Although many factors influence how much sleep you really need, most young
adults report sleeping about seven and a half hours on weekday nights and eight
and a half hours on weekend nights. Although the common recommendation is eight
hours a night, individual needs vary greatly.
What happens
when you don’t get enough sleep?
Not getting the proper amount of sleep can have serious consequences. Many
studies have shown that sleep deprivation adversely affects performance and
alertness. Reducing sleep by as little as 1.5 hours for just one night reduces
daytime alertness by about one-third. Conversely, getting too much sleep also
has negative effects. Excessive daytime sleepiness impairs memory, and the
ability to think and process information. It can also substantially increase
the risk of sustaining an occupational injury.
What can cause sleep deprivation?
- Stress and anxiety
- Medical problem
- Mental or emotional condition
- Sleep disorder
10 tips for more sound sleep:
-
Don’t consume caffeine, nicotine or alcohol within 4 hours of going
to bed.
- Exercise in the morning and allow a couple of hours to unwind before
going to bed.
- Darken the bedroom completely. Try wearing an eye mask and earplugs,
and use a sound generator to help you sleep during the day.
- Cut naps short. If you have trouble falling asleep, consider avoiding
naps. At the very least, limit them to less than an hour before mid-afternoon.
- Set a schedule to go to bed and get up. Stick with it, even on your days
off if possible.
- Don't answer the phone, the doorbell or run errands during your scheduled
bedtime.
-
Don’t toss and turn in bed. If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes,
do something else.
- Deal with stress. If daytime troubles keep you awake, try jotting notes
about ways to deal with them. Leave stress at the bedroom door, if you can.
- Take a warm bath. When your body gets ready for sleep, your temperature
drops. A bath may nudge your bedtime biochemistry along.
-
Grab a snack. It’s hard to sleep hungry, so try a light snack before
bedtime. Some researchers think tryptophan, a chemical found in milk,
naturally induces sleep.
Source: All information was taken from the http://www.webmd.com website. Some of the sound sleep tips were taken from “How To Sleep Well,” by the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic and Laboratory. The other articles featured in this description came from “Sleep: More Important Than You Think” and “How Much Sleep Do You Really Need” by Michael Breus, Ph.D. Both articles were featured on the wedmd website.
