These Might Be Some of the Reasons You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

If you find yourself tossing and turning, unable to go to sleep almost immediately you get to bed, you may have a serious issue. Sleeping is important for a good physical and mental health. Poor sleeping habits may be damaging to your health and lifestyle.

Here are some of the reasons you may identify with, and how you can change your habit for better health

Less time for sleep

How much sleep do we really need?  The amount of sleep depends on your age, gender and health.  Lack of enough hours affects your cognitive and physical health. You end up feeling exhausted and you can’t think straight. One of the dangerous effects of sleeping for a lesser time than required is drowsiness and indecisiveness. This may lead to serious accidents which you can avoid.

According to specialists, children need between 10 to 14 hours of sleep while adults should sleep for about 7 to 20 hours per night. As you grow older, your sleeping patterns change a lot. Aging people need a similar amount of sleep to that of younger adults.

Health affects your sleep

As much as failing to sleep may affect your health, poor heath can cause lack of sleep. When out have sleep disorder or serious health issues, you are less likely to have a good night sleep

Here are a few health issues that may be affecting your sleep

Anxiety and stress

Mental disorders like stress and anxiety cause high blood pressure. When you have something on your mind, you are less likely to sleep. Stress causes irritability which prevents you from relaxing when you want to sleep

Insomnia

Insomnia is a condition where you have difficulty sleeping or falling asleep. Some of the causes of insomnia include medical conditions, stress or an unhealthy lifestyle

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a medical condition where your airways are completely or partially blocked during sleep. It leads to difficulty breathing, and can be treated with the help of breathing machinery. It may cause you to lie awake all night.

Blood pressure and heart conditions

Individuals with high blood pressure have difficulty relaxing. High blood pressure causes you to be irritable and anxious, your body temperature rises and this makes it hard to relax and fall asleep.

Wrong temperature

Most people are not aware that the temperature of your surrounding will determine your sleep patterns. When the temperature is too hot, you will be sweating, turning and tossing; by the time you fall asleep it’s too late.

Specialists recommend a temperature of about 67 to 69 degrees. A cooler temperature lowers down your body temperature and enhances the production of melatonin. This hormone works within minutes to make you feel tired and sleepy.

Distractions

Electronic that beep and blink throughout the night may disrupt you during your sleep. During the night, noise and light are confusing to your brain. They serve as distractions that keep up your brain activity.

When there is too much light, the brain produces little to no melatonin which gives you a hard time sleeping and keeping it that way. Make it a habit to turn off your electronics before you go to bed.

Noises are disruptive and can make you irritable and restless. When you sleep in potentially noisy places like a dorm room or urban apartments near highways, you are less likely to have 7 to ten full hours of sleep. Irritability will cause your blood pressure to rise and an increase in heat. These two conditions make it harder for you to relax and concentrate, which are important when you are trying to sleep.

Noise reducing headphones work best for people who are living in noisy environment. They keep the noise away so you can relax and sleep through the night.

The wrong diet

Drinking coffee can keep you awake for up to eight hours. This means that you will have less hours of sleep than recommended. The stimulant in coffee increases your heart rate and energy, which keeps you awake for hours. Foods with high amount of sugar add energy to your system, making you restless resulting to lack of sleep. Coffee, tea, energy drinks and soft drinks are some of the food products that are high in caffeine

Foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins work well together to induce sleepiness. Digestion of such foods may take a couple of hours; ensure you have a few hours between your meal and bedtime.

Dairy foods such as milk, yoghurt and cheese are a good source of melatonin. They can induce sleep up to 30 minutes after intake. If an extra snack does not disrupt your meal, you can co-operate one dairy product into your diet. You can find the same hormone in peanuts, oats and bananas.

You may use alcoholic products to help you fall asleep fast, but over time the body adopts t

Going to bed while full

Going to bed on a full stomach is known to cause a lot of problems. Some of the difficulties associated with a full stomach include nightmares, acid reflux, indigestion and weight gain. A full stomach means the process of digestion has not began. When you are full, your stomach produces bile for digestion.

When the digestion is slow, the bile (which is acidic) stays for a long time in the stomach and eventually starts to burn. The acid in your stomach makes you irritable and unable to relax.

Medications

Bothe prescription and non-prescription drugs can cause sleeping problems depending on the strength of the drug and its dosage. Drugs that cure depression, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, and blood sugar have a high chance of causing sleeplessness

Intensive exercise in the night

When you exercise, your body temperature and blood pressure rises. This means your heart rate will increase and you will be active for a while. Your body temperature decreases slowly until you begin to feel tired and drowsy. The more vigorous the exercise, the more time you will spend being active. When you do intensive work outs such as lifting or running for long miles too close to your bed time, you will spend too much time trying to wear out your body and find yourself sleeping for less hours than you should.

Try simple exercises like aerobics and yoga. Ensure you have a few hours of rest between the exercise and sleep.

Final word

Now that you have identified the problem, you can go ahead and find solutions to them. The earlier you six your sleeping issues, the better. When you ignore your bad sleeping habit, there are chances you will develop worse medical conditions in the long run.