I seem to hear from a variety of people that they struggle to fall asleep at night; but the difficult to fall asleep sounds like an evolutionary downside. Even as hunter-gatherers, being able to sleep whenever and wherever sounds like it would be an advantage.
Is it a recent product of modern times and people didn’t actually struggle with it a while back? In which case, what of modern life is causing this? If not, what is the evolutionary advantage of not falling asleep easily?
I’ve had extreme difficulty falling asleep since being little, one of my earliest memories is of not being able to sleep and being up at 4am still.
Of course stuff like late-day caffeine; blue wavelengths of light; adrenaline from gaming / exciting TV; lack of exercise etc can all hinder sleep, but for some it’s a chronic issue. Melatonin is a big help but my current GP practice has gone to ridiculous (imo negligent) lengths to not prescribe it for me, and it’s hideously-expensive online here (UK).
My biggest tip is: get a colour-changing remote bulb for your bedroom & living room, set it to red light in the evening; and if you can manage it, do something that doesn’t involve electronics for 45mins before you plan to go to sleep. I try to read a book under red light.
This is because we have retinal cells that respond to blue wavelengths of light, to breakdown melatonin. Our bodies produce melatonin in the evening to make us sleepy; the bright white lights in our homes / TV etc are full of blue wavelength and actively disrupt our melatonin cycle.
This is very, very good advice. Thanks a lot for that, much appreciated. 🙏
No problem, hope it helps you sleep better! I used to love that I could stay up much longer than my friends, back in the day when I went clubbing every weekend. Once I found out the main function of sleep - flushing the brain with cerebrospinal fluid, it’s like an engine running in a closed box (blood brain barrier) - I found it horrifying and it really gave me a kick up the bum to take my sleep more seriously.