Entry

What sleep changes can you implement to improve insomnia?

Mar 14th, 2008 21:10
ha mo, Phil Tsang, http://www.howtobeatinsomnia.com

If you suffer from sleep problems during the night, then your days
probably aren't going very well either. Almost one out of every three
adults is affected by conditions that damage the quality of their sleep.
Some of the more commons problems reported include restless legs
syndrome, sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, and insomnia.
Sleep disorders can be caused by a wide range of factors, but they
essentially add up to one thing: sleep deprivation. Each one of us
requires a different amount of sleep at night.  Although the amount that
we need can be different, we all share one thing in common.  If we don't
get enough sleep, the effects of sleep deprivation will begin to affect
us almost immediately.
Lack of sleep will have different effects on different people.  Some may
notice difficulty concentrating at work.  Another common effect that
lack of sleep has on people is irritability or sleepiness throughout the
day. Losing sleep at night can lead to a day filled with aching muscles
or feelings of fatigue.  There could be mental effects as well, like
difficulty remembering things and an inability to cope with stress.
Insomnia is the most common sleep problem.  Whether insomnia is
transient, intermittent, or chronic, it interferes with your body's
natural ability to heal itself.  Instead of awaking refreshed and
energetic, insomnia sufferers deal with a decreasing quality of life,
and could be putting themselves and others in danger.
Insomnia can have many causes and there are a variety of alternative
treatments available.  But the quick and easy answer for many is to use
a sleeping pill.  Although sleep aids may offer some short-term relief,
in the long run they could be damaging your body's natural sleep
rhythms.  Taking sleeping pills for an extended period of time could put
you in a worse situation than you are in today.
Before you begin to rely on sleeping pills, you should explore other
options.  There may be some simple lifestyle changes you could make that
would have a positive effect on your ability to sleep.  Sleep problems
are often related to choices and actions that we can easily change.  For
example, making some adjustments to your diet would be much better than
becoming dependent on prescription drugs.  A good first step is to
educate yourself about sleep, the stages of sleep, and the ways that you
can develop your own healthy sleep habits.  This will put you on the way
to finding a healthy solution that doesn't involve depending on a bottle.
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