It was found that the quality of your sleep tells much about your state of mind and overall health. This is perfectly verified in individuals who were deprived of sleep. They find it hard to concentrate; they get sick and are always irritated.

Before we discuss how lifestyle changes can restore those treasured restful sleep, let us first find out the basic facts about sleeping and how it can help us to be a better individual every time we wake up!

Exactly how much sleep do you need in a day?

The amount of sleep a person needs actually depends on the age and amount of physical and mental activity a person engages to. For example, an infant who does not perform any strenuous task and undergoing a period of rapid growth needs 16 to 18 hours of sleep.

The same thing applies to teenagers who are experiencing the biological challenges of puberty. More often than not they require at least 9 hours of sleep every night for that matter.

Adults, on the other hand, requires 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day but changes if one engages to a vigorous activity which requires too much bodily strength. From this figures alone, we can see that sleep requirement varies from person to person.

Moreover, older individuals in their 60s above usually sleep a bit shorter due to some physical factors researchers are trying to find out. One study even shows as the body grows older the amount of melatonin, the chemical which induces sleep, a body produces diminishes and becomes irregular.

It doesn’t take to be a rocket scientist to understand the benefits of sleeping. But in some ways, to practically appreciate the benefits of a thing, we sometimes need to experience the consequences it creates when it’s omitted.

Consequences of Sleep Deprivation

There are just tons of things to see about people who don’t’ get to have enough of restful sleep. Some of them are outlined below:

• Reduced mental coordination
• Poor concentration and memory lapses
• Apparent loss of appetite
• Dulling skin
• Impaired immune response
• Depression
• Unexplainable onset of anxiety
• Digestion and bowel problems

Stop counting those sheep!

Sleepless night is just something that scares most busy people. It affects our professional commitments and for some parents, affects their relationship with their children and husband or wife. Worst, it carries the potential to destroy our social interests little by little.

Before we get to complain the toll of busy life let us first analyze the various behaviors affecting our sleeping habits.

Too much of this and that – Too much of everything is always bad said the old cliché. Too much workload and heavy eating sometimes lead to wakefulness because your body is working hard digesting them.

Try cutting those fats and carbs and consume just the right amount of them and see the difference it does to your sleeping program.

Coffee Please!
Throw those coffee makers away – at least before sleeping. :) Refrain from drinking coffee and other carbonated products such as colas 3 hours before you sleep.

Caffeine contained in these products induces you to remain awake even for hours. Stomach gases produced by acids in carbonated drinks causes periodic episodes of wakefulness during sleep.

Stay calm
Give your muscles a chance to rest. It pays. Rigorous physical stress like jogging, lifting weights and other types of exercises wakes you up and disrupts your sleeping schedule.

It worth mentioning that regular exercise is critical to restful sleep, however, it should be noted that this must be done with utmost consideration to your sleeping time program. Exercising before sleeping keeps you awake for hours.

Bed equals sleep
Doing other activities in bed other than sleeping and sex is one way of ruining that chance to rest. Accomplish work-related task in a designated area and allow your body to identify bed as a place to relax.

Keep up with the schedule
Remember to commit yourself in the usual schedule you are supposed to sleep. Your body keeps its own “biological clock” or circadian rhythm and routinely checks if you are keeping up with your daily obligation!

Eat right!
The types of food you eat greatly affect how you sleep. There are foods which contribute to helping you sleep, called “sleepers” and foods termed “wakers”, which stimulate the body to move.

Dairy products, grains, soy products, eggs and rice are examples of sleepers. They contain amino acid tryptophan which relaxes your nerves. It’s like reducing the commotion happening on those little cells of yours and helps them cast off their tensions.

On the other hand, “wakers” are foods such as those loaded with proteins such as pork and caffeinated food commodities such as chocolates, coffee, colas, and tea. These foods contain a great amount of amino acid tyrosine which revs up the activity of your brain.

Knowledge in nutrition empowers you to choose the right kind of food for a specific type of activity and maintains an active but healthy life.

A person who is suffering from sleepless nights, someone who frequently wakes up at night and rises up early in the morning even though that person does not have enough sleep is having a sleeping disorder known as insomnia.

