The answer is probably not. With an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans having chronic, or ongoing, sleep disorders there definitely are sleep challenges. Between 10% and 30% of adults struggle with insomnia; and women report poorer quality and more disrupted sleep across various life stages than men. Additional statistics includes 35% of all adults in the U.S. report sleeping less than seven hours per night and about half say they feel sleepy during the day anywhere from three to seven times a week!
Challenges of Poor Sleep Quality
Unfortunately, sleep deficiencies can affect your overall health in many ways. If you are not getting enough sleep or wake up often during the night you may have a higher risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, obesity, stroke, and depression. Your immune system is also affected by your sleep. When you sleep, a particular type of immune cell works harder. When people don’t sleep enough, they may be more likely to get colds and other infections. Lack of sleep can also affect how well you react, work, learn, think and get along with others. As you can see it is important to get enough quality sleep.
Sleep Hygiene
The National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of sleep per night for adults between 18 and 64! Adults over 65 need seven to eight hours. How many of us get nine hours of sleep a night? This could be a great goal to set and just think of the benefits to your overall health. Now the challenge is how to get that much sleep. There are many sleep hygiene techniques that can help.
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule-every day, even on the weekends or during vacation.
- Set a bedtime that allows for the 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
- Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
- Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime (60 minutes is better).
- Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
- Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
- It is best to not eat 2-3 hours before bed, this way your body can rest and not have to digest food.
More Tips
Additional tips can include avoid caffeine and alcohol before bedtime. Reduce your fluid intake before bed to eliminate the need to get up and use the bathroom.
Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet can also positively affect your sleep. Specific foods that may help with sleep include almonds, turkey, chamomile tea, kiwi, tart cherry juice, fatty fish, walnuts, and passionflower tea. Foods that are high in magnesium and melatonin can be especially helpful with sleep.
White noise can be helpful when falling asleep at night.
As you can see, sleep plays a vital role in good health throughout your life. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. Unfortunately, there is a common myth that people can learn to get by on little sleep with no negative effects, but eventually your body will say enough is enough. Working on good sleep habits is a great investment in your health.
Heather
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