What’s Keeping You Up at Night? Could Ultra-Processed Foods Be Associated With Your Insomnia?

From elsevier.com

Intake of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher prevalence of insomnia, according to a new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Ultra-processed foods (UPF) may be associated with the insomnia experienced by an estimated one third of adults. An analysisopens in new tab/window of dietary and sleep patterns reported in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dieteticsopens in new tab/window, published by Elsevier, shows a statistically significant association between consumption of UPF and chronic insomnia independent of sociodemographic, lifestyle, diet quality, and mental health status characteristics.

Lead investigator Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, Division of General Medicine and Centre of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, explains, “At a time when more and more foods are highly processed and sleep disturbances are rampant, it is important to evaluate whether diet could contribute to adverse or good quality sleep.”

While past studies have examined nutrients or dietary supplements in relation to sleep (for example, protein, magnesium), this study is novel because it evaluates a dietary pattern beyond nutrients and specific foods and shows that the degree to which foods are processed may have some relevance for sleep health.

Dr. St-Onge adds, “Our research team had previously reported associations of healthy dietary patterns, like the Mediterranean diet, with a reduced risk of insomnia and poor sleep quality (both cross-sectionally and longitudinally), and high carbohydrate diets with an elevated risk of insomnia. The consumption of UPF is on the rise worldwide, and it has been linked to numerous health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer.”

To examine dietary intakes for their association with sleep, this large epidemiological study used NutriNet-Santéopens in new tab/window data from more than 39,000 French adults. This large cohort study was ideally suited to address this question given its inclusion of sleep variables and multiple days of detailed diet information.

Data were collected every six months between 2013 and 2015 from adults who completed multiple 24-hour dietary records and provided information on insomnia symptoms. The definition of insomnia was based on the criteria provided by the DSM-5 and the ICSD-3.

Participants reported consuming approximately 16% of energy from UPF and close to 20% reported chronic insomnia. Individuals who reported chronic insomnia consumed a higher percentage of their energy intake from UPF. The association of higher UPF intake and insomnia was evident in both males and females, but the risk was slightly higher in males than females.

First author Pauline Duquenne, MSc, Sorbonne Paris Nord University and Paris Cité University, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), cautions, “It is important to note that our analyses were cross-sectional and observational in nature, and we did not evaluate longitudinal association. While data do not establish causality, our study is first of its kind and contributes to the existing body of knowledge on UPF.”

Other study limitations included reliance on self-reported data and possible misclassification of some food items. Caution is advised when generalizing the findings because the NutriNet-Santé includes a higher proportion of females and individuals of high socioeconomic status compared with the general French population, although UPF intake was similar to a nationally representative sample.

The investigators recommend that future studies should test causality and evaluate the associations over time. However, they advise that individuals with sleep difficulties may consider examining their diet to determine whether UPF could be contributing to their sleep issues.

https://www.elsevier.com/en-in/about/press-releases/whats-keeping-you-up-at-night-could-ultra-processed-foods-be-associated-with-your-insomnia 

COLUMN: Let’s Talk Mental Health – Sleep and mental health

From winnipegfreepress.com

By: Josi Peters

Let’s talk again about connections between sleep and mental health. Recall that sufficient sleep is essential for general health and wellbeing. But millions of people fail to sleep enough regularly and suffer from that lack. Sadly, most people with sleep problems go undiagnosed and untreated.

Studies focusing on different populations estimate that 65 percent to 90 percent of adults who live with major depression, and about 90 percent of children who have the disorder, also experience sleep problems. Most people with depression have insomnia and approximately one in five experiences obstructive sleep apnoea.

Having sleep problems also increases risks of developing depression. One study of 1,000 young adults aged 21 to 30 found that, compared with normal sleepers, those with a history of insomnia were four times as likely to have developed major depression three years later. And two other studies in young adults found that their sleep problems developed before any major depression began.

Recent research teaches that sleep problems affect outcomes for patients living with depression. Depressed patients whose insomnia continues are less likely to benefit from treatment than patients without sleep problems. And people who improved with antidepressant therapy were more likely to relapse later. Sleep deprived depressed people have more thoughts about suicide and are more likely to die by suicide than depressed people who sleep normally.

