Unhealthy habits and underlying conditions result in sleep disturbances.
After an amazing night's rest, the world seems sunny. But when sleep is often disturbed, it’s a unique story. A scarcity of Zs makes it difficult to think and straightforward to turn into irritable and anxious. In the long run, insufficient sleep increases your risk of obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and even premature death. This makes it essential to know what’s disrupting your sleep.
1. It may very well be your age.
Sometimes older adults find they get up early within the morning, once they feel they needs to be sleeping. But it often reflects your sleep-wake schedule, not disrupts sleep.
“Your circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle, can change dramatically as you grow old, causing you to go to sleep earlier. So, in case your 'biological' evening time is 8 p.m. is early, so your natural wake-up time could be around 4 a.m., says Dr. British.
2. It might be your lifestyle.
A typical explanation for sleep disturbances is a way of life that features any of the next habits:
- Drinking alcohol inside 4 hours of going to bed. A nightcap can assist you sleep, but it may well also disrupt sleep later within the night, and cause more trips to the toilet.
- Eating inside a couple of hours of going to bed. Lying on a full stomach can aggravate heartburn, making it difficult to go to sleep and stay asleep.
- Too much sleep. Long naps within the afternoon or later make it difficult to go to sleep at night.
- Consuming an excessive amount of caffeine.Caffeine (in coffee, tea, and soda) blocks a brain chemical called adenosine that helps you sleep. Cut back on caffeinated foods and drinks from early afternoon onwards.
Changing these habits will help reduce sleep disturbances, sometimes quickly, Dr. Burtish says.
3. It may very well be your medicine.
Some medications could cause you to get up at night. Examples are included.
- Some antidepressants
- Beta blockers for the treatment of hypertension
- Cold treatment containing alcohol
- Corticosteroids to treat inflammation or asthma
Dr. British suggests asking your doctor in case your medication could be the offender and if there's a unique time of day to take it or one other medication that won't disrupt your sleep.
4. It could also be an underlying condition.
Many chronic health problems can put a monkey wrench in sleep. These are most typical in older people:
- Anxiety or depression. Anxiety or depressed mood could make it difficult to go to sleep and stay asleep.
- An enlarged prostate gland (benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH). The urge to empty the bladder keeps men with BPH awake throughout the night.
- Chronic pain. It's hard to sleep once you're in pain. “And it's a two-way street. Lack of sleep makes the pain worse the next day,” says Dr. Burtish.
- Neuropathy. Tingling, numbness, or pain within the hands and feet may cause frequent awakenings.
- Sleep apnea. Loud snoring and staying up late at night could be a sign of sleep apnea, which causes short pauses in respiratory at night and sleepiness in the course of the day.
How to manage
There isn’t any have to live with the burden of disturbed sleep. If you’re feeling it's interfering together with your sleep, change your lifestyle or consult with your doctor about higher treatment options or investigation of possible underlying conditions.
And practice good sleep hygiene:
- Get up at the identical time each day.
- Avoid electronic devices (which emit light and stimulate the brain) at the very least two hours before bed.
- Sleep in a quiet, dark, cool place.
- Exercise commonly (but not inside an hour of bedtime).
If you're already practicing healthy sleep habits but still have trouble falling asleep, consider cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i). CBT-i is a proven approach to treating insomnia through rest techniques, talk therapy, and adjustments to time spent in bed. It works together with your body's natural sleep controllers to rewire the brain to realize healthy sleep.
The excellent news: You can improve sleep quality and regain that morning sun feeling. “When you sleep better,” says Dr. Burtish, “you're more likely to see improvements in your daily functioning, concentration, energy level, and quality of life.”
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