Can’t Sleep?

The quality and quantity of our sleep can be affected in many ways that can eventually lead to significant and negative health outcomes. This article outlines the contributors to poor sleep habits, and looks at ways we can improve the quality and quantity of our sleep.

These factors include

Psychological Stressors: The normal stressors of our daily lives can have an impact on our sleep habits if we are lying in bed obsessing about what happened that day or what will happen the next day. When we review the stressors of our day while lying in bed, it can feel nearly impossible to fall asleep. If you are experiencing many psychological stressors, it is a good idea to find coping tools such as meditation and relaxation to decrease levels of stress and anxiety. In many cases, it is a good idea to consult a licensed therapist if the stressors are causing a significant amount of distress and sleep loss in your life.

Circadian Rhythm: Our natural twenty-four hour sleep rhythm is what creates our day to night sleep cycle. Our rhythm can be disturbed and can affect our sleep habits due to external factors such as napping during the day, working the night shift, exercising late at night, changing time zones, and exposure to light during night time. If possible, try to minimize activities that will throw off your circadian rhythm by developing a consistent sleep schedule each night.

Aging: Studies show that sleep patterns change once we hit forty years old, and that we will wake up more throughout the night. The more awakenings we have at night, the more groggy and stressed we will feel in our daily lives. This is why it important to begin a healthy sleep habits routine as soon as possible.

Social and recreational drugs: Substances such as alcohol, caffeine, and cigarettes can have a large impact on our sleep habits. Caffeine can stay in a person’s system for up to 14 hours, and can increase overall feelings of anxiety and irritability that may contribute to insomnia. High doses of nicotine can have the same effect. While alcohol can initially cause an individual to feel drowsy, after three hours of being absorbed into the body, it can lead to disturbed sleep by causing night sweats, bizarre dreams, headaches and dehydration. It is important to decrease use of these substances for many health reasons, not solely for improved sleep.

Finally, we must pay attention to the larger health picture. Since studies show that poor sleep habits can have a negative impact on our overall body’s health, this should be one of our utmost priorities when we develop new lifestyle changes. If we want to have healthy bodies, we must start with healthy minds by feeding our bodies adequately with the sleep that we need to function efficiently.