Sleep problems also affect over half of adults with generalized anxiety disorder. Sleep disruption is common for those with post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. One sleep study found children and adolescents with anxiety disorders needed longer to fall asleep and slept less deeply, compared to healthy children. Insomnia is a risk factor for developing an anxiety disorder and can worsen anxiety disorder symptoms or delay recovery.

Studies of people with bipolar disorder report that 69 percent to 99 percent experience frequent insomnia or report less need for sleep during manic episodes of their illness. In their depressive phase, 23 percent to 78 percent reported sleeping excessively, while others reported insomnia or restless sleep in this phase also. Longer term research suggests insomnia and other sleep problems get worse before episodes of mania or bipolar depression, and that lack of sleep can trigger the manic phase. Sleep problems also negative effects patient’s moods and contribute to relapse.

People often ask

Q. What is sleep hygiene?

A. Based on recent research, many experts believe that we can learn to sleep better. Good sleep hygiene refers to healthy sleeping habits like maintaining a regular sleep-and-wake schedule, using bedrooms only for sleeping or sex, and keeping bedrooms dark when we should sleep and free of distractions like computers, communication devices, or television.

Achieving good sleep hygiene may involve certain lifestyle changes. For example, most people know caffeine contributes to sleeplessness, but aren’t aware that alcohol and nicotine do also. Alcohol initially depresses the nervous systems, helping some people fall asleep but the effect usually wears off quickly and people wake up. Nicotine is another stimulant, acting to speed heart rates, thereby making us less likely to sleep if we smoke in late afternoon or evening. Giving up these substances entirely is best for sleep health and overall health, but avoiding them before bedtime is a minimal option.

Other lifestyle changes to maximize sleep include physical activity, relaxation techniques, cognitive therapy, or medication. Regular aerobic exercise helps us fall asleep, causes us to spend more time in deep sleep, and prevents us from waking as often overnight. Meditation, deep breathing exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation are helpful to counter anxiety and racing thoughts that prevent us falling asleep.

Because people with insomnia may become anxious about not falling asleep, cognitive behavioural techniques can help change negative expectations and build more confidence that they can sleep well. Most therapists are trained to teach meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and deep breathing strategies for relaxation. If these are not helpful, we can talk with our physicians about medication. Effective medications are available to treat sleep problems and, in some cases, both the sleep disorder and a psychiatric problem can be relieved with one medication.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/the-carillon/local/2024/05/20/column-lets-talk-mental-health-sleep-and-mental-health 

The ‘dream training’ that neuroscientists think could help cure insomnia

From telegraph.co.uk

By Ian Taylor

Can trippy lucid dreams really help you sleep better? 

Claudia Picard-Deland likes to fly in her sleep. She takes off like a superhero, sometimes hovering right there in the room, other times soaring above the oceans, her arms stretched out in front of her. It’s exhilarating, but she’s not strictly conscious and she doesn’t, at any point, leave her bed. 

Picard-Deland is a lucid dreamer, which means that sometimes, when she’s dreaming, she’s not only aware that she’s dreaming - she can control what happens. Her dream, her rules. To hell with gravity. 

“It can be extremely vivid,” she says. “My movements are fluid and I can go fast and control where I’m going. Other times it’s more awkward. I float a little bit and I’m slow and my body is tilting, or I get stuck in tree branches.”

It sounds mind-bending, but a lucid dream is essentially any dream where you’re aware that you’re dreaming. Your conscious mind is engaged, your senses alert. You might do things you can’t do in the real world or even things that help you in waking life. Not many people do it often, but it is a learnable skill.

For Picard-Deland, lucid dreaming – good flight or bad – is a beautiful sensation and she wakes up feeling like she slept well. 

That bit’s important, because Picard-Deland is not just a lucid dreamer – she’s a doctor, an insomniac and a sleep researcher at the Dream and Nightmare Lab at the University of Montreal. She is both an expert in sleep and someone who struggles to get much of it. 

