When you've been having trouble with sleep, you can develop symptoms like irritability, poor concentration, poor response time, and poor decision-making skills. The lack of rejuvenating rest can lead to a disruption in brain activity, which in turn leads to poor problem-solving skills and poor reaction time.
There are many reasons why people have difficulty sleeping, and from person to person it will vary. Causes range from medical disorders like sleep apnea, to poor regulation of caffeine intake and lack of exercise. Taking a very careful inventory and being honest with yourself about the answers is important.
Don't brush aside two cups of coffee as insignificant, or believe medical conditions like restless leg syndrome are things of irrelevance. They do matter and they do contribute to why an individual may have insomnia or be waking in the night. Signing up for a local sleep study can help you discover things you may not know about your own sleep patterns and help you gain advise to address your sleep difficulties.
An honest review of your habits is also important in order to address whether you have developed a lifestyle that has caused you to stay up too late, sleep in too long, or adhere to a diet that is chemically altering your alertness at bedtime.
In addition, having a good routine for preparing for bedtime is also key in developing good habits for a good night's sleep. You can find my previous blog about ideas for getting ready for bed and increasing your chances of a good night's sleep here.
Thanks to Daniel Max for the great photo, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
