What Happens When You Don't Get Enough Sleep? 12 Simple Tips to Sleep Better

Do you ever find it hard to fall asleep, no matter what you do? Or maybe you wake up during the night and can’t get back to sleep. Then the next day, you can definitely feel that lack of sleep affecting your day in some not-so-good ways.

I have some sleep issues too.

Some nights, no matter what I do, I just can’t fall asleep. Often, it’s because I can’t shut down my brain. It feels like the minute my head hits the pillow, my brain—and all of my thoughts—go into a swirling tornado.

Other nights I fall asleep just fine, but then I wake up during the night and can’t get back to sleep.

It can be a vicious cycle.

One bonus to not being able to sleep is that I’ve been reading a LOT of books. You gotta’ find the silver lining, right?! (Are you on Goodreads too? Click here so we can become reading friends!)

I learned the hard—and scary—way several years ago what happens when I get sleep deprived, and I’ve been making it a priority to get more and better sleep ever since. It’s still a work in progress, but here’s Reader’s Digest condensed version of what happened…

I’d been visiting Kamala and her family for a couple of weeks, and I hadn’t been sleeping well. Maybe it was the time change from Georgia to Utah. Maybe it was being out of my routine. Maybe it was those swirling middle-of-the-night thoughts. Or maybe it was all of the above. Either way, sleep had been rough.

I tried to sleep on my flights home, but it didn’t happen, even though I was sooooo tired.

During a work call on a layover in the Denver airport, I couldn’t even comprehend what was being said. My brain felt super fuzzy.

“That’s so strange,” I thought in my fuzzy brain state.

When I landed in Atlanta, John had texted to see if I could drive us home because he had a work call. I told him there was NO way I could drive.

Once I got off the plane, I felt like I was walking through a dense fog. I swayed as I walked down the terminal—I probably looked like I’d had one too many (I don’t drink)—and clung to the escalator handrail as I made my way to the Plane Train. When I got off, I had to concentrate just to put one foot in front of the other.

When John met me in the greeting area, he knew immediately that something was wrong. I felt like I had to fight to stay conscious the hour+ drive home, and when we finally got home, Kailen said I looked as pale as a ghost.

It took me a few days to recover and finally feel like myself again, but that experience was a powerful wake-up call about the importance of sleep.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Besides feeling sleepy a lot of the time, which can be annoying all by itself, what are the side effects of not getting enough sleep? Sleep deprivation can cause the following issues:

More accidents: Traffic accidents, workplace accidents, any accident, really
Health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and heart failure
Depression
Aging skin
Forgetfulness and memory issues
Fuzzy thinking
Lowered immune system
Increased risk of dementia Both of my parents suffered from a form of dementia, and I’d like to do all I can to avoid following in those footsteps. Dementia can be brutal.

Let’s talk about one more since “lose weight” is a popular goal. A lack of sleep can cause weight gain. When you don’t get enough sleep, a hormone called ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, can increase, and leptin, a hormone that tells you when you’re full, can decrease. So, when you’re sleepy, you want to eat more and you’re less able to tell when you’re full. That’s a problem if you’re trying to lose weight OR maintain a healthy weight.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need + 12 Simple Tips to Sleep Better Tonight

Experts say adults should aim for 7-9 hours a night. If getting a good night’s sleep feels impossible, don’t lose hope. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, these 12 simple tips can help you get the quality sleep you—and your body—need for optimal health and wellness.

Set an alarm to remind you it’s time to get ready for bed.
Give yourself plenty of time to get ready for bed so when bedtime hits, the lights go out.
If you have a hard time sleeping, try using a sound machine. “Waves” is my favorite sound.
Exercise regularly. Working out has been shown to help you sleep better! But if working out later in the day or at night will keep you awake (me!), then plan your workouts for earlier in the day.
Go to bed at the same time every night. This one is hard for me. I do fudge this a bit on the weekends, but then I don’t need to get up as early on the weekends either.
If caffeine will keep you up, skip it later in the day.
Drink some calming herbal tea.
Take a bath.
Limit the use of electronics before bed. The blue light used in electronics—anything with a screen—can decrease melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep. I struggle with this one since I read on my Kindle app before going to sleep.
Make sure your bedroom is cooler. We keep our temp at 68° at night, and it’s made a world of difference!
If you’re struggling with sleep, try taking a 15-20 minute nap (but never longer than an hour) during the day. Why 15-20 minutes? Experts at the Cleveland Clinic share that a shorter “power” nap keeps you from going into that “deep sleep,” which can make you feel groggy, not refreshed (which is the goal of a nap), and even confused, and a longer nap (60+ minutes) can also make it harder to fall asleep at night. Which is the total opposite from what we’re going for with a nap.
If your brain goes into overdrive like mine, try box breathing. Here’s how it works: Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds. Basically, you’re creating a breathing box. This can often help get your mind focused on breathing instead of on all of those thoughts.

And here’s a bonus tip: If you’re having trouble going to bed earlier (me!), aim to go to bed just 15 minutes earlier for a week, and then increase that time week after week until you hit your optimal bedtime. 15 minutes still won’t work? Aim for 5, and then increase the time from there.

You don’t have to overhaul your entire bedtime routine tonight. In fact, I hope you don’t. Lasting change usually comes from small, consistent steps, not giant leaps. Pick just one of these tips and try it for the next week, and once it becomes part of your routine, add another.

If you’d like a simple way to make a healthy sleep habit stick, grab my FREE “No-Fail Habit Formula” Guide. It will show you how create a sleep habit—or any habit!—that can actually last.

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What are your favorite tips for getting more sleep? Please share them below!