Sleep problems affect us all at some point in our lives. Stressful situations can put you on the edge of your seat and keep you awake. However, there are other times when you may feel like your mind won’t rest when you sleep. In those cases, you may be able to close your eyes and fall asleep, but you feel exhausted when you wake up. You may also carry that tiredness around throughout the day and find it difficult to stay active during the day. What’s going on?
Not all sleep is restorative
You may not have trouble falling asleep when you put your head on the pillow, but that sleep isn’t restorative. That is, your brain isn’t getting the rest it needs, so you have trouble getting up the next day and you feel confused and irritable.
In fact, you should know that during sleep the brain does not switch off to recharge its battery, as was once thought. In fact, some brain areas remain very active because they have to:
- Getting rid of waste substances from the daytime metabolism; that is, doing internal cleansing to eliminate toxins and repair yourself.
- Archive the experiences you have lived during the day and reduce their emotional impact, allowing you to reinforce the memories and lessons learned during the day.
However, only the last two stages of sleep – deep sleep and REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep) – are considered restorative. During the deep sleep phase, the body repairs and regenerates tissues, builds bones and muscles, and strengthens the immune system. The REM sleep phase, on the other hand, is essential for learning, memory, and cognition.
If that process is affected, it’s normal to feel like you haven’t had enough rest when you wake up, simply because you haven’t had a restful night’s sleep. Obviously, feeling a little tired from time to time is normal, but if it happens regularly, to the point of affecting your performance, you need to find a solution because it will not only affect your memory, concentration, attention, mood and decisions, but it can also trigger chronic diseases, from heart problems to diabetes, hypertension and even dementia. Researchers have also found that a lack of restful sleep affects quality of life.
Why doesn’t my mind rest when I get the recommended hours of sleep?
Excessive daytime sleepiness, a type of hypersomnia, is the feeling of being especially tired or sleepy during the day. It may be due to primary causes, such as the sleep-wake rhythm disturbance that occurs in disorders such as narcolepsy and cataplexy.
However, it can also be due to secondary factors, such as certain diseases, psychological disorders such as depression, drug intake or withdrawal, as well as chronic stress, recurring worries or even poor sleeping habits.
It’s important to understand that a racing mind won’t let you rest. Rest and sleep are not the same thing, even though they may be similar. If you go to bed full of anxiety, worries, or simply in a state of nervous excitement, it will be difficult for your brain to get into “rest mode.”
In practice, these contents remain active for a large part of the night, preventing certain areas of your brain from “switching off.” Even using your phone before going to bed, playing video games or watching action movies can be harmful because it generates a state of considerable nervous excitement. This type of content forces your brain to stay active in order to absorb all that sensory information, so when you put your head on the pillow, it simply has a hard time switching off.
You should keep in mind that the brain doesn’t have an on/off switch, but rather the process of disconnection that encourages rest is gradual. In fact, if your brain operates in a constant state of stress during waking hours, it is likely that it is losing or has lost many of the connective pathways that tell it to slow down and disconnect. In other words, the relaxation response – which is essential for resting at night – diminishes.
When I sleep my mind doesn’t rest: How to fix it?
If it is not due to a physiological cause, it is essential that you do not focus only on the moment when you hit the pillow. You may need to look back a few hours.
Remember that rest is not just about stopping work, but also about stopping worrying. It is about entering a “state of being,” letting go of the “need to do.” To truly rest, your entire “self” (mind and body) must be in a state of relaxation, which begins with being fully present in the here and now – not dwelling on the problems of the day or anticipating the difficulties of the day ahead.
Therefore, you need to develop what is called “resting awareness” – that is, understanding that resting is not just about letting your body be still, but also about calming your mind.
Practicing mindfulness meditation to combat insomnia and worries will also help you. These strategies will also allow you to develop a more balanced and serene attitude in your daily life, which will be reflected in a better night’s rest, as research has shown.
References:
Chen, N. et. Al. (2020) Association between Non-Restorative Sleep and Quality of Life in Chinese Adolescents. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health; 17(19): 7249.
Rusch, H. L. et. Al. (2019) The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Ann N Y Acad Sci; 1445(1):5-16.
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