Insomnia is a common disorder of sleep. It makes it difficult to fall asleep at night or stay asleep. It can leave you feeling tired, irritable, and unfocused. Good sleep is essential for good health, so it’s worth taking time to address your insomnia, what’s causing it, and what you might be doing that makes it worse.

What’s Causing Your Insomnia?

Understanding the causes of your insomnia will help you avoid the things that could be making it worse. There are different types of insomnia based on individual factors, causes, duration, and more: chronic insomnia, postpartum insomnia, insomnia after quitting drinking, depression-related insomnia, and more.

Bad Habits to Break That Make Insomnia Worse

Everyone is different, and it’s important to know what triggers your insomnia. There are also several factors that usually worsen insomnia for anyone. Try breaking these habits to get better sleep:

1. Taking naps. Insomnia can leave you feeling drained, fatigued, and muddled. A nap might seem like a sensible way to make up for lost sleep, but it also interferes with your ability to sleep at night. Try avoiding naps, especially in the afternoon.

2. Using alcohol to wind down. A glass of wine can be a relaxing way to end the day, but it could be messing with your sleep. Alcohol acts as a sedative, which can help you fall asleep faster, but the effect eventually backfires. As the night wears on, alcohol interferes with your ability to get deep sleep. It will cause you to wake up more in the second half of the night.

3. Ignoring the stress in your life. Stress is a huge factor in insomnia. If you have been putting off dealing with stress, it will impact your sleep. Learn how to cope with stress through exercise, meditation, deep breathing, and other healthy strategies. Eliminate sources of stress where you can.

4. Perking up with an afternoon coffee. Like an afternoon nap, coffee is a useful way to get through the day. It can also worsen your insomnia. Caffeine can stay in your bloodstream for ten hours, so avoid it, especially in the afternoon.

5. Using devices before bed. Screen time impacts your ability to fall asleep in several ways. The blue light from screens disrupts melatonin and staves off sleepiness. Also important is how you use screens. Working on your device, watching an exciting movie, or even reading an ebook can interfere with the ability to fall asleep. Limit screen time and only use devices for relaxing activities, like meditation or sleep sounds.

6. Avoiding exercise. It’s tough to summon the willpower to work out if you’re tired, but avoiding it only makes insomnia worse. Even if you only have the energy for a walk around the block, try to be active every day for better sleep.

Stop these bad sleep habits and start new ones. The BetterSleep app can help you fall asleep faster and get more rest with guided meditations, soothing music, and bedtime stories. Good sleep is so important to overall heath that it’s well worth your time to recognize and change bad habits.

Take a look at our insomnia article.