The waking nightmare

Along with a handful of other researchers, she wants to know if lucid dreams could offer some respite to other people like her, by treating the waking nightmare that is insomnia.

“There are pros and cons, but I think lucid dreaming might be helpful, at least for a subtype of people with insomnia,” says Dr Picard-Deland. 

According to most estimates, a third of people in the UK are insomniacs. Those who suffer either struggle to get to sleep, wake up multiple times during the night or lie awake and can’t drop off again. There’s fatigue, of course. But insomnia is also linked to long-term health risks for conditions such as stroke, heart disease and depression.

Treatments exist, but none of them are perfect. Sleeping pills are rarely prescribed any more because of unwanted side effects and addictive qualities. Breathwork and yoga nidra, which means yogic sleep, can work but not everyone is open to them.

“Cognitive behavioural therapy [CBT] is our first line treatment,” says Prof Jason Ellis, the director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research at Northumbria University. “It’s fantastic. It works in 70-80 per cent of cases, but unfortunately it’s very limited in getting face-to-face appointments.” Waiting lists are long and private therapy is unaffordable for many. “So we do need an alternative to CBT.”

Startling results

This is where the dreamscape comes in. Prof Ellis is the author of the only scientific paper yet published on whether lucid dream training can improve people’s insomnia. Published in 2020, it was a small study observing 48 insomniacs. 

“We taught them how to lucid dream over a period of two weeks,” Ellis says. “Very simple stuff, five or six techniques that are appropriate for people with insomnia.” 

After the training, 77 per cent of participants had a lucid dream, and most of those reported significant improvements in their sleep. “We saw significant reductions in insomnia symptoms, depressive symptoms and anxious symptoms,” adds Ellis. “So it seems to have a benefit in terms of mood as well.”

Ellis admits the results were not as good as those typically seen after CBT, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a potential life-changer for people with long-term insomnia. “We also looked at the effect size,” he says. “What we saw was that we brought a lot of those people under the threshold of insomnia.”

In other words, they were cured. 

Deep dive into deep sleep

'It sounds mind-bending, but a lucid dream is essentially any dream where you're aware that you're dreaming,' writes Taylor

Scientists are always keen to press the need for more research. But if the study’s results are replicated elsewhere, then it does raise an obvious question: how do semi-conscious, trippy dreams give you a better sleep?

There are a few theories. One is that lucid dreams interrupt and change other dreams that might be stressful or frightening. “We know that people dream very negatively in the first half of the night,” Ellis says. “They’re doing a lot of problem solving and reviewing all of that chaos or stress or trauma that they’re going through.

“If we teach people to control their dreams, that could be one of the pathways by which it actually helps people with their insomnia. Because they’re not having those negative dreams or they process them faster and more effectively.”

Another idea is that lucid dreaming is a hybrid state of sleep that is different to the rapid eye movement (REM) state associated with dreaming. Brain scans of people having lucid dreams look remarkably similar to those of people practising deep mindfulness meditation, Ellis says. If lucid dreaming is a form of half-conscious meditation, maybe that would also account for improvements in mood and anxiety levels.

Turning bad dreams good

Then there’s sleep misperception and paradoxical insomnia. One of the cruel things about insomnia is that it tricks people into thinking they’ve slept less than they actually have.

“All our anxiety dreams are based on our worst fears,” says Charlie Morely, a lucid dreaming teacher and author of several books on dreaming. “Now, if your worst fear is that you’ve got insomnia and can’t sleep, then you might dream of being up all night with insomnia.”

Teaching people how to lucid dream may help with this phenomenon, too, because the practice is all about knowing that you’re in a dream. If you can learn to recognise when you’re in a dream, it becomes a reassuring sign for insomniacs that they are in fact out for the count.

Morley believes that it’s in fear and trauma where lucid dreaming can be most powerful. He works with tech execs and people looking for creative or spiritual experiences but he says that some of his most meaningful work is with military veterans who suffer PTSD.

“Imagine a veteran with a recurring dream that they’re back in Iraq,” he says. “If you can get that person to be lucid and the next time they have the dream, they fly off to safety or the bullets coming towards them turn into flowers, or they just walk towards the danger knowing that it’s just a dream, just an illusion. As far as the brain is concerned, that actually happened.” 

