With a year that has, so far, been full of changes, the stresses can compile and add up. When stress compounds it can cause disruptions in many areas of life, especially sleep. Managing sleep patterns well can relieve some of the burden of stress and help keep you going during questionable times.
It may seem like identifying sleep deprivation would be obvious, or that the only symptom of lack of sleep is being tired. This list is intended to help you take measured stock of some of the most common symptoms of sleep deprivation, to help you identify whether or not you may be operating at a suboptimal level due to chronic sleep deprivation.
Many people have felt that scary feeling of drifting slightly off to sleep while driving, only to perk up with a start. Or that scary feeling of hearing though warning on the side rumbling your tires. Especially for shift workers, sleeping at the wheel is one of the main causes of death.
Have you ever find yourself 25 minutes into lecture, with your eyelids steadily getting heavier and heavier? It’s warm. It is likely a class that you are not particularly interested in, or one that you have to take as a prerequisite for your program. The teachers voice is just not enough to hear, yet quiet and of to act like white noise.
When things begin to heat up is very important to recognize the impact that hot weather can have on sleep, both quantity and quality. In the summer months especially if you do not have AC, you may find yourself tossing and turning, throwing off the sheets, waking multiple times at night, etc. This can be a source of frustration and fatigue.
Yes, new puppies are very, very cute. But If you have ever trained a new puppy on their house-manners, you know just how much it can interrupt your normal sleeping patterns. The pup may be barking, whining, scratching on the door, or just rough-housing loudly with their toys.
Here’s a common scenario. During the week you stay up late reading, watching TV, working, or doing things on your computer. You get up early for work, maybe only getting about five hours of sleep. After all, you can “make up” this sleep on the weekend.
We’ve all had nightmares, and it’s pretty clear what they are: vivid dreams that cause feelings of fear, terror, anxiety, etc. Especially vivid or terrifying nightmares usually result an abruptly awakening from REM sleep with distinct memories of the dream. Returning to sleep after these experience can be difficult and the nightmares are often remembered the next morning as well.
As you get older, the likelihood that you will develop or report sleeping troubles will go up the older you get. This is because as you age, your sleep patterns will change, requiring you to acquire sleep differently than you did when you were, say 20 years old. Generally speaking, as you get older your sleep pattern changes in the following ways:
Sleep deprivation is the chronic condition of not receiving adequate sleep. Adequate sleep will differ from person to person, and change as we age. Most of us suffer from sleep deprivation because we either have trouble staying asleep, or getting to sleep. Does that sound familiar?