# The Real Reason You Can’t Sleep at Night | Simple English for Real Life 🎧

An episode of [Simple English Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1853750935), 3 Dec 2025, 15 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/fcaca268/podcast/play/112060430/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-3%2F6e0bb6b7-9463-047a-dbfa-670d992bece4.mp3

Welcome back to the Simple English Podcast! In today's episode, we dive into a topic that many people struggle with: The Real Reason You Can’t Sleep at Night 😴✨ 🎁 Here is the FREE PDF file of today's episode: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AbgVPS_zDHaIfWJiGKw9Toa0R3opJ37r/view?usp=sharing This episode explains the surprising causes behind your sleepless nights and how simple changes can help you sleep better. You'll learn: ✅ The hidden reasons why many people can’t fall asleep ✅ How stress, screen time, and daily habits affect your sleep ✅ Easy tips to help you relax and improve your sleep quality 👉 Enjoying the content? Please like, comment, and share your thoughts on what helps you sleep better at night! ▶ Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel https://www.youtube.com/@Simple_English_Podcast #EnglishPodcast #Podcast #Education #Health #BetterSleep #SimpleEnglishPodcast

## Transcript

[0:04] Hello and welcome to a new episode.
[0:06] I'm really happy that you are here today.
[0:09] Have you ever had a night when you just couldn't fall asleep?
[0:12] I mean, your body was tired, but your mind was still awake.
[0:16] You lie in bed, your eyes are closed but your ears very awake.
[0:22] You hear the cars far away, the sound of leaves, maybe frogs
[0:25] outside. And with every sound you think
[0:28] I'm still awake. That happened to me many times.
[0:33] I tried everything. Once I even started counting
[0:37] sheep. 1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep at #10I imagined 1 sheep
[0:43] falling. And then I had to start again.
[0:47] I counted and counted, but sleep never came.
[0:51] Then I opened my eyes and looked at the clock.
[0:55] What? It's already 3:00 AM.
[0:58] And then the stress came. Oh no, only a few hours until my
[1:02] alarm rings tomorrow I'll be so tired.
[1:07] And when this happens many nights, it's really not good.
[1:10] It takes away your energy and your good mood.
[1:13] Your body can't rest and recover.
[1:16] That's what today's episode is about.
[1:18] Sleep or better. How can we sleep better?
[1:24] I'll be honest, I don't have a magic answer, but in the last
[1:28] months I tried a few things, small changes that made a big
[1:32] difference and today I want to share them with you.
[1:41] Let me start with my evening eating habits.
[1:45] I still remember one night clearly.
[1:48] It was a long busy day and when I finally closed my laptop it
[1:52] was almost midnight. I was so hungry.
[1:56] So I went to the kitchen and made some instant noodles, spicy
[2:00] ones. I thought this will be warm and
[2:02] tasty. Then I went straight to bed and
[2:07] what happened? I just lay there, my stomach
[2:10] felt heavy and a little hot. I turned from side to side but I
[2:15] couldn't sleep. I thought I really shouldn't
[2:18] have eaten that. Since then I learned something,
[2:22] Eating right before bed is not a good idea, especially spicy or
[2:26] heavy food. Our body needs time to digest
[2:29] and it can't sleep well at the same time.
[2:32] And there is another thing I didn't think about before,
[2:35] caffeine. I love coffee really, but I
[2:40] didn't realize how long caffeine stays in the body.
[2:43] Before. I used to drink coffee at 3:00
[2:46] or 4:00 PM, especially when I felt tired in the afternoon.
[2:50] But then in the evening I couldn't relax or fall asleep.
[2:54] Now I try not to drink coffee or other drinks with caffeine after
[2:57] lunch. And guess what?
[2:59] Falling asleep is much easier now.
[3:02] Another little tip, I stopped drinking water at least one hour
[3:07] before going to bed. You may think why water is good.
[3:12] Yes, water is very good. But before I used to drink until
[3:17] bedtime and then I had to wake up every night to go to the
[3:21] bathroom. After that, it was hard to fall
[3:24] asleep again. Something else that helped me a
[3:27] lot, having a regular sleep schedule.
[3:31] There was a time when I went to bed very late, around one or two
[3:35] in the morning because I was watching series.
[3:38] At first I thought it's OK, I can sleep more tomorrow.
[3:43] But after a few days I started to feel different.
[3:46] During the day I was always tired and had no energy, and at
[3:50] night I was suddenly very awake again.
[3:53] Then I understood I had broken my natural rhythm.
[3:58] Since then I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time
[4:01] every day. Of course, it's not always easy,