Insomnia is a condition in which a person is not getting enough sleep. This person when awakened at night has a hard time sleeping again. Insomnia can happen every night, from time to time or in a period of time.

Here are the some suggestions wherein insomnia can be treated:

1. Follow a positive routine.

If an insomniac has an erratic eating routine, this should be changed to a fixed routine dedicated to directly fight insomnia. The person should eat early dinner so as to condition the body to sleep early.

2. Do not drink coffee.

As much as possible, a person with insomnia should avoid drinking coffee, sodas, chocolate, cocoa, green tea, black tea or anything that has caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that triggers sleeplessness. It can make someone awake for as long as 20 hours. For some, even drinking a cup of coffee in the morning causes them sleeplessness at night.

3. Exercise at night.

Insomnia is often caused by too much stress. Doing exercise at night makes blood to circulate in our brain and body. This in turn makes us calm and stress free.

4. The bedroom should be conducive to sleep.

Loud noise coming from cars in the street, upbeat music set at very high volume, bright lights and uncomfortable bed should be avoided.

5. Read not watch.

Read books, magazines or anything that interests an insomniac instead of watching television. Television enhances attention which makes a person awake. Reading on the other hand while in bed causes the eye to get tired and creates a sleepy feeling.

6. Relax

Try ways that causes our body to relax. Meditation technique like yoga can initiate a calm state of mind and body. Listening to soft and classical music can also help. There are fragrant oils, incense, and candles that are made specifically to aid in relaxation. Consult a shop that sells these on type of scents that can induce sleep.

7. The root solution for insomnia.

There are root extracts that can engender a sleepy state. 300 to 600 mg of concentrated extract should be taken 30 minutes prior to going to bed. This root extract can be mixed with calming herbs like chamomile, passion flower and balm made from lemon.

8. Take melatonin with caution

Melatonin can help in adjusting one’s sleeping pattern. 0.5 to 3.0 mg an hour or two before going to bed may help. Melatonin though should only be taken with the approval of a physician. The human body has different reactions to melatonin.

As people grow older, the melatonin level of the body decreases. This explains why older people usually have a hard time sleeping and sleep less compared to children and younger people.

9. Magnesium

Conditions such as restless legs syndrome (RLS) and period limb movements (PLM) while sleeping can cause insomnia. Taking 300 mg of magnesium at night from four to six weeks can solve insomnia. Again this should be done with doctor’s consent.

10. Acupuncture

Acupuncture which is a Chinese healing method could help to heal insomnia. These needles put into the skin strike nerve transmitters that produce sleep inducing hormones like serotonin.

Natural methods in curing insomnia are always preferred but upon a doctor’s approval the following over the counter medicines are formulated to stimulate sleep.

• Diphenhydramine (Excedrin, Nytol, Sominex)
• Doxylamine (Unisom)

The following on the other hand are medications that need to have doctor’s prescription to avail:

• Zolpidem (Ambien)
• Zaleplon (Sonata)
• Flurazepam (Dalmane)
• Estazolam (ProSom)
• Temazepam (Restori)
• Triazolam (Halcion)

Although these medicines are chemicals that trigger sleep, long periods of usage lessens its effectiveness.

Altering a person’s diet is effective in preventing and healing insomnia. Doctors suggest eating food that is high in carbohydrate prior to sleep. Examples of these are bread and crackers. Studies showed that carbohydrates enhance the quantity of serotonin produced by the body. Serotonin is a chemical messenger or neurotransmitter that affects the brain. This chemical lessens anxiety which in turn creates sleep.

Consulting a psychologist or psychiatrist may give light in solving insomnia. This sleeping disorder is usually caused by stress. A psychologist or psychiatrist can give expert advice on how to treat insomnia.

There are natural methods, practices, over the counter medicines and prescribed medicines that can be the solution to insomnia. It would be best to consult a doctor on this disorder for sound guidance towards a sound sleep.

There are some people who have problems falling asleep each and every night. If they do, chances are they are afflicted by a psychological sleeping disorder called insomnia. Usually, people suffering from insomnia blame this for too much stress, worries, depression and a very worrisome life.

People mostly believe that these feelings cannot be experienced by infants and children because they are too young to worry about anything. Based on this reasoning, some people think that insomnia would not occur in children. But this is not true. Just like adults, insomnia can also happen to children and infants.

