Why you can't fix sleep issues with short term solutions

Do you feel like you just can't sleep no matter what you do or try?

Are you ready to give up and accept your fate?

Before you do, please read this:

This week, I had a really interesting conversation with one of my work colleagues.

He has been struggling with sleep pretty much all of his life.

He told me he only gets about 4-5 hours every night and that he had tried pretty much everything under the sun.

This situation has become normal to him and he has accepted it because this is just how it's always been.

Sounds familiar?

He grew up in a strict household, his faster made everyone get up at the same time every morning so his body started getting used to it from an early age.

He joined the Belgian army at a very young age and being able to sleep less was seen as a great quality since he also passed all of the health tests with flying colours, he didn't feel like it was something he should worry about.

But as he left the army, got older and started his corporate career, he started noticing how not getting enough sleep was really affecting his health and wellbeing.

He has done sleep studies, been to many specialists and later in life was also diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (a common sleep disorder affecting our ability to breathe at night).

When I started digging deeper, it became clear that many of the methods or supplements he tried were not designed to get to the underlying issues he was having.

His body had not only been conditioned to follow a specific schedule over the years but the stress, worries and thoughts about his work and personal life would keep him up at night.

He would always wake up very early in the morning and both his mind and heart would be racing.

I also discovered that work life balance is pretty much non-existent for him.

Although he is in a very happy relationship, has a beautiful daughter, a house on the beach in Spain and an active social life, he also constantly checks his phone for emails and messages from colleagues across the pond, struggling to detach and disconnect from work.

He is extremely passionate about what he does which makes it hard for him to disconnect. The first thing he does when he wakes up at night is check the clock and his phone and it has become a habit that's hard to shake.

As you can tell, he has built up a lot of bad habits over the years, he is dealing with work related stress and his sleep schedule is completely out of sync.

He tells me that the only thing that can really put him back to sleep at night is CBD oil but that he doesn't want to rely on it all the time and it's more of an emergency tool for particularly bad nights.

Long term vs. short term sleep issues

So why am I telling you this story?

It made me realize is that not only do we have to approach sleep issues more holistically but that there is also a huge difference between someone experiencing short term sleep issues and long term issues that eventually turn into insomnia or other disorders.

For example, you might be having a few bad nights here and there because your work schedule is particularly busy right now, you had a baby or you have gone through a bad breakup.

In most cases, you will be able to eventually recover and go back to a somewhat "normal" sleep schedule.

To address short-term sleep issues, you can use simple methods like:

• herbal supplements or teas

• reducing screen time before bed

• introducing relaxation methods like guided mediations

• avoiding alcohol too close to bed time

• cutting caffeine

• going to bed and waking up at the same time

• resetting your internal clock by regulating exposure to light (see my previous blog post here)

But if you have been struggling with a long term sleep issue, these tips are not enough.

They can only optimize what is already a good baseline.

If you're not sure whether you have a long term issue, ask yourself:

• Do you sleep less than 7 hours on average on a regular basis?

• Do you feel sleepy during the day?

• Do you struggle focussing on tasks?

• Do you feel like you have low energy?

• Are you more irritable than usual?

• Do you feel like you are just a "bad sleeper" ?

• Does it take you longer than 30-40 mins to fall asleep regularly?

• Do you wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep easily? (more than 3 nights a week for longer than 2-3 weeks)

If you think about an iceberg and how the tip is what you can see, it's all the obvious things that might cause bad sleep like:

• a change in your environment (new house, hotel room)

• your bedroom being too hot

• there might be noise outside

• maybe you went out drinking and have a bad night of sleep due to alcohol

• your child is sick and keeping you up

• you have an important meeting tomorrow and feel a bit nervous

These are all surface level issues.

But if you go deeper down below, the iceberg reveals different problems:

• You are struggling with a mental health problem

• When you wake up at night, your heart rate goes up immediately

• You start thinking about everything you need to do the next day

• You worry about an important work project.

• Now you worry about not sleeping

• You start thinking about how that will affect your performance

• You have built up bad sleep habits over time

• You go to bed and wake up at random times

• You eat and drink in bed

• You use your phone in bed every night

• You check your emails and notifications before you go to bed and when you wake up

• When you get up, you go straight to work, you don't spend much time outside or exercise.

These are all indicators of underlying issues, thoughts and habits that have built over time and that are actually keeping you awake at night.

Many people struggle for years, they go to different doctors, therapists and specialists, often with little success.

Their sleep might improve temporarily but they often go back to sleeping poorly after a while and they give up.

They believe they're just not good sleepers and that it's somehow part of their personality and something they have to accept.

This is because specialists only focus on one particular area and apply their knowledge to a sitation that is complex and needs a more nuanced and holistic approach.

For example a therapist can help you analyze and overcome some of your negative thoughts and beliefs but they are not well versed in helping you manage your sleep schedule, diet or how you can reset your internal clock.

A medical specialist might be able to identify a particular disorder like sleep apnea and can help treat it through a CPAP machine that you use every night to help you breathe.

But they are not as well versed in helping you manage stress and guide you through techniques to help you live a more balanced life.

This is where sleep coaching comes in and can help provide a more holistic approach.

A sleep coach is not a therapist nor a medical professional but an individual that has a deep knowledge of sleep science and health and looks below the tip of the iceberg.

They can

• provide personalized guidance

• offer a different perspective

• connect all the dots to get to the underlying cause

• help individuals develop a healthy mindset towards sleep

They provide

• awareness

• education

• accountability

• tools for future success

and they can help improve sleep long-term.

If you've been struggling with sleep for a long time and have tried everything and anything, please don't give up.

Maybe you only scratched the surface of the iceberg. There is much more to uncover and you could be only a few weeks or months away from improving your sleep for good.

Of course I can't make any promises that sleep coaching is going to solve all your problems but I can help guide and support you through this journey.

If you want to give it a shot and really take your sleep seriously in 2025, I'm always open for a chat.

Simply book a 30mins free consultation with me using the link below: https://calendly.com/thesleepnerdhq/freeconsultation

My goal is to help as many people as possible with their sleep.

I want everyone to embrace sleep as a superpower and the ultimate health enabler rather than something they dread and worry about every night.

Let me know in the comments if this breakdown of short term vs. long term sleep issues was helpful and what you want to learn about next.

Until then,

Sleep well!

Anne - The Sleep Nerd 🌟🛌😴