[4:05] especially on weekends, but now my rhythm is more stable and I
[4:10] feel sleepy more naturally at night.
[4:13] And honestly, even when my sleep rhythm is OK, there are
[4:17] afternoons when I feel very tired.
[4:20] Sometimes my mind is just full, Too many thoughts, too many
[4:25] things to do. On those days, I allow myself to
[4:29] take a short nap, but I learned a nap of 15 to 30 minutes is
[4:35] enough. If I sleep longer, I feel more
[4:38] tired and then I can't sleep at night.
[4:43] Do you know what else helped me? Some small changes in my
[4:46] bedroom. For example, the temperature.
[4:49] If it's too warm, I can't sleep, so I usually leave the window a
[4:52] little open at night. Fresh air helps me relax.
[4:56] Light is also very important. Before I didn't think about it,
[5:01] but it's true. Less light in the evening means
[5:04] more melatonin and better sleep. Now I have a darker bedside lamp
[5:09] and blackout curtains because St. lights always used to wake
[5:12] me up. And to be honest one of the
[5:15] biggest changes was this putting away my phone at least one hour
[5:19] before bed. The blue light from the screen
[5:22] tells your brain it's daytime. No wonder I couldn't relax
[5:26] before. Another thing, movement.
[5:30] When I don't move much during the day, I don't feel sleepy at
[5:33] night, my body thinks why should I rest?
[5:37] I didn't do anything, but when I go for a walk or clean the
[5:40] house, my sleep feels much deeper.
[5:44] And what do I do if I still can't fall asleep?
[5:48] I don't stay in bed and get angry.
[5:50] I get up and do something calm. Maybe I read a few pages of a
[5:54] book, take a warm foot bath or listen to quiet music.
[5:59] After a while I start feeling sleepy again and when I go back
[6:03] to bed I usually fall asleep fast.
[6:11] I don't say that these are magic tricks, but for me, these small
[6:15] things made a big difference. They helped me calm down in the
[6:18] evening and that's often the first step to sleep.
[6:22] I hope you found something helpful today.
[6:25] Maybe you can try one of these tips tonight.
[6:28] Thank you for being here again. If you liked this episode,
[6:32] please give us a thumbs up. Share it with your friends and
[6:36] subscribe to our channel so you don't miss the next one.
[6:39] Have a good night and sweet dreams.
[6:45] All right, let's take a moment to learn some useful vocabulary
[6:49] related to today's topic. These words will make it easier
[6:53] for you to follow our conversation and use them in
[6:56] real life. The first word of today is
[6:59] sleep. It means the natural rest of
[7:03] your body and mind, usually at night.
[7:06] Example. I try to get 8 hours of sleep
[7:09] every night. The next word is caffeine.
[7:14] It means a chemical in coffee, tea and cola that keeps you
[7:18] awake. Example.
[7:20] I don't drink coffee at night because it has caffeine.
[7:24] The next word is relax. It means to rest and feel calm,
[7:30] not worried or stressed. Example.
[7:35] I take a warm shower before bed to relax.
[7:39] The next word is habit. It means something you do often,
[7:43] sometimes without thinking. Example.
[7:47] Going to bed early is a good habit for your health.
[7:52] The last word of today is energy.
[7:55] It means the power you have to do things.
[7:57] How strong or active you feel? Example, after a good night's
[8:02] sleep, I have more energy in the morning.
[8:09] All right, time to challenge yourself a bit.
[8:11] Let's listen to the conversation again, this time without
[8:15] subtitles. See how much you can understand.
[8:23] Hello and welcome to a new episode.
[8:26] I'm really happy that you are here today.
[8:28] Have you ever had a night when you just couldn't fall asleep?
[8:32] I mean, your body was tired, but your mind was still awake.
[8:35] You lie in bed, your eyes are closed but your ears very awake.
[8:41] You hear the cars far away, the sound of leaves, maybe frogs
[8:45] outside. And with every sound you think
[8:47] I'm still awake. That happened to me many times.
[8:52] I tried everything. Once I even started counting
[8:57] sheep. One sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep at
[9:01] #10I imagined 1 sheep falling. And then I had to start again.
[9:06] I counted and counted, but sleep never came.
[9:11] Then I opened my eyes and looked at the clock.
[9:14] What? It's already 3:00 AM.
[9:17] And then the stress came. Oh no, only a few hours until my
[9:22] alarm rings tomorrow. I'll be so tired.
[9:27] And when this happens many nights, it's really not good.
[9:30] It takes away your energy and your good mood.
[9:33] Your body can't rest and recover.
[9:36] That's what today's episode is about.
[9:38] Sleep or better. How can we sleep better?
[9:43] I'll be honest, I don't have a magic answer, but in the last