Children have different sleeping habits and time patterns. For infants who are one week old, the average length of sleep per day is 16 hours. There are parents that believe that babies who sleep less are geniuses or have a high I.Q. But there is no scientific evidence to support this belief. Babies usually wake once every evening at the minimum. Unless breast fed, infants can go back to sleep on their own.

Insomnia or sleeping disorders can be defined in the following parameters:

• Having a hard time to sleep at night
• A person who wakes up very early
• A person who wakes up often at night

This ailment can cause the feeling of tiredness and drowsiness even after waking up in the morning. A person with insomnia also has a hard time concentrating.

Other terms for insomnia are Wakefulness, Sleeplessness and Dysomnia. Infants usually wake up frequently at night. At the sixth month, babies basically have a normalized nocturnal pattern by being asleep the whole night. When the infant reaches a year old, he or she sleeps at a rate of 16 hours per 24 hours. The baby will sleep during daytime from 2 to 3 hours.

Reasons why babies suffer from insomnia:

• They want their parents to notice them
• They may be suffering from digestive ailments or infantile colic which is a condition where babies cry for more than 3 hours a day.
• Infants that are often hungry
• Their teeth are beginning to grow
• They may be ill or afflicted by a disease

Here are some tips in curing insomnia for infants:

• Try not to comfort the baby immediately when crying at night. It would be best to wait until the infant stops crying on his or her own. Constant attention can be a stimulus for infants to stay awake at night.
• Observe if the child is unable to sleep because of excessive noise. Try playing classical or slow songs to cover up noisy environment.
• Do not make a child go to bed as a penalty or reprimand for something. This can cause insomnia because instead of them enjoying being asleep, they dread it.
• Parents should not make an infant accustomed to falling asleep in their arms. When the baby is already six months old, try making them used to fall asleep on their cribs by themselves.
• Reading stories in bed, tapping or scratching a child before sleeping, singing a lullaby is often a cause of insomnia because without these routines children will be unable to sleep.
• Do not give a child sleep inducing medicine unless the doctor advices it. As much as possible, do not use chemicals or drugs in curing insomnia.
• Remember that sleeping pills may have side effects.
• If the condition remains after trying home measures to cure insomnia, consult a doctor.

To cure infant insomnia, parents should be ready to let their baby cry without comfort until they learn to sleep by themselves. They can also try to slowly lessen the attention that they give each night to put an infant to sleep until they can totally do it without parent’s supervision.

Children especially infants need enough and regular sleep for them to grow healthy emotionally and physically. Parents should be very sensitive and vigilant in observing their child’s sleeping habit. Eventually both the parents and the child will be affected by insomnia if this is not given attention. The bedroom should be a place to sleep and should be peaceful not rowdy. A bedroom in not a room for a child’s play but for a child’s restful evening.

Finally, sleeplessness is a sign of a mind not at peace. A child is always an angel and an angel should always be at peace. Making your baby grow like an angel is not easy and most of the time it takes sacrifices. In time, parents can sleep soundly at night because their child grew up to be a good person; all because they made their child sleep right since birth.

There are four basic categories that each sleeping disorder can be put into: insomnia, hypersomnia, sleep disruptive disorders, and basic trouble with adhering to a normal sleep pattern. Some symptoms of having a sleeping disorder are: difficulty in falling asleep, daytime drowsiness, loud snoring, fatigue, depression, anxiety and lower leg movements during sleep.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which a person's breathing stops during sleep for 10 seconds or more, sometimes more than 300 times a night.

There are two main types of sleep apnea. The first is Obstructive Sleep Apnea which may represent the stoppage of breathing due to a mechanical blockage of the airway. The second is Central Sleep Apnea which appears to be related to a malfunction of the brain's normal signal to breathe.

Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea may include restless sleep, loud and heavy snoring which is often interrupted by silence and then gasps, falling asleep while driving or when the person is at work or at home while watching TV, morning headaches, loss of energy, trouble concentrating, and mood or behavioral changes.

Snoring is usually associated with apnea. Snoring is defined as noisy breathing one occurs during sleep when the flow of air through the airways is blocked or when the airways vibrate during breathing.

