Sleep habits have been changing continuously for a decade. People in recent years have struggled a lot to know the truth behind the science of healthy sleep.
The increased pressure of work, change in lifestyle and many more reasons make it difficult to arrange their schedule and sleep like a log in the working days.
Sleep deprivation and increased changes have resulted in many sleep deprivation problems, and such a problem is sleeping alone. People due, for several reasons, live alone or get detached from the house for a job or studies.
The day shuts down in a wink of an eye, and people hit their bedrooms to get good sleep, but instead of getting lost in their dreams, they struggle to sleep alone. If you face problems and have worked in the onset time (the time after you hit your bed till you fall asleep), you are not alone.
This case of not being able to sleep or finding it hard to fall asleep faster has been seen in several people. Some people also have reported catching a weak sleep after struggling for hours in bed, turning and tossing up all night.
Many people have stated that they feel relaxed when they know someone's around them in their house while they sleep. They don't even need a person in the same bedroom but having anyone around helps them to achieve sleep.
Why Is It Hard To Sleep Alone?
Reports show that people can't sleep alone for many days, and eventually, they fall for other disorders caused due to sleep deprivation.
Habits
People today are habitual of living alone; they say it is peaceful aloneness. However, when it comes to sleep, they need someone to sleep with.
A companion in bed is essential for such people, which gives them relief. It is optional to have a partner only because some people are habitual of having a co-sleeper in the same house.
A child can't sleep alone without their parents since it has become their habit to have them around them every night after birth. Such a thing is called the need for a co-sleeper.
Even grown-up kids find it difficult to sleep in other rooms without their parents.
Couples need their partners along with them to sleep peacefully.
You will find many people who can't sleep without their partners, even if other co-sleeping people are around them.
Grief And Fear
Another problem of finding difficulty in sleeping alone is grief and fear. Both emotions are different but responsible for not letting you sleep alone.
The reason for your grief can be the death of your loved ones, some financial or emotional loss, a breakup, or anything, but this emotion of suffering cannot let you sleep alone.
This theory has been supported by proof that grief has been the leading cause of sleep deprivation in people living alone. This thing has ultimately led them toward depression.
Do you remember how hard it was to sleep one night before your exams?
Yes, that's what fear does to the average human body, it stops giving signals to the body to release the essential hormones, and the body starts getting irritated within a few minutes.
Fear, too, is the reason for no sleep or sleep deprivation problems. People living alone usually fear two things:
Hormones
When the body is well, it remembers to work correctly and maintains the circadian rhythm. The proper secretion of hormones is responsible for maintaining the body's emotional balance.
Hence, women experience more emotional mood swings during their menstrual cycle than any other person.
We all know how hugging each other releases certain hormones in the body. People who sleep and snuggle with their partners or a child nestled in his mother's bosom have a different release of hormones than those who sleep alone.
Relaxing sleep helps to decrease blood pressure levels and improve the mental health and cognitive functioning of the brain, and there is also a controlled release of 'cortisol,' a stress hormone.
People sleeping with partners or co-sleepers are seen to have improved sleep, high bars of physical and mental health, boosted immune systems, and a strong metabolism rate; they have fewer pain and anxiety problems due to the release of good feel hormones.
Noise Vs. Silence
Since people living alone don't have anyone to snuggle with or feel relaxed around co-sleeping, they lose control over the situations mentioned above.
They get more releases of cortisol and less stress-calming hormones. There's no one around them to cheer up their mood, which is also a drawback of being alone.
The problem of dreadful silence is most common in people residing alone. Many people say that silence helps them have a night of quality sleep, but more people say they can't sleep in a silent environment.
They experience dreadful silence, which can be said as they feel fear when there's no sound at all. Just like in movie scenes, silence indicates fear to them, and instead of getting a night of sound sleep in the silent night, they stay awake and call it dreadful silence.
It might sound absurd, but, indeed, many people can't sleep alone because of noise as well as because of silence. It is called dreading noise and dreadful silence.
While dreading noise is a problem for everyone, whether they live in someone's company or alone. Sleep gets disturbed due to many noises, and the sleeper can't achieve the perfect rest, which is the need.
Dreadful noises are most audible to people who live alone as no one, and nothing can minimize the noises around them, and they get minimum sleep or no sleep at all in such dreadful noise.
How To Sleep Alone Peacefully?
Doctors and professionals have solved some of the problems mentioned above.
They have come up with solutions that can combat the problems of sleeping alone. And they have also found solid answers to how to sleep well.
Not only doctors but people who have been through these problems have also shared their experiences, cases, and techniques they have used.
