Difficulty falling asleep will effect everyone at one point in your live. But what happens when it disrupts our day to day activates, affects your mood, or perhaps you battle with ongoing fatigue.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sleep disorders affects more than 25% of Americans report not getting a healthy night sleep.
On average the body should require 7 hours of sleep, anything less drains your mental capacity as well as putting your health at risk. Poor sleeping habits or sleep deprivation are among the most frequent yet commonly overlooked health problems that are easily treatable.
Signs Of Sleep Deprivation
Most of these health problems related to sleep are usually overlooked by health care professionals, for instance, nearly 85% of people with clinically significant sleep-disordered breathing issues remain undiagnosed.
Don’t let something as simple as correcting your sleeping patterns make a mountain out of a molehill. Find out how to identity if you have a sleeping disorder and how to stop it in its tracks.
#1. Excessive Yawning
Are you constantly yawning through-out the day?
One of the biggest indicators that you might be lacking sleep is yawning. Researchers do not really understand why yawning occurs, however all arrows seem to point to fatigue due to lack of sleep.
Tips to stop excessive yawning: Long inhales from the nose and exhales from the mouth help avoid yawing.
#2. Irritability
Do people try and avoid you due to your irritability disposition? Well it turns out if you are lacking a good nights sleep you are more susceptible to becoming irritable.
Many factors cause irritability but a major contributor for being high strung, easily annoyed, and frustration can be linked to sleep deprivation.
Helpful tip: Try doing mindfulness meditation or yoga.
#3. Low Sex Drive
It’s not you its me! There seems to be a strange connection between our sex drive and a lack of sleep. Both Sleep apnea and sleep deprivation disrupt your testosterone levels which are in fact linked to your sex drive. This can affect both men and women equally.
Tip: Maintain healthy weight and practice yoga.
#4. Memory Issues
Sometimes looking at the easiest answer to your forgetfulness might be correlated with sleep. People who suffer from either insomnia or sleep depravation tend to forget on an average five times more than someone who sleeps a healthy 7 hours.
During sleep your brain helps you form a connection to process new information. Lack of sleep directly impacts both short and long term memory.
Tips: Avoid sugars, fatty foods and caffeine.
#5. Weight Gain & Poor Balance
It is not good when you combine these two together. Weight gain can be very frustrating when you are doing all the right steps but continue to put on the pounds. Did you know that a poor sleep makes you gain weight. Sleep deprivation affects your hormones that regulate hunger and appetite – leptin restricts your appetite and encourages the body to expend energy.
Furthermore if you are someone who keep bumping into walls or perhaps missed a step going up the stairs. It is quite possible a lack of sleep is causing this imbalance.
Tips: Avoid eating and drinking heavily at least 3 hours before your bedtime.
#6 Accidents
Did you know you are 10 times more likely to cause an accident when you are lacking sleep. Sure it can be as minor as spilling your coffee on your way to work, or perhaps you missed a step – though most people are not this lucky. Many motor vehicle accidents often are due to being drowsy behind the wheel.
Tips: Deep breathing exercises and a quick work out in the morning to get the blood flowing.