Several factors tend to make people snore: nasal congestion, being overweight, smoking, drinking alcohol before bedtime, and sleeping on your back. Sleeping pills, painkillers and other drugs that cause drowsiness can also make snoring more likely.

Because a person is not able to sleep well or not get good nights sleep, some doctors are now conducting research to see how Apnea manifests insomnia since both interferes with the daytime functioning o f a person. Some causes which still have to be confirmed are the certain medicines available in the market to treat such disorder; medical conditions, excess stress, or poor sleep habits can all affect the quality of your sleep.

To check if a person has a sleeping disorder, a diagnosis is made by a physician specially trained in sleep medicine. After a physical examination of the upper airway and an interview with lots of questions, if it the tests have determined that the patient has a sleeping disorder, one will have to undergo a polysomnogram (sleep test). Most sleep centers and labs monitor 16 different sleep parameters including EEG, EKG, eye movement, chin movement, air flow, chest effort, abdomen effort, SaO2, snoring and leg movement. Each parameter serves to help the physician make a correct diagnosis.

Test are conducted in a sleep room much like a motel room. A technician will paste electrodes at certain points on your head, face, body and legs. Those electrodes will be hooked to monitoring equipment that will record the entire night study. Most patients do not experience anxiety or difficulty in going to sleep. The patients in most case are extremely sleepy and will be asleep in just a few minutes.

Once a correct diagnosis has been made, the doctor may recommend a variety of treatments available for those that suffer from sleep apnea, including medications, behavioral therapy, and, in extreme cases, surgery.

Although over-the-counter sleep aids may be helpful it is not advisable to use these products on a regular basis. These sleep aids don't eliminate the problem but only provide temporary relief and may become less effective after a few days of use.

Doctors however often recommend a prescription device called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device for patients with sleep apnea. During sleep, the patient wears a mask that fits over the nose. The mask is attached to an air compressor adjusted to blow enough air through the nose to keep the airway open. If a CPAP device doesn't help, then surgery on the upper airway may be the last resort.

By developing good sleeping habits, one may be able to break the pattern of sleeplessness without needing other therapies. Good habits include going to bed and waking up at a regular time, eliminating naps, and avoiding stimulation from exercise or caffeine shortly before bedtime. Relaxation techniques and changes in diet can also help some people.

These are some ways to help specialists know if you have sleep apnea.

- Checking your medical history, including asking you, your family, and officemates on how you sleep and how you work at day

- Examining if you have large or extra tissues in your mouth, throat, or nose.

- Recording your sleep to check your breathing pattern.

How could you be treated for sleep apnea?

The goal in treating your sleep apnea is to restore back your regular breathing during the night and solving symptoms such as loud snoring and sleepiness during the day.

If you suffer from a mild case, some changes in your daily habits or activities could lead to the treatment.

- Stay away from alcoholic beverages, sleep-inducing medications, and smoking.

- Try to shed off some pounds if your weight borders on the plus side.

- Instead of sleeping on your back, try sleeping sideways.

People who have cases that are severe or even moderate should try these treatments:

- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

The most frequent treatment for moderate and severe sleep apnea cases, CPAP allows you to have the right amount of airway pressure in your mouth to keep the throat open as you sleep.

If not used correctly or abruptly stopped, your disorder will come back.

Ask your doctor for any possible effects from using CPAP.

- Mouthpiece

A mouthpiece or an oral appliance may prove to be useful to those who have mild cases of sleep apnea.

A customized mouthpiece will keep your throat airways open as you sleep. Just check with your orthodontist or dentists if you might suffer from side effects. Make sure that the mouthpiece fits.

- Surgery

In some cases, surgery is the ultimate solution. You just have to consult with your doctor the nature of the surgery and if there are possible health repercussion after you have completed the surgery.

At present, there aren’t any medications yet that could treat sleep apnea. But this should not sadden you. With the help of medical specialists, solving your sleep apnea could be attainable.

Before reading through the rest of this chapter, please answer the following questions:

- Do you regularly snore a lot? Is your snoring so loud that you or someone is awakened by it?

- Does it ever happen to you that you wake up abruptly, often choking or gasping for air?

- At daytime, do you feel extremely sleepy? Even if you’re doing something, do you have a hard time staying awake to finish it?