Studies on lucid dreaming as a treatment for PTSD show promising results, with self-reported PTSD symptoms and nightmare distress falling sharply. At the end of one study that Morley conducted, 85 per cent of participants were no longer classified as even having PTSD based on the scores they returned. 

Dream on

There’s power in dreams – that much is clear. Other research on lucid dreaming has helped people tackle addiction or improved physical rehabilitation. And in 2023, a controversial US start-up called Prophetic even created a headband designed to induce lucid dreaming so that people can work in their sleep. 

There is caution, too, however. Especially when it comes to insomnia. Researchers stress that using the wrong techniques to practise lucid dreaming could make symptoms worse, because they involve waking people up multiple times through the night. Fatigue can increase. Some report sleep paralysis or even derealisation.

For researchers such as Ellis and Picard-Deland, they’re intrigued enough to want to know more. Both are currently seeking funding for further research on lucid dreaming and insomnia. 

And, of course, Picard-Deland is one of her own test subjects. She believes the lucid dream training that she practises herself has helped with her own insomnia. 

“I’m extremely biased because I’m a dream researcher,” she says. “But when I wake up after a lucid dream, I feel like I’ve had the best sleep.”

---

How to lucid dream

Four beginner-friendly steps to master your dreams from lucid dreaming teacher Charlie Morley

Plan your dreams

The fun thing about lucid dreams is, because you’re consciously aware that you’re in them, you can control what happens. Want to fly? Go for it. Be best friends with Beyoncé? No problem. But like any holiday from normality, it pays to plan out what you want to do. Think about it before bed. The planning actually makes it more likely that lucidity will happen.

Practise dream recall

You can train yourself to remember your dreams. In the drowsy state before sleep, practise mantras in your sleep like “Tonight I will remember my dreams” or “I have excellent dream recall”. This makes it more likely that you’ll remember your lucid dreams the next day.

Start a dream diary

Once you’re in the habit of remembering your dreams, write them down. Researchers say this is a powerful way of not just remembering your dreams but processing their content, especially if you’re working through distress or trauma. Keep a notebook by your bed or use the notes app on your phone.

Watch out for dream signs

The final step is to train yourself to recognise when you’re in a dream. When you have conscious thought or agency in them, look for things that shouldn’t be there like a deceased relative or celebrity. Look in a mirror and see if there are any changes in your appearance. Once that “a-ha” moment arrives, the dreamscape is yours to control and explore.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/wellbeing/sleep/dream-training-neuroscientists-cure-insomnia/

Cognitive behavioural therapy might improve sleep quality in teens suffering from anxiety

From psypost.org

A study of adolescents with anxiety disorders undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy indicated that some aspects of their sleep quality tended to improve as therapy progressed. However, there were no improvements in symptoms of insomnia. The paper was published in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy.

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. Symptoms of these disorders can vary widely, but they commonly include persistent worry, nervousness, difficulty concentrating, and physical symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, and muscle tension. Estimates suggest that around 8% of children between 11 and 16 years of age meet the diagnostic criteria for one of the anxiety disorders.

Anxiety disorders can significantly disrupt sleep patterns, leading to issues such as insomnia, restless sleep, and nightmares. The heightened state of alertness caused by anxiety can make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep, as the mind remains active or on edge. The lack of restorative sleep can, in turn, exacerbate the symptoms of anxiety, creating a cycle that can be challenging to break.

Studies indicate that around 38% of 12- to 16-year-olds with high levels of anxiety also suffer from insomnia, 35% sleep less than 7 hours per night, and 83% report needing more than 30 minutes to fall asleep. This is compounded by the finding that a substantial percentage of adolescents worldwide do not get enough sleep, particularly on school days.

Study author Olivia Sukiennik and her colleagues wanted to explore the sleep problems of adolescents with anxiety disorders on weekday and weekend nights and to see whether cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety might lead to improvements in sleep patterns for these adolescents.

