titans have taken notice. For instance, Arianna Huffington has how a collapse from exhaustion led to her increasing passion for the connection between well-being and productivity—and ultimately founding Thrive Global, a platform working to beat burnout.
Tesla, SpaceX, and X, formerly Twitter CEO Elon Musk, recently stated he now makes an effort to sleep at least six hours per night. Also, Bill Gates, in recent years, has noted the importance of getting enough sleep and at least seven hours of sleep. Overworking is not a badge of honor; it should serve as a wake-up call to prioritize our sleep and make necessary changes to our work habits.
Poor Sleep Environment
The journey toward better sleep also involves our bedtime routines’ effectiveness or lack thereof. Creating a restful environment is part of good sleep hygiene, including ensuring environmental conditions (temperature, noise, light, bed comfort, electronic distractions) are ideal. According to the National Institutes of Health, such conditions can play a significant role in one’s ability to get proper sleep—and, subsequently, in overall sleep-related wellness. However, creating an ideal sleep environment also includes having a healthy mental state before bedtime. One example is avoiding negative news, as it can feed negative thoughts and increase hypervigilance and the risk of vicarious trauma.
Still, we cannot ignore existing sleep disparities. New research published in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine journal shows that environmental factors (e.g., noise, uncomfortable temperature, light exposure) related to urban poverty may disturb children’s sleep and asthma. Hence, each person should create the right sleep environment, implement new approaches, and do what works for them in their given situation. But a good sleep environment should not just be a responsibility we place on individuals. Society can put equitable systems in place for those who lack resources to address worsening sleep health issues. It could include community programs that provide sleep education and resources or policies that promote healthy work-life balance.
The last few decades have seen a mountain of research showing how deeply connected sleep is to our health, well-being, and productivity. But despite recent progress, sleep deprivation remains an issue in our society. When we prioritize sleep, our decision-making, creativity, and productivity improve dramatically. Now is the time to invest in sleep and rest for an improved quality of life. As acclaimed American novelist Robert A Heinlein once said: “Happiness consists in getting enough sleep.”