- Do you have dry mouth, headaches, sore throat once you wake up in the morning?

If you answer YES to all these questions, then you probably have the sleep disorder apnea.

Sleep apnea is a deadly sleep disorder that gets worse as you grow older. Not only is sleep apnea causes you sleep deprivation, but worse, it can pose danger to your life.

Anyone can have sleep apnea. According to recent statistics, at least 12 million American suffer from sleep apnea. Majority of those suffering from sleep apnea are overweight and heavily snorers.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea? These are:

- Snoring loudly and regularly;

- Are overweight;

- Suffering from high-blood pressure;

- Have small airways sized in the nose, mouth, and throat; and

- Has at least one from your family that have been suffering or suffered from apnea.

This sleep disorder affects more men than women. Out of 25 middle-aged guys, one suffers from sleep apnea while only one out of 50 women suffers from it.

Based on statistics, sleep apnea occurs more commonly in Americans of African descent, Hispanics, and those living in the Pacific Islands. If your family has a sleep apnea case, then it is highly probable that you would get one too.

Sleep apnea also occurs with children, with its most common symptom as snoring.

What are the common sleep apnea symptoms?

- Loud snoring

- Gasping or choking for air during sleep

- Drowsiness and extreme desire to sleep at day time, even while you’re at work or driving

Others signs may include:

- Morning headaches

- Learning or memory problems

- Feeling irritable

- Inability to concentrate

- Mood swings or changes in personality

- Dry throat upon waking up

- At night, frequent urination

2. Physical or Mechanical Therapy. Here is one of the most effective ways of treating sleep apnea. During the therapy, the patient wears a mask on his nose during sleep while applying air pressure to the nasal passages. The therapy provides air pressure to keep the airway from narrowing.

3. Surgery for adults. Surgery is considered only when other alternative therapy failed or if the patient volunteered to. Surgery aims to remove unnecessary tissue build-up in the throat to open up the airway.

The best cure to sleep apnea is prevention. There are several ways to prevent one from having to develop sleep apnea and reduce the frequency of the attacks:

1. Many Sleep apnea patients are obese. Maintaining a healthy weight is a sure way to prevent the frequency of apnea episodes since it increases the volume of oxygen in the blood. Studies showed that a 10 percent decrease in weight would reduce the frequency of apnea episodes up to 26 percent.

2. Avoid or at least limit alcohol intake.

3. Avoid or limit the use of tranquilizers, sleeping pills.

4. Have time for enough sleep. Lack of sleep increase the frequency of apnea attacks.

5. Treat allergies and runny nose promptly.

6. Avoid sleeping on your back.

Sleep apnea is a serious disease. It could be just a symptom of other more serious illness such as hypertension and heart disease. Should you suspect having the symptoms, take time to visit your family physician. Early detection and diagnoses of sleep apnea could save your life.

Sleep apnea is usually associated with choking sensations and often leads to headaches and sleepiness during the day. Its moderateness or severity is measured with respect to the frequency of episodes per hour, whether you have no breathing (apnea) or slower breathing (hyponea).

Sleep apnea occurs mostly but not limited to men and not specific to any age group. Loud snoring is usually associated with apnea. People with high blood pressure and obese are most likely to developed sleep apnea. Problems in the nose, throat, and air passageway can also cause sleep apnea. Early detection of sleep apnea is very important since it is usually implies an underlying health conditions such as heart problems.

In some cases, apnea happen when the muscles in the throat & tongue relax when one is sleeping, which eventually lead to blockage of the air passageway to some varying degree. Then breathing becomes noisier, slow, or even stop for a while. Obese people have great possibilities of having sleep apnea since they have more tissue in the airway that makes it narrow for normal breathing.

