In order to find out if you are suffering from a lack of sleep you should answer these three questions: Are you always staring at the roof instead of falling asleep? Are you feeling tired due to a lack of sleep? Or do you still feel tired after getting enough sleep? Are you regularly waking up during the night suffering and frustrated at not falling asleep again? If you answered yes to any of the questions you are definitely not getting enough rest. Thirty three percent of you life is spent sleeping. This is a large part of your life, so it should obvious that sleeping is almost as important to your health as drinking water or eating. There are those who believe that sleep is a waste of time. They fall asleep late at night in their chairs and get up early to go to work. They are tired and grumpy all day from lack of sleep. But, there are those individuals who can sleep a few hours each night and feel full of energy all day. Their body has adapted to a completely different sleep pattern. The average person needs about 7 or 8 hours of sleep each night to fully functional in all their tasks. Unfortunately very few people actually get that much rest Avoid any coffee, tea (except herbal teas), or alcohol. Caffeine will impair your body's ability to fall sleep. Alcohol may cause drowsiness but it destroys REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and the deeper states of sleep, and the hangover you get the next morning will ruin your day Do not try to force yourself to sleep. Sleep comes easily when you are comfortable and relaxed. If you can put your body in a relaxed state it will also help lower your anxiety and stress which also interfere with the sleep state. Get up and go to sleep at the same time everyday, even on the weekends. Insomniacs usually sleep at any time of the day to attempt to catch up on some sleep they lose during the night. Avoid any food after 8 pm, or at least 4 hours prior to going to bed. If you can not do without food try to eat a light snack such as having a few crackers and some cheese. Avoid the temptation to have a big meal as this will make you stomach work all night long and make you even more tired the next day. Daily exercise helps to relieve stress and tension in the body to release tension. When traveling or after a plane trip try to at least do some stretching, or yoga prior to sleeping. Exercise will benefit your body in more ways than one. The deep breathing you will do during exercise helps to further relax the body. Sleep deprivation can have many side effects. Not getting enough rest or sleep may cause confusion and inattentiveness, which may further result in accidents, miscommunication, and even death! The consequences can be serious. |
