Nights can feel long when your body won’t settle.
Some people notice it as a mind that switches on when the lights go off.
Others wake in the night and toss and turn until morning.
Some only notice it when they can't function without coffee.
Maybe you feel:
- drained
- foggy
- restless
- worn down
Your nervous system needs to feel safe enough to shift into rest.
Trouble sleeping is often your body asking for safety and rhythm.
What are Sleep Concerns?
Sleep concerns are struggles with falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping deeply.
Sleep is how your body restores itself.
It affects your mental health and your immunity, memory, mood and capacity to learn.
Sleep can be difficult for many reasons, including stress, trauma, pain and life stages.
Poor sleep is common across ages and stages, from students under pressure to people working nights.
It can look different across people, from lying awake for hours to waking too early or sleeping too much.
Sleep is often one of the first things to change when life feels like too much.
Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Concerns
Physical
- fatigue
- headaches
- low energy
- tense body
Mental
- clock watching
- racing thoughts
- replaying the day
- trouble focusing
Emotional
- bedtime dread
- irritability
- low mood
- worry about sleep
Social
- canceling plans
- late-night scrolling
- sleeping apart
- snapping at people
What Causes Sleep Concerns?
Sleep can be disrupted by what’s happening in your body, your past and your days:
- Your body: pain, hormones, illness, some medications and your natural body clock can affect sleep.
- Your experiences: stress, loss, trauma or a new baby can leave your body on alert at night.
- Your relationships: conflict, loneliness or sharing a bed with someone restless can make rest harder.
- Your circumstances: shift work, early starts, screens and long dark winters can pull your rhythm off track.
Worrying about sleep can keep you awake, which makes the next night feel harder.
Trouble sleeping makes sense, given everything your body carries.
Sleep and Your Nervous System
Sleep depends on your nervous system shifting out of alert and into rest.
That shift is shaped by stress, trauma, your surroundings and your natural rhythm.
Every cell in your body has its own clock, kept in sync by a master clock in your brain.
Some people are morning types and others are night owls, and teens shift later for biological reasons.
Staying alert at night can be your nervous system’s way of protecting you.
Bringing your days a little closer to your natural rhythm can help your body rest.
Sleep and Trauma
What if night is the hardest time to feel safe?
After trauma, you can stay alert even when you want to sleep.
You might be listening for movement, sounds or other changes.
Nightmares can also bring your struggles into your sleep, making bedtime feel risky.
That’s part of why you can feel exhausted and still be unable to rest.
Sleep concerns after trauma can look like keeping a light on, facing the door or falling asleep on the couch.
Each of these once helped you feel safer when you were vulnerable.
With enough safety, rest can start to feel possible again.
Ways to Care for Yourself
Let rest be enough
If sleep won’t come, let yourself rest in the dark. Resting still gives your body a real break.
Make it feel safer
Keep a light on, a door open, a pet nearby or use a heavy blanket if it helps. Whatever feels a little safer.
Be gentle
If you wake at night or can't fall asleep, meet yourself kindly. Talk gently with yourself and be curious.
Follow your rhythm
Notice when you naturally feel sleepy or alert. Let your body’s own timing guide you when you can.
When to Get Help
You might tell yourself you’ve always been a bad sleeper.
But poor sleep can wear down your mood, health, relationships and patience.
It might be time to reach out if sleep:
- brings nightmares
- fills you with dread at bedtime
- is hard to fall into or stay in
- leaves you exhausted anyway
It doesn’t have to be extreme to reach out.
When you feel exhausted, it’s time to get help.
Therapy can help your body feel safe enough to sleep.
Questions About Sleep
Why am I tired but can’t fall asleep?
Why do I wake up every night?
Why do I dread going to bed?
Why do I sleep better on the couch?
How much sleep do I need?
Can therapy help with insomnia?
Are nightmares a sign of trauma?
Why do teens stay up so late?
Resources for Sleep in Alberta
If you're in crisis, call or text 988 any time, day or night. For more crisis lines across Alberta, visit our crisis support page.
Support Lines
- Mental Health Helpline: 1-877-303-2642. Free support and referrals for anyone in Alberta, 24/7.
- 211 Alberta: Call or text 211, or chat online, to find local mental health services and community supports.
- Health Link: 811. Talk to a nurse any time, including at night, about sleep or medication questions.
Learn and Practice
- MyHealth Alberta: Read about sleep problems on Alberta's trusted health information site.
- Insight Timer: A free app with sleep stories, music and guided practices for winding down.
- Togetherall: Free, anonymous online peer support, moderated around the clock, for Albertans 16 and older.
Related Topics in This Library
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