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Everybody knows that a good night's sleep is worth a small fortune in terms of how we feel the next day. Our energy levels, our mood and even how good our skin, eyes and face looks, can be affected.
A good night's sleep can take five years off the face!
On the opposite end, too little sleep can drain us of energy, cause mood swings and create a lot of difficulty with our work, health, parenting and relationships.
In an article for the Huffington Post, Karen Brody (who is the founder of BOLD, a rejuvenation movement for women) spoke about her experiences with chronic lack of sleep and its huge and negative impact on her health.
She'd been dealing with panic attacks, and was given the anxiety medication Klonopin. She became addicted to it. Brody was later diagnosed with chronic fatigue even though she was continually active (too much so) and living on artificial energy due to her medication.
Her friends told her to take to her bed and sleep, and says she did just that. She took a year off work and slept a lot, going from no sleep to at least eight hours every day, doing very little when she was awake. Through this routine, she kicked her addiction and got better.
She admits that most women could never have this luxury but insists that women simply need to do what they can to ensure they get enough sleep at night and take as many naps as possible.
It's a good idea to get to the bottom of why a person cannot sleep. A person needs to take time to evaluate their lifestyle.
Check time management -- is it efficient? Does allowing children to stay up late or share the parental bedroom and disrupt their sleep?
Is the person too active late at night? Sleeping with a bad mattress or in a room without adequate air circulation?
Evaluating these habits and changing them when necessary can make for a much better night's sleep.
Insomnia can be a sign of possible health conditions. Talking with a health care provider can help to identify possible physical or emotional causes for sleeping badly at night.
An EmpowHER article written by Maryann Gromisch, RN states that "an estimated 30 to 50 percent of the American population experience insomnia. Those who suffer with insomnia have trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or both."
Causes for insomnia are many: stress, work shift changes, depression, a bad sleeping environment (a bad mattress, unhealthy air quality, having a partner who snores) as well as ill physical health, obesity, new motherhood, or a reaction to medication among other reasons.
You can read more here: https://www.empowher.com/insomnia/content/insomnia-sleepless-america/
If sleeplessness affects you for longer than two weeks, it's a good idea to talk to your health care provider to find ways to get a good night's sleep and check to see if there are more serious, underlying reasons for your insomnia.
Sources:
The Huffington Post. The New Paradigm Prescription for Women: Go to Sleep. By Karen Brody. Web. Retrieved March 10th, 2013.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-brody/sleep_b_2792950.html?utm_hp_re...
EmpowHER.com. Mental Health. Sleep Disorders. Insomnia." Insomnia: Sleepless in America", by Maryann Gromisch, RN. Web. Retrieved March 11th.
https://www.empowher.com/insomnia/content/insomnia-sleepless-america
Reviewed March 14, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
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