Here are some of them which you can apply easily.
Relaxation Techniques
There are many techniques used by people living alone to combat the problem of not having proper sleep. Many of them practice nerve-calming exercises.
Such exercises are recommended by professionals. These exercises enhance body functions and boost the secretion of melatonin and serotonin (the calming hormones). These hormones help people to relax, and they doze off within minutes.
Many sleep stories help people to imagine. This technique is called virtual imagination therapy. This is one of the beneficiary techniques for people living alone.
Here you listen to a sleep story with smooth and calm words, which gives the listener imagination, and the body calms down, helping the people experience quality sleep. Some people get breathing exercise schedules before hitting their beds.
Those who fear dreadful silence can listen to calming and silent music during sleep. There are many cases where people keep music running all night to avoid hideous silence. Those who suffer from dreading noise can take the help of earbuds that stay outer sound at its minimal to zero audibility.
Get A Pet!
Don't judge an alone living person when you see him/her surrounded by pets on their bed. Nowadays, you can commonly see pets sleeping on the bed with their parents snuggled to them like any other parent-child snuggles.
The UK ranks at the top of the list when it comes to sleeping with pets. Doctors say living people alone find moral as well as emotional support when they have pets living with them. You will find doctors prescribing pets to people dwelling alone.
The reason is that snuggling with a pet also helps to release oxytocin hormone in the person and lets him sleep peacefully with the feeling of being protected. So, we can call any snuggle a snuggle, whether with a human or pet.
Also, people find someone to spare a minute or two in their house and release some stress from their hectic day. The release of tension helps people achieve a night of quality sleep, and people doze off quickly with their pets around them.
Positive Mindset
Be optimistic; yes, that was the best thought ever thought to anyone. A positive mindset is not only the need for the day but also the need for the night. You cannot have a good quality of sleep with tension and stress jogging in your mind.
A positive mindset is necessary when you are going to get in bed. Those who hit their bed with innumerable external thoughts are most likely to toss and turn all night in their bed.
It is because the thoughts hamper the secretion of good-feeling hormones and the person experiences fear instead of relaxation.
Negative thinking doesn't allow the brain to relax and signals it to keep thinking about the possibilities instead of calming down. Hence it becomes necessary to keep your mind positive when you want a good quality of sleep.
Positive thinking can be achieved by listening to good music or sleep stories.
It can also be countered by walking through the lanes of good old memories. But if you are a person who switches from good to bad memories in a fraction of a second, it's best to run from such lanes without a glance at them.
Therapy
Therapies are recommended for people who have faced less sleep or no sleep right after they started living alone.
Majorly, two therapies are practised on a large scale for sleep deprivation problems. Both therapies have one motto: to scrutinize and work on the fear-causing reasons in the people.
The first one is talk therapy. Talk therapy is the practice by doctors on patients where they try to find the root cause of the patient's fear by talking to the patient.
It is the same feeling you get when you share your grief and emotions with your close ones and feel relaxed. They give more importance to talking in the lanes of past and present and usually come up with a solution.
The second one is hypnosis therapy. This alternative to talk therapy is used when the patient could be more talkative. The motto here is the same and works on bringing out the centre of the problem caused in the patient.
Both therapies have been designed to end the problems of Somniphobia in patients.
FAQs
Now that you know all about sleeping alone, let’s take a look at a few frequently asked questions.
What If Health Issues Occur Or Nightmares Bother You During Sleep?
Living alone is difficult, especially when you are a patient with health problems or who struggles with nightmares. This fearful emotion also doesn't let people sleep alone peacefully. People residing in the company of others have fewer mood swings compared to single residents, which is also a pain point of not being able to sleep alone.
What Is Somniphobia?
Sominphobia is a feeling familiar to people. People suffering from this phobia dread sleeping alone since they imagine there might be no sunrise ahead or imagine the worst scenarios in their heads of anything wrong unfolding during their sleep.
Is It Good To Sleep Alone?
While everything boils down to personal preferences, sleeping alone is often preferred due to the peace and quietness that comes with it.
Wrap up
All in all, if you experience more sleep deprivation problems, you should take professional help immediately. Sleep is the body's need, just like food and water; you can't ignore it continuously. Professional help can give you both mental and physical relief in a short period, and you can enjoy your life with more happiness.
Furthermore, there are several other ways to help yourself achieve comfortable sleep. One of them is mattresses. A good mattress can make you feel like you’re being hugged while you sleep. If you’re looking for a quality soft mattress, check out Crafted Beds. We offer a wide range of soft and hard mattresses that deliver comfort and support like no other so that you can get comfortable sleep all night!
