We all know sleep is important because our bodies' systems
undergo repair and maintenance during our sleep.
But during our lives, we will experience some sleepless
nights which are considered normal. But for some people,
poor quality sleep is a recurring or even a lifelong
problem.
When your sleep quality is affected, the end results could
well be feelings of fatigue during the day, irritability,
poor memory, loss of productivity and loss of interest in
family and social life.
Therefore, achieving quality sleep is very important to
your physical and emotional health. The quality of sleep
is associated with number of sleeping hours. Doctors
normally recommend that adults should need 7 to 10 hours of
sleep daily and children would require more hours. But it
varies among individuals. What matters is, for the
duration you sleep, are you achieving the right quality of
sleep?
Insomnia, or the inability to sleep well, is a common
problem which could affect anyone at one time or another. A
person with insomnia may have difficulty falling asleep or
staying asleep, wake up frequently during the night, or
wake up earlier than desired the next morning.
Insomnia generally falls into two categories, acute
insomnia and chronic insomnia.
Acute insomnia, which can last from one night up to several
weeks, may be caused by:
1. A single stressful event
2. A period of emotional stress
3. Illness
4. Temporary pain or discomfort
5. Disturbances in the sleeping environment such as noise,
light or sleeping in a different bed
6. A change in the normal sleep pattern, caused by jet lag
or working in a late shift
This kind of insomnia usually doesn't last long once the
root cause(s) is resolved. But it could be dangerous
during the healing period as lack of sleep over a
reasonable period could affect your concentration, leading
to serious consequences such as accidents while driving or
at work.
Chronic insomnia is more serious as it can last for months
or even years. The likely causes are:
1. Mental or emotional conditions, such as depression or
anxiety, or stress.
2. Poor sleep habits, such as watching television
programmes in bed or going to bed at different times.
3. Too much stimulants intake such as coffee or cigarettes.
4. Excessive drinking
5. Lack of regular exercise
6. Existing medical health problems such as breathing or
heart problems, hormonal or digestive disorder, or chronic
pain
7. Side effects of certain drugs
8. A different sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.
Before we go on, a little more explanation is required here
for sleep apnea. It is a condition whereby a person
regularly stops breathing, or has slowed breathing during
sleep for 10 seconds or longer. Depending on the frequency
the breathing stops (apnea) or slows (hypopnea), we
classify the condition as mild, moderate or severe.
A person suffering from sleep apnea may snore loudly, and
have restless sleep with difficulty breathing. As a
result, he may wake up with a headache and tiredness which
last the whole day. However, sleep apnea may improve with
changes in sleeping habits. Sometimes, doctors may suggest
use of devices to help easier breathing during sleep or
even surgery.
Insomnia can be cured as long as the victim develops a
regular sleeping habit.
Here are some remedies to help you ease or eliminate your
sleeping disorder:
1. Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and sex only i.e.
avoid eating, working, computers, TV, video or loud music
in the bedroom
2. Create a clean and comfy environment for sleeping - soft
lights, good ventilation, appropriate room temperature,
good support pillows, sufficient comforters
3. Avoid caffeine drinks such as coffee, tea, soft drinks
or chocolate drink and/or cigarettes after 7pm in the
evening. Also avoid snacking before bedtime.
4. Improve your diet by reducing meat intake and eating
more fruits and vegetables especially kiwi, berries, green
leafy vegetables, whole grains and cereals.
5. Switch off your mobile phones, blackberries, MSN or
Yahoo! Messenger, ICQ etc after a certain time at night.
6. Drink a glass of warm drink such as soymilk or herbal
tea before going to bed. But remember to visit the bathroom
right before bed to reduce the chances of needing to get up
later to do it.
7. If you find you can't sleep after half an hour in bed,
get up and read a book or listen to some soothing music.
Use warm tungsten reading lamp instead of florescent lamp
and don't read books which are stimulating. Avoid watching
TV, VCDs or DVDs as the light from these devices are bright
and will affect the body's biological clock, worsening your
sleeplessness condition. You can return to bed as soon as
you feel sleepy.
8. Exercise regularly does help to release tension, aiding
sleep. But note not to do it late at night as this can
result in insomnia.
9. Train your body to sleep and wake up at the same time
every day regardless of whether it is a weekend or public
holiday. The ideal time to get into bed is between 9 to
11pm so as to achieve the desired 8 hours of sleep.
10. If you need to nap during the day, try to keep it
within 45 minutes which is sufficient to rejuvenate you.
Napping too long may result in groggier mind and adversely
affect your nocturnal sleep.
11. If you're working at home, stop work at least two hours
before bedtime to allow your mind to unwind and relax.
With all these measures, doctors sometimes still need to
prescribe hypnotics for sleep as treatment for insomnia
But these medications are meant for short term only while
patients try to find solutions to their various acute
stressful problems.
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Laura Ng is passionate in providing quality nutritional
facts and
health tips, plus recommending 100% toxic-free vegan
recipes to
anyone who cares about his/her health. Join her iOneHealth
Club now to receive more health secrets and freebies
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