World Sleep Day 2024: Eight Causes of Insufficient Sleep

The World Association of Sleep Medicine founded World Sleep Day in 2008, and it is celebrated on the third Friday of March every year. Its major goal is to increase public understanding of the critical role that sleep plays in preserving general health and wellbeing. This day, which is observed by more than 70 nations globally, serves as a reminder of how important it is to get enough good sleep first.

The 2024 World Sleep Day topic, “Sleep Equity for Global Health,” highlights the need to guarantee fair access to sufficient sleep for all individuals, underscoring its significant influence on health consequences.

On this day, we have the chance to spread knowledge about a range of topics linked to sleep, such as medicine, healthcare, education, and sleep disorders, as well as their effects and methods for improving the quality of one’s sleep.

If sleep disturbances—which may range in severity from moderate to severe—are not adequately handled, they might have a major negative influence on people’s lives. Chronic sleep deprivation is caused by a number of circumstances, that call for attention and treatment.

To assist people in recognizing possible barriers to getting a good night’s sleep on World Sleep Day, we’ve put up a list of some typical causes of insufficient sleep.

unhealthy eating habits
A diet heavy in sugar, processed foods, and bad fats might cause problems with sleep quality. Foods high in spice might aggravate heartburn. Overly substantial meals have the potential to cause obesity and discomfort in the long run.

Workouts done late at night in the evening
Exercises done late at night might raise your heart rate and keep you awake. Therefore, reschedule your exercise a few hours early in order to get adequate sleep.

unhealthy sleeping patterns
This includes erratic sleep patterns, naps that are taken too late or for too long, and setting up an unpleasant sleeping environment with excessive heat, light, or noise. Give up using electronics just before bed or working late at night; these activities can be contributing factors to your insufficient sleep.

Anxiety and stress
Prolonged stress and worry may seriously interfere with sleep cycles and make it hard to go to sleep or remain asleep. Sleepy mornings after restless nights make you more tense and increase the likelihood of having another restless night. But you can reset your body and yourself with a few weeks of rest and relaxation.

Eating just before going to bed
Eating large meals just before going to bed might cause physical discomfort during the lying down process. Heartburn, or the backflow of food and acid into the oesophagus, may cause insomnia after a meal.

Sleep disorders: A number of conditions may have a substantial influence on the quality of your sleep, including insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome. Therefore, make an appointment with your physician to discuss your sleep issues and have a thorough medical assessment that will rule out any underlying medical illnesses.

Taking alcohol and coffee
Even while caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea, cola, and others give you a quick energy boost, if you drink too much of them in the morning or later in the day, they may disrupt your sleep pattern since caffeine takes up to six hours to leave your body. Similar to how overindulging in alcohol or tobacco products might help you fall asleep, doing so later in the evening degrades the quality of your sleep.

Absence of exercise
Frequent physical activities may enhance the quality of sleep, such as walks, yoga, meditation, running, cycling, and swimming; but, exercising too soon before bed might have the opposite effect.