The study participants were 135 adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age with anxiety disorders, recruited from a regional outpatient child and adolescent mental health service in southeast England. Children were included if they had a primary diagnosis of one of the following anxiety disorders: social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, or a specific phobia.

Children with post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder were excluded. Of the children who started the study, only 73 remained until the end and provided all the necessary data. The authors collected data for this study in 2018 and 2019.

                                                                                                          (Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

The participants and their parents completed assessments used in the analyses at the start and end of their cognitive behavioural treatment. Adolescents and their parents (reporting on the adolescent) completed assessments separately.

Children underwent three different psychotherapy treatments: a guided parent-delivered group cognitive behavioural therapy for children aged 11, the adolescent version of the Cool Kids Child and Adolescent Anxiety Program (for participants aged 12 and above), and individual cognitive behavioural therapy for adolescents (ages 12 and above).

Before and after these treatments, they completed assessments of anxiety and depression symptoms (the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, Child Version) and sleep quality (an assessment created by the authors based on the Sleep Habits Survey and the Insomnia Severity Index).

Results showed that, on average, participants needed more than 1 hour to fall asleep. They slept less than 7 hours on weekdays and more than 8 hours on weekends. They tended to wake up at night more often on weekdays than on weekends.

After undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy, the participants showed improvements in the time they needed to fall asleep and tended to sleep longer. However, the frequency of night-time awakenings did not change after treatment. There were no changes in insomnia symptoms.

“The results show that prior to treatment, adolescents with anxiety disorders experience significant difficulties with sleep onset latency, frequency of night-time awakening, wake after sleep onset, and total sleep time. CBT [cognitive behavioral therapy] for anxiety disorders shows improvements in some of these areas (i.e. total sleep time, sleep onset latency), and may indicate a return to a more ‘common’ level of sleep disruption,” study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the changes in sleep quality associated with cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, the study did not include a control group, so it remains unknown whether the observed effects were the consequence of cognitive behavioral therapy or represent changes in sleep patterns caused by other factors that coincided with the treatment period.

The paper, “Changes to sleep patterns and insomnia symptoms following cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in adolescents”, was authored by Olivia Sukiennik, Polly Waite, Ray Percy, and Faith Orchard.

https://www.psypost.org/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-might-improve-sleep-quality-in-teens-suffering-from-anxiety/ 

'Mind trick' to do before bed that could help you fall asleep within minutes

From dailyrecord.co.uk

Struggling to get to sleep is a common problem in the UK, with the NHS estimating it affects around one third of people 

If you find it difficult to get to sleep at night, you are certainly not alone. The issue is said to affect around one in three people, according to the NHS, with the problem more prevalent amongst the elderly.

While bouts of insomnia can come and go without causing any significant issues, for some individuals, it can persist for months or even years.

                                 Not getting enough sleep at night can be really detrimental to your health (Image: Getty Images)

Short-term insomnia is defined as having difficulty sleeping for less than three months, while long-term insomnia refers to sleep issues lasting three months or longer. The impact of insomnia on an individual's health can be severe, limiting daily activities, affecting mood, and causing strain in relationships with friends, family, and colleagues.

While there isn't a universally recommended amount of sleep, seven to nine hours per night is generally considered normal. However, achieving this can be challenging for those who struggle to drift off.

To help combat this, Sammy Margo, a sleep expert at Dreams, suggests using the cognitive shuffle, reports Wales Online.

The cognitive shuffle is a technique rooted in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) designed to distract the mind from thoughts that hinder sleep. It involves engaging in a mental task that is absorbing enough to reduce anxiety but simple enough to signal to the brain that it's time to rest.

Sammy stated: "Now, more than ever, it's important to recognise the significance of prioritising our mental health. The way we think and feel strongly influences our sleep patterns, which in turn, affects our overall quality of life." She has provided a few pointers for carrying out the technique.

Identify negative thought patterns. Sammy says: "Begin by recognising the recurring negative thoughts or worries that may be affecting your sleep. These could include concerns about work, relationships, or uncertainties about the future. You should note how often they occur and the emotions they provoke. Being aware of these patterns is the first step towards addressing them."