Sleep apnea makes an active person feel sleepy in the morning and affects their concentration in work. Severe sleep apnea could lead to depression, memory loses, irritability, and other negative socio-psychological conditions. Sleep apnea could increase the risk of having a heart attack, high blood pressure and even stroke. One should suspect having a sleep apnea disorder when the following conditions occur:

1. Heavy snoring during sleep while struggling to breath. This is usually monitored by the spouse or room mate.

2. Co-workers noticing one's lack of concentration at work and falling to sleep frequently.

3. Headaches upon waking up from sleep.

4. Frequent urination at night.

5. Heartburn during the night.

6. Frequent changing in sleep position restlessly.

7. Night time choking episodes.

Detecting sleep apnea is a collaborative effort among your family physician, neurologist, and pulmonologist. Among the tests for diagnosing person with such disorder are Polysommography and The Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). Polysomnography monitors different functions of the body during sleep such as brain activity, movement of the eye, movement of the muscles, heart beating, blood oxygen. The test will also determine whether the condition is moderate or severe. The Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) measures how fast the individual fall into sleep. Normal people fall into sleep in 10 to 20 minutes on the average while people with sleep apnea disorder fall into sleep in 5 minutes or less. Additionally, MSLT is use to measure the daytime sleepiness of the person.

Statistics show that insomnia is more prevalent in old people where the sleeping pattern changes. This is because older people sleep most during the day as they would in the night.

In turn, they find it really difficult to sleep during the night. Usually, manifestations of insomnia are also good indicators of another problem—the Alzheimer’s disease.

Generally, people who experience conditioned insomnia often experiences irritability, fatigue, and have problems in getting their work done that usually results to stress.

So, the best solution to this problem is to identify the cause of insomnia so as to cure the problem all throughout.
Normally, the treatment includes bright light therapy that help reset the human’s biological clock, hypnotics, certain medications that contains antihistamines, and melatonin or drugs that aids in minimizing jet lags.

Indeed, there are no hard or fast rules in treating insomnia. However, the only best way to treat the problem is to know the cause. After which, the individual can soon start sleeping normally and peacefully.

Health experts contend that the classification and the intensity of the condition of the person being deprived from a good night’s sleep determine the kind of problem that he or she has. In fact, they even insist that these symptoms of sleeping disorders are indicative of life-threatening conditions that other people just take for granted.

Hence, it is extremely important for physicians and other health experts to identify these problems immediately so as to avoid harnessing further problems that may lead to death.

Surveys show that almost 30 million Americans are said to be suffering from persistent sleeping disorder, while others are said to have episodic or momentary sleeping problems.

Furthermore, reports assert that 2% to 4% of the adult population are currently suffering from a sleeping disorder known as sleep apnea. On the other hand, 5-10% of the whole populace is experiencing chronic insomnia. The rest of the percentage of the population suffer from other forms of sleeping disorders such as periodic limb movement disorder, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, etc.

Among the different sleeping disorders, insomnia is being considered deadly serious by almost all of the people who suffer from sleeping disorders. This is because insomnia triggers the individual to doze off to sleep unexpectedly during the day due to lack of sleep they had during the night.

Insomnia is generally characterized by inadequate amount of sleep brought about by a wide range of factors such as waking up more often during sleep at night, difficulty in falling asleep and falling back to sleep, restless sleep, and waking up too early in the morning considering the fact that the person had only slept for a few hours only, say, two or three hours.

Basically, insomnia occurs to people who have been ill for quite sometime, those who came from travel, changes in the environment, jet lag, stress from recent work-related problems, psychological problems, etc.

These conditions manifest what most people know as sporadic or transient insomnia. This type of insomnia usually last for a short period of time only and will soon be eradicated.

However, there are instances wherein people suffer more than just what transient insomnia indicates. Here, chronic insomnia is said to be causing more dangerous cases of insomnia.

Chronic Insomnia

The term chronic simply means unceasing, therefore, when experts tell people they have chronic insomnia, this means that the kind of insomnia that they experience are more constant compared to the transient insomnia.

Generally, people who have chronic insomnia suffer from difficulty of falling asleep that have the tendency to become so weakening that other signs of different illness follow.

Failure to treat this kind of insomnia will result to what health experts define as conditioned insomnia or those that is constant in its occurrence. This type of insomnia has symptoms that will last for longer period of time, usually from 6 months to a year or even longer.

Conditioned insomnia is characterized by a persistent and worsening condition of the person suffering from the basic conditions of insomnia. It may pose dilemma to people who experience it but the problem does not lie on the conditions it manifests but on the inability of the person to identify the underlying cause of the problem. That is why it is extremely important to know what insomnia is all about and what causes such condition.