If you’ve survived newborn babies and cramming for courses, chances are you’ve pulled a few all-nighters. You know how miserable it feels to drag yourself through waking hours on far too little sleep.
And if you’re like 95 percent of Americans, you’ve experienced insomnia at some point. One in 10 suffers from chronic insomnia, according to Athena Stroud, RPSGT, from the Penrose St. Francis Sleep Disorder Center in Colorado Springs. The CDC considers insufficient sleep to be a public health epidemic.
“People who have problems (sleeping) don’t always know it,” Stroud said. “The only way you know if you’re getting a good night’s sleep is how alert you are during the day, and some people really don’t know how sleepy they really are.”
If your normal pattern of resting and rising isn’t giving your body enough time to recharge, you’ll have problems concentrating. You may even find yourself nodding off behind the wheel. Stroud cited a statistic from NTSA that estimated 100,000 traffic accidents resulting in 1,500 deaths and 71,000 injuries are caused by drowsy drivers every year.
“(Lack of sleep) makes you a less effective driver,” she said. “Of course it’s going to make you a less effective studier.”
For many of us, the hours between 1-3 p.m. can be drowsy ones. Stroud says that’s when our core body temperatures drop slightly just like it does before we go to sleep at night. Stroud recommends you schedule study and other cognitive-dependent activities outside of that window.
“We live in a society where the more you do on less sleep, it’s almost like bragging rights for some people,” she said. “It’d be nice if we could do siestas in the afternoon. It’d be much more helpful and make people more productive.”
Each of us is different, but most adults need about 7.5 hours of sleep per night, she said. To gauge your sleep health, Stroud recommends you pay attention to your sleep inertia, that first 30 minutes after you wake up to full alertness.
“If you don’t feel refreshed (after that first half hour), you probably didn’t get a great night’s sleep,” she said.
And if you find yourself reaching for lots of caffeinated beverages, that’s another sign your sleep may be off even if you’re going down and waking up in roughly eight-hour intervals.
“It’s not all about the hours of sleep, it’s about the quality of sleep,” Stroud said. “If you have some kind of sleep issue going on, it can fragment your sleep giving you poor quality sleep, which basically is sleep deprivation regardless of the hours you spend in bed.”
Common disorders include sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and insomnia.
“Insomnia is the biggest and most common sleep disorder,” she said. “When you’re juggling what you’re studying and you’re working and you have kids and you’re stressed, stress can bring on insomnia.”
To combat wakeful moments in bed, Stroud suggests you get out of it. Don’t lie there worrying about how much sleep you’re missing and all you have to do. Get up and do a mundane task like loading the dishwasher or folding laundry. Once you’re sleepy, go back to bed. Don’t watch TV or get on the computer – the light from the screen is stimulating rather than sleep-inducing, she said.
“Electronics have caused a lot of insomnia,” Stroud said. “Don’t get up and do your homework.”
She also recommends reserving the bedroom for sleep and sex only.
“You don’t want to be doing your online classes in your room,” Stroud said.” You’ll start to associate that with your work.”
To set the stage for good sleep, keep your room cool and dark. Got to bed and get up at the same time every day – including weekends. If you have trouble relaxing enough to get to sleep, Stroud suggests you keep a note pad by your bed and writing down all the things that worry you. For some, that’s an effective way to set problems aside for the night, she said.
If you’re still not getting the rest you need, consider a sleep checkup.
“If you’re in bed and you’re sleeping for eight hours and you’re not refreshed, it’s not a bad idea to see your doctor to check for sleep disorder or the potential for one,” Stroud said.
