Are you sleep-deprived?
Waking up with red eyes, headache, and a desperate urge to go back to bed, that’s how you feel after getting drunk. That being said, alcohol isn’t the only reason why waking up may seem like a laborious task for some people. This can also be because of Sleep Deprivation. Today almost every individual is dealing with a lack of sleep, particularly the ones who are in schools and colleges. This is a significant issue because it affects the productivity and learning ability of the students.
Wait a minute! Why are we considering sleep deprivation a big issue?
According to World Economic Forum, 62% of adults are sleep deprived. It also states that people sleep at an average of 6.8 hours which is slightly less than 8 hours. Even though the amount of adequate sleep for every person is different, statistics say that 80% of people want to increase/improve their sleeping hours. So, this means that most people have not yet figured out their optimum rest time, that is why almost 10% percent of people fall claim that they sleep remarkably well.
Lack of sleep is a roaring concern because it hinders the physical and mental well-being of people. The primary problem that comes with sleep deprivation is that your concentration and creative thinking go down, not getting enough rest means that your brain is tired, which will adversely affect your cognitive analysis. Lack of sleep makes your immune System weak, i.e., you will be prone to widespread diseases like the common cold, flu, etc. Another reason why sleep should be of utmost importance particularly for teenagers is that when they are in deep slumber their body produces growth hormone, which is paramount for the development of children as stimulates physical growth, therefore they need to sleep as it may affect the production of HGH (Human Growth Hormone).
Another interesting problem that comes up with lack of sleep is weight gain. Weight gain and sleep deprivation go hand in hand, when you don’t sleep well, the balance between the stress hormone “cortisol” and the happy hormone “dopamine” gets disturbed. The levels of dopamine in your body reduce, and due to which the cortisol levels rise. This increase in the cortisol level results in an increase in appetite, which increases your hunger, resulting in weight gain. With an increase in weight, a person might develop an issue known as OSA (Obstructive sleep apnoea), it is a condition when a person chocks their windpipe while sleeping. Because of which they sometimes wake in the middle of the night, which disturbs their sleep cycle. Sleep apnoea is quite common in the world with almost 100 million cases every year.
What can you do to fix this problem of sleep deprivation? The obvious answer is to sleep more, here are a few steps that you can take for improving the quality of your sleep:
Before going to bed try to read something, meditation can also help. The focus here is to power down the mind and get yourself ready to sleep,
Avoid watching television or mobile phones for at least 20 mins before the time you go to sleep,
Set up a bedtime, setting up a fixed to sleep can help your body to get itself ready for sleeping every day,
Avoid taking caffeine 6 hours before the time you go to bed, drinking too much caffeine can also hinder the process of sleep,
Exercise daily, working out daily will tire your body and will help you to sleep better at night.
Quality sleep can do wonders for your physical and mental health, and you need to prioritize your rest properly in your daily schedule.
Sleep well and stay healthy.