Neurosurgeon with 33 years of experience explains why you can’t sleep even when tired, shares 4 tips to rest better

If you are unable to sleep despite being tired, there's an overlooked aspect that contributes to it. Neurosurgeon Katakol helps identify it.

Are you counting sheep as you lie in bed, super exhausted, yawning, but for some reason, sleep continues to evade you? You toss and turn, checking how much time you have left before the morning alarm rings. It may feel ironic that despite being worn out, your mind is anything but that, buzzing and rather frustrated with the inability to sleep on time. This association that exhaustion automatically means quicker sleep may not always work. If exhausting yourself to sleep was your tactic, maybe, from the mental fatigue of reading a boring academic book, you need a more well-rounded strategy to fix this issue.

Dr Prashant Katakol, a neurosurgeon with over 33 years of experience, shared in an Instagram video, posted on October 22, addressing this common challenge of sleep. He shed light on an interesting root cause. “Why do you find it difficult to fall asleep even when you are exhausted? As a neurosurgeon, I will tell you how your daytime habits are ruining your nights,” he said. This means your choices during the day determine how well you sleep at night. The neurosurgeon suggested 4 tips for modifying daily activities which make you sleepy at night.

1. Walk more

One of the culprits is prolonged inactivity. Many people sit for long hours during the day, whether at the office on weekdays or lounging on the couch bingewatching over the weekends. Dr Katakol shed light on this aspect, saying, "Walk more than you sit during the day.”

2. Dim the lights

“Once the sun sets, lower the lights around," the neurosurgeon advised. It's important to dim the light before bedtime. This involves switching from bright overhead lights to warm bedside lamps.

3. No screens before bedtime

Life is hectic, rushing in the morning, grabbing anything within reach for breakfast, grinding it out at the office, pushing for deadlines and attending meeting after meeting. The chase is simply relentless. So often, people consider evening as their downtime, catching up on TV shows or vapid doomscrolling. But this stretches all the way up to bedtime or even beyond.

The neurosurgeon flagged this habit and emphasised, “Put your screens away 3 hours before your bedtime.”

4. Early dinner

The last fix Dr Katakol recommended was having an early breakfast.“Finish your dinner early, ideally before sunset and take a 20-minute walk subsequently," he advised. This habit lowers digestive discomfort. What happens is that when one eats dinner too close to bedtime, the digestive process is disturbed. To improve digestion, as the neurosurgeon shared, it's vital to go for brief walks so that the stomach doesn't feel bloated in bed. And when your stomach is heavy, you are likely to toss and turn more.

Neurosurgeon Dr Katakol's advice is to continue these habits ‘sincerely’ to see the results. In others, you will have to be consistent with these healthy changes to sleep better.

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them. This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.