One of the most important factors in achieving and maintaining optimum health and wellness is sleep. And we are not only talking about just plain sleeping, but it’s more about the quality of sleep that we get. Sleep requirements may differ from person to person. There are scientific studies that try to quantify the length of hours needed or perhaps generate ideal characteristics of a goodnight sleep. But just to be plain and simple, you can judge the quality of your last night’s sleep based on how your body feels the morning you wake up. Do you still feel tired, dizzy, groggy or have a hazy mind when waking up? Yawning all throughout the day? Then you definitely did not get enough rest even when you think you’ve had enough hours on your bed.
There are also individuals who can’t sleep or can’t have well-rested nights due to things that are out of their control. These factors generally include existing medical conditions like insomnia, anxiety, medication side effects, etc.
Identify the cause of your sleep problems
Problem: Intentionally staying up and awake for extended hours
The most obvious and simplest reason for lack of sleep or erratic sleep patterns is you voluntary depriving yourself of that needed sleep. It can be your daily activities, work, or simply personal choice not to sleep early or on time. Reversing these habits usually bring back that natural body clock.
Problem: Age specific lack of sleep and genetics
You might have already noticed that some age groups tend to have more sleep hours than others. Look at the babies and little children, they stay home most of the day sleeping. During teenage years and into adulthood, we are too much active that sleep is greatly reduced. Finally, the elderly usually get tired easily and again gets much ample sleep. When it comes to genetics, there are certain individuals that can be genetically exposed to sleep-disrupting conditions than others.
Problem: Excessive use of gadgets and blue light emitting devices
This concern is again a little more than obvious. The more you use your gadgets and devices with that bright light at night, the less sleepy you are. Aside from making your brain active and alert, devices with screens such as tv, computers and mobile phones emit blue light. The body perceives blue light as the “wake up light” or daylight. So, less screen time, will be more and better sleep time.
Problem: Stress and Anxiety
Another top contributor to sleep problems is anxiety or too much stress. For you to understand in a simple manner, remember that you can’t get sleep or quality sleep when your brain is hyper or constantly thinking on almost all the things you worry about. Set aside your worries and don’t overthink on things and events and do some relaxation techniques.
Problem: Existing Medical or Health conditions that affect sleep
There are a number of medical or health concerns that disrupts the body’s natural clock. And these are the ones that we really can’t control so the best way to tackle them is to address the underlying medical issues. Examples of diseases that can disrupt sleep include insomnia itself, other sleep disorders like sleep apnea, heart failure, neurological or brain conditions, psychiatric or psychological problems, bodily injuries, severe body pains, chronic diseases like cancer, breathing problems, hyperthyroidism, and others.
Problem: Things that you eat or drink
Certain foods and drinks contribute to sleeplessness as well. Of course there’s coffee, nicotine and alcohol or the uppers. Eating heavy meals before bedtime or having late night snacks is also a factor. When your digestive system is still active before you go to sleep, you might have trouble sleeping. Lastly, the medications and supplements you take might have sleep-disrupting side effects as well so you might want to check their labels.
The FREE ROUTE: Having a good night sleep through natural techniques
- EXERCISE: The healthiest and most natural sleep-inducing activity
- Meditation and relaxation techniques
Natural and Supplemental Ways
Melatonin