Sleep is one of the quickest therapies for your body. It helps rejuvenate, repair, and energize your body for another day. Sleeping is not only meant to relax your body but also plays an essential medical role.
A good example is healing your heart and repairing your blood vessels. Another thing is that sleep enables you to refresh your brain by clearing out all the waste in the nervous system. Sleep deprivation has led to medical problems such as kidney disease, high blood pressure, low or high blood sugar, stroke, and heart disease.
What Are the Causes of Sleep Deprivation?
Not getting enough sleep is brought about by many factors where some are choices that we make while others are things, we have no control over.
1Environmental Factors
The surroundings in the place we choose to sleep have so much to say about our sleep quality. If your bedroom is right adjacent to a nightclub, you will not sleep well due to the loud noise. If it is too cold or too hot, the quality of sleep you get will not be as good as when the temperatures are proper. Again, bright light in your bedroom could be the source of a lack of good sleep.
Solution:The first thing is to ensure that you invest in a good place where you lie down at night. Having a California king mattress is ideal if you want to have a comfortable and relaxing place to sleep. Ensure that the home is not too noisy and if you live in an area prone to noise, install soundproof foam or acoustic panels. Even if you have task lights in the bedroom, switch on the ambient light as you prepare to go to bed. Switch off the lights when you lie on the bed and get a sleep mask if need be.
2Health Problems
There are a variety of conditions linked to insomnia and other bad sleeping habits. Such diseases include cancer, diabetes, overactive thyroid, asthma, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. People who suffer from one or some of these diseases are said to have a hard time getting some sleep. It is also important to note that some medications cause sleep deprivation.
Solution: Talk to your doctor if you are having sleeping problems. They will help you with medication or a plan to help you sleep.
3Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are the most common cause of sleep deprivation. If you are in a state of alertness all the time, you give room to the delay in catching sleep at night, which also allows you to have many thoughts. Sometimes things happen, and we find ourselves in such a state. For example, losing a loved one, losing a job, or simply changing your environment to a place you have never been before.
Solution:
Try taking a hot bath. Do something relaxing and avoid alcohol and caffeine. As strange as it sounds, scheduling a worrying time helps you deal with the worries at a particular time of the day and not before bedtime. Exercising is also a great idea to keep both your mind and body occupied.
4Lifestyle Factors
Our lifestyle determines the quality of sleep we get. For example, people who have installed electronic gadgets tend to have poor sleeping habits. If you have a television in your bedroom, you might fall for watching a movie before you get to sleep. This affects how much sleep you will get. The same happens to people who love reading books and others on their phones. If you choose to have a cup of coffee or smoke a cigar before bed, the caffeine sends signals to your nervous system to stay awake.
Solution:
Stay away from tobacco, alcohol, and any caffeine. Switch off the screens early and try as much as possible not to use your phone when in bed
5Age Factors
While young babies and toddlers tend to sleep most hours in the day and night, it is entirely different for people aged 65 and above. This happens either because of old age or because of the health issues affecting the old.
Solution:
Don’t spend the whole day seated or lying down. Engage your body and mind in simple tasks that you can handle. Say take a walk in the backyard, help chop the tomatoes in the kitchen, or do some simple exercises. That will help your body get tired and yearn for sleep at the end of the day.
You may also like 5 Effective Ways to Fall Asleep.