[9:48] months I tried a few things, small changes that made a big
[9:52] difference. And today I want to share them
[9:55] with you. Let me start with my evening
[10:03] eating habits. I still remember one night
[10:06] clearly. It was a long busy day and when
[10:10] I finally closed my laptop it was almost midnight.
[10:13] I was so hungry. So I went to the kitchen and
[10:17] made some instant noodles, spicy ones.
[10:20] I thought, this will be warm and tasty.
[10:24] Then I went straight to bed and what happened?
[10:28] I just lay there. My stomach felt heavy and a
[10:31] little hot. I turned from side to side but I
[10:35] couldn't sleep. I thought I really shouldn't
[10:37] have eaten that. Since then I learned something.
[10:42] Eating right before bed is not a good idea, especially spicy or
[10:46] heavy food. Our body needs time to digest
[10:49] and it can't sleep well at the same time.
[10:52] And there is another thing I didn't think about before.
[10:55] Caffeine. I love coffee, really, but I
[10:59] didn't realize how long caffeine stays in the body.
[11:03] Before, I used to drink coffee at 3:00 or 4:00 PM, especially
[11:07] when I felt tired in the afternoon.
[11:09] But then in the evening I couldn't relax or fall asleep.
[11:13] Now I try not to drink coffee or other drinks with caffeine after
[11:17] lunch. And guess what?
[11:19] Falling asleep is much easier now.
[11:22] Another little tip, I stopped drinking water at least one hour
[11:26] before going to bed. You may think why water is good,
[11:32] yes water is very good, but before I used to drink until
[11:36] bedtime and then I had to wake up every night to go to the
[11:40] bathroom. After that it was hard to fall
[11:43] asleep again. Something else that helped me a
[11:47] lot? Having a regular sleep schedule.
[11:51] There was a time when I went to bed very late, around one or two
[11:54] in the morning, because I was watching series.
[11:58] At first I thought it's OK, I can sleep more tomorrow.
[12:02] But after a few days I started to feel different.
[12:06] During the day I was always tired and had no energy, and at
[12:10] night I was suddenly very awake again.
[12:13] Then I understood I had broken my natural rhythm.
[12:17] Since then I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time
[12:21] every day. Of course, it's not always easy,
[12:25] especially on weekends. But now my rhythm is more stable
[12:29] and I feel sleepy more naturally at night.
[12:33] And honestly, even when my sleep rhythm is OK, there are
[12:37] afternoons when I feel very tired.
[12:40] Sometimes my mind is just full, too many thoughts, too many
[12:45] things to do. On those days, I allow myself to
[12:48] take a short nap, but I learned a nap of 15 to 30 minutes is
[12:54] enough. If I sleep longer, I feel more
[12:58] tired and then I can't sleep at night.
[13:02] Do you know what else helped me? Some small changes in my
[13:06] bedroom. For example, the temperature.
[13:08] If it's too warm, I can't sleep. So I usually leave the window a
[13:12] little open at night. Fresh air helps me relax.
[13:16] Light is also very important. Before I didn't think about it
[13:21] but it's true. Less light in the evening means
[13:23] more melatonin and better sleep. Now I have a darker bedside lamp
[13:29] and blackout curtains because St. lights always used to wake
[13:31] me up. And to be honest one of the
[13:34] biggest changes was this putting away my phone at least one hour
[13:39] before bed. The blue light from the screen
[13:42] tells your brain it's daytime. No wonder I couldn't relax
[13:46] before. Another thing, movement.
[13:50] When I don't move much during the day, I don't feel sleepy at
[13:53] night, my body thinks why should I rest?
[13:56] I didn't do anything. But when I go for a walk or
[14:00] clean the house, my sleep feels much deeper.
[14:04] And what do I do if I still can't fall asleep?
[14:08] I don't stay in bed and get angry.
[14:10] I get up and do something calm. Maybe I read a few pages of a
[14:14] book, take a warm foot bath or listen to quiet music.
[14:19] After a while I start feeling sleepy again and when I go back
[14:23] to bed I usually fall asleep fast.
[14:31] I don't say that these are magic tricks, but for me these small
[14:34] things made a big difference. They helped me calm down in the
[14:38] evening and that's often the first step to sleep.
[14:42] I hope you found something helpful today.
[14:44] Maybe you can try one of these tips tonight.
[14:47] Thank you for being here again. If you liked this episode,
[14:52] please give us a thumbs up, share it with your friends and
[14:56] subscribe to our channel so you don't miss the next one.
[14:59] Have a good night and sweet dreams.

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