Five Shocking Things You Didn"t Know About A Good Night"s Rest

With hectic schedules, constant electronic connection and family responsibilities. Many people are finding themselves struggling to go down each night for restful sleep after a long day had ended. However, a number of factors you may not know about can contribute to poor sleep patterns and their bad effects throughout the day.

 

1 – Mild Phobias Sometimes Cause Sleep Problems

If you have problems falling asleep, it may be because of mild phobias that you aren’t aware of, but still cause enough mental distress to keep you awake. These fears can range from fear of the dark to issues of personal safety or stress from events earlier in life. These issues may require professional help to allow a good night’s sleep.

 

2 – Night Time Breathing Problems Can Have Serious Health Effects

Sleep apnea causes periods of halted breathing during the night that can disturb sleep and lead to serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and even dementia. Your dentist can fit you with a dental appliance that helps to support the tissues of the mouth and throat so that you can breathe effectively all night long and get full night’s worth of healthy, refreshing sleep. The professionals from Sheron Dental say that obstructive breathing can be one of the largest sleep issues that adults struggle with.

 

3 – A Good Night’s Sleep Helps You To Maintain A Healthy Weight

A number of studies confirm that people who get less than six hours of sleep each night tend to gain weight more easily than those who sleep longer. Researchers believe this occurs because poor sleep habits can increase the amount of a stress hormone in the body called cortisol. This hormone is associated with weight gain, especially around the waist.

 

4 – Sleep Problems Affect Immune System Function

Lack of sleep can affect your immune system function, making you more vulnerable to getting colds, the flu and other transient illnesses that are ordinarily in your environment. Getting the right amount of sleep on a consistent basis is a great way to ensure that you can resist these pathogens so that you can stay healthy.

 

5 – Timing of Exercise Can Help You Sleep Better

Regular exercise is important for your overall good health. However, if you exercise too close to you bedtime, it can interfere with your ability to relax before sleep and fall asleep easily. Ensure that your exercise routine is completed at least 6 hours before your bedtime to allow your body to return to a proper resting state.

 

Your sleep is an important to your health as good diet, regular exercise and proper medical care. Ensure that you are doing all you can to foster good sleep habits every night. Your body is a combination of many systems and for optimum health all those systems need to be working together properly. Sleep plays a vital role, allowing your body to rebuild itself and be ready for the next day. Learn from this tips and apply what you are lacking into your life.

 

About the Author:

Brionna Kennedy is native to the Pacific Northwest, growing up in Washington, then moving down to Oregon for college. She enjoys writing on fashion and business, but any subject will do, she loves to learn about new topics. When she isn’t writing, she lives for the outdoors. Oregon has been the perfect setting to indulge her love of kayaking, rock climbing, and hiking.

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Seniors: Get a Better Night"s Rest With These Tips

As we age it becomes increasingly difficult to get a good night’s sleep, as our sleep patterns change dramatically. The great restful sleep we used to enjoy in our younger days gradually dissipates until it’s difficult to even fall asleep, let alone be well rested. By the time we reach 70, our night time sleep has shrunk by almost half meaning we get just 6.6 hours, compared to 11.6 when we are infants. There are a number of problems which can interfere with our ability to sleep, from dietary complaints to bone problems, which should be examined by a GP, but these are some ways to improve your sleep pattern. From lifestyle changes to simply being more active, your lifestyle choices could be to blame for your lack of sleep. These are easily modified though, so that you can rest and sleep for longer – effective sleep is vital for our wellbeing.

 

Exercise is a great way to help your ability to sleep. Studies suggest that seniors who exercised slept an average of 50 minute more each night than those who led a sedentary lifestyle. In addition to that, women who were physically active rated their quality of sleep far higher than those who didn’t exercise. A brisk walk could be enough each day to improve your ability to sleep – if you’re new to exercise, build up to regular exercise to avoid injury and stress to the body. Changing your routine could actually help seniors to fall asleep more easily. Light meals in the evening are advised, such as fish and vegetables instead of spaghetti, as this will cut the risk of a disturbed nights sleep. The same can be said of liquids right before bedtime, which will only increase the need to wake up in the middle of the night needing the bathroom. It’s also helpful to avoid stressful activities right before bed, so save the tax forms or potentially stressful phone calls until the morning – they will only serve to upset a calmed mind. A nice warm bath and reading a book, or listening to music, to help you calm your mind before bed can be beneficial for many people.

If you live in a busy area, or are easily woken by noises outside, this will lead to a regularly disrupted sleep. Ear plugs can solve this problem fairly easily, helping to block out any unwanted noise to help you drift off peacefully and get a restful nights sleep. There are many varieties to choose from and they’re easily found – your local supermarket or pharmacy should stock them. Paradoxical thinking can also be effective – this works by tricking your body into trying to stay up as late as possible, instead of trying to fall asleep. This technique has proven effective for many people over the years. There are various variations on this concept, which may be worth looking into if your other changes haven’t work. Medication can be used, of course, but should be an absolute last resort. You should speak to your GP if you think you may need sleep medication to help you sleep more thoroughly, and this should be monitored closely as it is easy to form a habit with these pills. You may find that a combination of the above changes leads to a better nights sleep, but if there are health problems you have which are leading to a disrupted sleep these should be solved first – for example, people with arthritis often struggle to sleep because of the pain. Resolving these issues with the help of your GP could help you regain your sleep pattern again.

Categories: Age, disrupted sleep, easily, exercise, fall asleep, night, nights, nights sleep, seniors, sleep, sleep pattern, techniques