According to the National Sleep Foundation, short sleep duration is linked to all of the following health conditions and diseases:
Obesity
Diabetes
Heart problems
Depression
Poor short-term memory
So how many hours of quality sleep does a person need per night on average? Sleep needs per individual do vary and there is no hard and fast rule; however, it is generally believed that an adult should be getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Getting more or less than this may put you at greater risk of death. It should be noted that the research is less conclusive that getting too much sleep will pose problems while there is a much stronger link that getting too little sleep will.
Let's look into why sleep deprivation may contribute to two of the conditions mentioned above obesity and heart problems, and then we will talk about a few ways to help you overcome your poor sleep issues without medication.
Sleep Deprivation and Weight Gain
When you get too little sleep, hormones that regulate your hunger are affected in ways that make you feel hungrier than normal. As a result, you are more likely to eat food even when you don't need the calories. Some studies suggest that you are more likely to crave carbohydrates in particular and if you are craving such carbohydrates as sugar, potatoes, and bread, you are definitely not doing your waist line a favor.
Sleep Deprivation and Heart Problems
There are laboratory studies that suggest sleep deprivation may also contribute to various conditions that affect the heart negatively. When you get too little sleep, stress hormones in your body elevate, blood pressure increases, and your body moves into an inflammatory state. All of these factors put you at greater risk for heart disease.
Now let's talk about some of the key actions you can implement starting tonight to improve your sleep naturally without medication. Most sleep issues are caused by noise. The three types of noise that may be preventing you from sleeping are bed noise, body noise, and mind noise.
Bed noise has to do with the bedroom environment. Is it conducive to sleep? Is your bed comfortable? Is it quiet? Is it dark? Is the temperature cool enough? If you have an issue in this area, make the appropriate changes soon.
Body noise has to do with physical discomfort. Sometimes it is difficult to get to sleep because you are experiencing pain. Perhaps you have leg cramps, your back aches, or you are feeling sick. If this is the reason you are struggling to sleep, you need to find a way to lessen your physical discomfort or uncover what the root cause of your discomfort is so that you can address it.
Mind noise is when your thoughts are racing through your head a mile a minute. The best way to calm the mind is to do a relaxation exercise while in bed and focus on your breath. One that I sometimes use while in bed follows:
1. Lay on your back with your eyes closed
2. Put your arms to your side, slightly away from your body, palms facing up
3. Spread your legs slightly
4. Start focusing your mind on your breath without trying to control it and notice what it feels like as you draw in a breath and then exhale. Do this for a minute or two.
5. Next, take in a deep breath through the nose and with your mind send this breath down the right side of your body all the way to your right foot and toes. When you exhale, visualize your breath removing all the tension from your right toes, foot, and leg and let the tension leave your body with the breath.
6. Move on to the left side of the body with the left leg, foot and toes.
7. Next move on to the center of your body followed by your arms and then your shoulders, neck and head.
8. At the very end, take a deep breath and allow your breath to travel through your entire body. When you exhale remove every last piece of tension by exhaling the tension out into the atmosphere.
Your mind will be quiet now, and you will be ready to sleep oh so peacefully once again.
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