Change and reframe: ''Once you've identified your negative thought patterns, it's important to challenge them. Ask yourself questions like, is there any evidence to support this thought, or what advice would I give to a friend in this situation? Then, reframe them into more positive or realistic alternatives. For example, if you're worrying about an upcoming presentation, remind yourself that you've prepared thoroughly and are capable of handling it well.

Practice mindfulness: ''Integrate mindfulness techniques into your daily routine to develop greater awareness of your thoughts and emotions without judgement. Set aside time each day for mindfulness practices such as meditation, deep breathing exercises, and traditional yoga methods, such as alternate nostril breathing, which involves alternating between breathing through the left and right nostrils.

By incorporating these exercises into your nightly routine, you create a calming ritual that primes your mind for restful sleep. Sammy recommended giving it a go, saying: "Tonight, consider engaging in a cognitive exercise by selecting a random word.

"From there, challenge yourself to brainstorm additional words, each starting with the letters of your chosen word, and then vividly visualise each of these objects. This process helps redirect the mind's focus away from stress-inducing thoughts.

"The word needs to be completely neutral and have no repeating letters, let's use 'BED' in this instance, think of words beginning with B and imagine them, e.g. bucket, binoculars, basketball, brush. If you can't think of any more words for the letter, move on to the next letter in that word, and if you go through the whole word, pick another, and start the process again."

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/mind-trick-before-bed-could-32819580

Cell phones are a major cause of insomnia... How do you get rid of addiction to them?

From arabiaweather.com 

Many of us spend a long time on our phones or tablets during sleep hours, and experts believe that we should avoid using these devices during that period, as their excessive use during the night raises concerns among health professionals.

Melissa Milanak, a professor specializing in sleep health at the Medical University of South Carolina, points out that “the brain needs to rest before sleep to ensure that the body gets deep sleep that helps improve the performance of its functions.”

Milanak explains with a simple example:

"You can't just take a dish out of the oven and put it straight in the fridge. It needs some time to cool down and calm down, and our brains need that calmness and relaxation too."

 Changing sleep habits can be difficult, but insufficient sleep has long been linked to anxiety, obesity and other health problems, and research shows that using smartphones while sleeping can negatively affect the biological clock that regulates sleep and other hormones.

 

 

Harmful effects of using a mobile phone before sleeping

Referring to studies indicating that cell phone light is similar in its effect to sunlight, the brain processes this electrical light, which inhibits the secretion of melatonin, thus delaying deep sleep. Even slight exposure to light in bed can affect sleep.

Of course, scrolling through the news, checking email, or watching videos on social media can also affect your sleep, and this is what can be described as “technostress,” where social media algorithms motivate users to stay up for longer periods.

Lisa Strauss, an expert in treating sleep disorders, points out that people who suffer from insomnia are often middle-aged, and she says:

“People fall into the trap of videos...more and more people are becoming addicted to them.” 

Attention should not only be limited to reducing the use of the mobile phone in bed, but also its use during the night hours in general should be considered. Experts advise changing the daily routine and looking for equivalent alternative behaviours such as reading, taking a warm shower before bed, or listening to... podcast, or even preparing for the next day such as preparing meals for the kids in the morning, or spending quality time with the family.

How do we get rid of cellular addiction in the evening?

Change your routine and train yourself not to rely on electronic devices during bedtime. This is what sleep experts advise. In this context, Milanak suggests making a list of the things you prefer to do and those you prefer to avoid. You can write them down in a notebook to maintain your focus on quiet activities before bedtime. Sleep without attracting electronic devices to the bed.

Strauss points out the importance of using another room to practice these activities, which helps change your routine to make the bed a place for sleeping only.

You can also reduce temptation by not placing your cell phone or electronic devices in another room, which enables you to take control of your environment and strengthen your willpower to avoid using your phone, especially when you are tired and just need to sleep.

You can also reduce annoying notifications during the night, set your phone to night mode at a specific time, reduce the screen brightness and move the phone away from your face to reduce light.

https://www.arabiaweather.com/en/content/cell-phones-are-a-major-cause-of-insomnia-how-do-you-get-rid-of-addiction-to-them

Summertime Insomnia Is Real. Here's How to Beat It.

