Having Trouble Sleeping After A Breakup? Here's Why
We all know that nothing breaks like a heart, and heartbreak really hurts. No matter how long you and your partner have been together when things come to an end, sadness is a given. However, according to studies, it does a lot more than just cause you pain — breakups actually have the potential to bring on insomnia. There is a real reason you're staying awake during the night, and surprisingly, it's not actually because of all your tears.
A study conducted by Tiffany Field of the School of Medicine at the University of Miami, titled "Romantic Breakups, Heartbreak and Bereavement" found that a broken heart can indeed affect your sleeping habits. As Field found, breakups can also cause intrusive thoughts and morbidity factors like broken heart syndrome and immune dysfunction. This is largely due to stress, which, if you've ever experienced heartbreak, is a given when you're grieving the loss of something or someone.
Insomnia caused by a broken heart is often healed with time
Unfortunately, for those suffering from insomnia or have trouble sleeping because of a recent breakup, there's not much you can do. "There's nothing to do other than wait it out, though I wish I could tell you to do something like drink a gallon of water," sex and relationships therapist Shan Boodram revealed to Refinery29. "The best thing you can do is try to feed your dopamine [the 'feel-good chemical'] receptors in other ways: Go out, meet new people, and try to distract yourself as much as possible," she continued, adding, "But ultimately, the withdrawal process sucks for everyone."
Like so many other aspects of your life that are affected by the end of a relationship, what you really need is time. As you move on, you will get used to the new normal and eventually readjust, getting your undisrupted beauty sleep back in no time.