Sleep Deprivation: 5 Ways To Better Sleep

A sleepy lethargic person is accident-prone and more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions. That’s the reason sleep deprivation contributes to road accidents and injuries.

Good sleep for a human is as important as other basic requirements of a body to live a life such as food and water. But in today’s time where life stress, work stress, anxiety, and health issues are becoming common and speeding up, many of us do not get good and adequate quality of sleep.

Sleep deprivation due to Stress, illness, or pain

We all have experienced sleep deprivation at some point in our lives. It may be due to stress, illness, or pain that may have affected our sleep. But prolonged sleep deprivation can have significant and adverse effects on our body’s health. These changes can be minor as well as major side effects on our body which include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.

Through various studies and research, it has been repeatedly found that Sleep deprivation, or a state caused by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep can put your health in a danger zone.

What is a good amount of sleep that our body needs?

Tricks to induce a healthy sleep environment — Image Source – health line

A sufficient amount of sleep or we can say a good quality sleep depends upon your age. Teenagers need more sleep than adults.

Infants between 4 to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per day.
Children between 1 to 2 years should sleep for at least 14 hours.
Children between 3 to 5 years of age should get a sleep of 10 to 13 hours.
Children of age 6 to 12 should sleep for 9 to 12 hours.
Teenagers of 13 to 18 years should sleep for 8 to 10 hours and adults should sleep for 7 or more hours per 24 hours.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation

Feeling drowsiness or lethargy at day time
Waking up during sleep at night
Waking up too early
Depression
Anxiety
Facing difficulty in decision-making and doing day-to-day functions
Not able to concentrate and remember things

Causes of sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation: 5 ways to better sleep - Asiana Times — blue light exposure

Unfortunately, Our quality and quantity of sleep are directly associated with our age and body health but there are also some other causes too that may also impact our sleeping pattern as well as our ability to function day to day. Low quality or improper sleep may involve :

Insomnia

It’s a common sleeping disorder that makes it very difficult to fall asleep, or causes you to wake up too early and not allow you to be able to sleep again. Insomnia in adults can be experienced for a short time which can last for days or weeks.

2.Medications

Prescribed drugs such as for asthma or blood pressure are antidepressants where some pain, allergy, and cold medication contains caffeine and other stimulants which can create interference while sleeping.

3. Unregulated stress and worry

Stress could be in a job, relationship, finances, health, and welfare. There are many distractions during the day time which keep our mind distracted and not worry unless we lay down on our bed to sleep at night with our anxious thoughts.

4. Work schedules

People who work long hours or perform multiple jobs have tight sleeping schedules. Work obligations may reduce the time available for sleep which again disturbs the sleeping pattern.

5. Bad eating habits

Bad eating habits include the consumption of alcohol, too much intake of caffeine through coffee or other beverages, eating just before sleeping, and other junk food that affects our health, and sleep also affects our sleeping.

How to get a good sleep?

Following are some ways to improve your sleep. Otherwise, you should visit the doctor if problems persist.