From psychologytoday.com

By Katherine Cullen MFA, LCSW

Address these four factors to improve sleep quality during warmer weather

KEY POINTS

• More light during the summer months means more suppression of melatonin, a hormone that helps us feel sleepy.
• Increased alcohol intake during summer can also interfere with our sleep quality.
• We can't sleep well if our core temperature can't cool down.
• When allergies rise, so do sleep troubles.

If you find yourself tossing and turning a bit more once the weather gets warmer or not feeling as rested as you did during winter months, you’re not alone. Many people simply don’t get as good of a night’s sleep once the temperature ticks up. Here’s a look at four factors that contribute to summertime insomnia, plus some tips on how to counteract it.

1. Higher temperatures. Being able to fall and stay asleep depends in part on our body’s ability to regulate its core temperature. We naturally experience a dip in body temperature as we get sleepier (this helps promote sleep), as well as subsequent dips in body temperature during non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stages. That changes a bit as brain temperature rises during REM phases due to increased brain blood flow, but on average, while we’re not awake, our core temperature is about 1-2 degrees colder. If your room’s too hot due to the heat of the summer months, this can interfere with your body’s thermoregulation and mess with a good night’s rest. A higher core temperature overnight reduces slow-wave sleep and is linked to waking up after conking out. Counteract the effects of hotter rooms by cranking the air conditioner if you can (many sleep experts suggest keeping your bedroom between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit), flipping a fan on to cool you down, or (and this may seem counterintuitive) taking a warm bath before bed. This latter move helps increase vasodilation, which redirects heat from your core to your extremities—the main way the body cools itself. You may also consider investing in a cooling (or "high heat capacity" mattress), which has been shown to facilitate overnight core body temperature regulation and improve restorative slow-wave sleep as a result.

2. More light. Many sleep researchers blame the rise in summer insomnia upon the increased daylight warmer months have to offer. Daylight suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps make us feel sleepy once the sun sets. It’s pumped out by the pineal gland in response to darkness. Hence why a brighter sky for more hours in the day and evening relative to winter curbs its output—as does staring at a brightly lit device well into the evening. Consider investing in blackout curtains for your bedroom to block out the sleep-disrupting light of summer or sleeping with an eye mask. (It has been shown to improve sleep and, as a result, alertness and learning the next day.)

3. More booze. Many people tend to drink more during the spring and summer months. Some surveys suggest May is on par with December as one of the most popular times to consume. Research suggests this is a worldwide phenomenon, which means it’s a universal impediment to a good night’s rest for folks at home and abroad. Alcohol suppresses REM sleep, the stage of Zs understood to play a role in learning and memory consolidation as well as emotional processing. (The critical ability humans have to make sense of emotionally intense experiences so they can learn, heal, and grow from them rather than remain overwhelmed, flooded, or haunted by them.) There’s no need to go completely dry for the summer, but if you’re finding yourself more exhausted than not, you may want to consider cutting back on alcohol to ensure a better night’s rest.

4. Air quality changes. As trees and flowers blossom during warmer months, so do allergies, which can prevent us from falling and staying asleep as we’re startled from slumber by coughing, sneezing, wheezing, or itching. Allergies and insomnia can create an unfortunate alliance during summertime, but there are ways to avoid their additive effect. Air purifiers with HEPA filters have been shown to reduce the need for allergy medications among patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis—as have high-efficiency whole-house filtration systems. Also regularly vacuuming and dusting your bedroom and talking with your doctor about allergy medications or shots that can reduce your symptoms. Be sure to check the label on any allergy remedies you opt for, however, as many have pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, which can preclude a good night’s sleep.

Summertime insomnia may be a common phenomenon but it doesn’t have to put a damper on your seasonal well-being. Consider some small shifts in alcohol intake, exposure to light, temperature control, and air quality, and you may find yourself sliding into sleep with a bit more ease, no matter how hot and stuffy it is outside.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truth-about-exercise-addiction/202405/summertime-insomnia-is-real-heres-how-to-beat-it