According to the FDA, most adults need at least 8 hours of sleep every night to be well rested. However, not everyone gets the sleep they need to be well rested. Some 40 million people in the US suffer from sleep problems every year.
When we don't get enough sleep and it can impact our lives, causing health problems. Or it can magnify problems like diabetes and high blood pressure.
There are a number of things that can interrupt our sleep. Working long hours may keep us away from bed. Stress either in our personal lives or professional lives may prevent us from resting. If our kid gets sick, we want to care for them. Simple things like light or sound from a TV set or traffic outside our window can impair sleep. Comfort, as in too hot, too cold or the wrong firmness in our mattress (or a worn out mattress) can keep us awake at night. And finally, lifestyle issues like alcohol too close to bed time can cause poor sleep.
There are also other problems, less in our control that may be happening. We may experience insomnia. We may be sleepy during the day. Snoring and sleep apnea can affect the quality of sleep. Let's take a look at these issues.
Insomnia is caused by having trouble falling asleep, or having trouble getting back to sleep if we are awakened. Or just waking up too early, well before the alarm. How can we combat this? Taking some medicines may help the issue, and/or changing our routine, can help up to 85% of those with insomnia. Unlike the FDA, this author prefers to try more natural ways of getting sleep, so we would promote the change in routine first, and if that doesn't solve the problem, perhaps it is time to try medication. Consider your sleep environment, is it too close to a busy street? Are there street lights beaming in the window? Is it too hot or too cold? Are you comfortable in your bed? By making those a priority, maybe consider noise dampening, light dampening window treatments, perhaps we can solve the problem of insomnia. Or a simple thing like a new mattress, can help. Go to bed on a schedule, get up at the same time 7 days a week. Avoid recreational drugs like caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol 4 to 6 hours from bed time. Here's a good one: don't exercise, well at least in the 2 hours before you need to go to sleep. Be careful with naps, for a normal schedule, try not to nap after 3 in the afternoon. Take time, maybe a half hour to unwind doing something relaxing before bed. And if you find yourself unable to fall asleep for more than about 20 minutes, get up and do something quiet like sitting in a chair in a dim room. If none of these work, and in consultation with your doctor there may be medical treatment available to help break the cycle of bad sleep.
So you get enough sleep, yet you feel sleepy during the day, what's up with that? If you experience things like slowed thinking, trouble paying attention, heavy eyelids, or just a cranky feeling, you may have something going on which needs medical attention. It is normal to experience these symptoms occasionally, but when they are the norm, you may be symptomatic of things like narcolepsy in which people will feel sleepy even after sleeping all night. Things like this need a doctors care, please do not delay.
Snoring can be annoying, especially if it is your partner. Snoring is caused by the soft palette vibrating against the back of the throat. There are several things you can do to reduce snoring. Please don't use the pillow over the face method! Losing weight can help, cutting down on smoking and drinking can be effective, as well as changing your sleep position, sleep on your side or raise the head of the bed. You might also try the nasal strips available over the counter to make breathing easier.
Snoring can also be a sign of Sleep Apnea. If you snore, and have daytime sleepiness, ask your doctor if you might have Sleep Apnea. Your breathing may stop multiple times at night with Sleep Apnea, and the danger is you may not start breathing again. Please take Sleep Apnea seriously, it can be deadly. Sleep Apnea is treatable. Again work with your doctor, but losing weight may be all you need, or stopping smoking, or avoiding alcoholic drinks. In the worse cases there are products, called C-PAP that can keep you breathing, or even surgery to correct physical restrictions in the airway.
Take sleep seriously, it is important to your quality of life. Ignoring sleep problems can reduce your life expectancy, and make you less happy to be alive. Sleep is important in our circadian body clock, like diet and exercise, the proper amount of sleep can make you more productive, happier, less prone to other health issues, and bring about a better quality of life.
Sleep Well!
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