Many people living in modern industrialized countries such as the United States suffer from some form of mild to chronic sleep deprivation. Are you one of them? Chances are you don’t get enough sleep. Probably, the sleep that you are getting isn’t the deep rest that out bodies require to properly repair themselves.
One of the main culprits of our lack of sleep is the Technological Revolution that the world is experiencing today. Thirty or forty years ago, it was easy for people to leave their work at their jobs. Most people worked a blue collar job, which was very demanding physically rather than the cushy white collar gigs that many of us have today. When people used to come home from work, they were too tired to stay up into the wee hours of the night watching TV or surfing the web.
With the dawn of the Internet, many of us can easily bring our office home with us simply by packing up our laptop. Not only does often shorten the amount of time with have available with our families, but it also increases stress levels due to shorter deadlines. Stress can be a leading trigger in some individuals to develop a sleep disorder.
Years ago, people would sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. When was the last time you were able to sleep 10 hours in one night? Some people don’t even get 10 hours in two nights of sleep due to grueling work schedules and impossible deadlines.
Today’s society is focused on achieving more in less amount of time. What’s the most obvious way to get more done in the day…to sleep less each night. Unfortunately, that will cause the body to under perform physically and mentally. If you want to be on you’re “A” game, then you need to make sure that your body is receiving proper sleep, diet and exercise. These three areas are crucial to maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. A recent study from Boston University found that individuals that sleep less than six or more than nine hours in a night were more likely to develop diabetes. Personally, I don’t think any job is worth the risk of developing a disease especially diabetes.
Workplace performance can be drastically affected with as few as three days of sleep loss. Mental focus becomes diminished as well as creative thinking and information recall. An individual’s decision making skills will decrease and the time it takes to learn new skills or information will increase. Sleep loss can also affect a person’s mood and temper more easily than under proper sleep conditions.
Teenagers often feel the need to cram before a major test. This is one of the most counter productive things they could do. The body needs that time to help the brain process the information from the previous day.
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Getting enough proper sleep at night is a decision that has to be made by the individual. This is very similar to a person who has a problem with over eating. Until that individual realizes they have a very serious and potentially life threatening condition there is nothing that anyone else can really do.
Once a person is ready to make the jump to start a sleeping properly, one of the first things they should do is keep a journal or log book. This should include information such as what they are in the evening, what time they felt tired, what time they went to bed, how long did it take to fall asleep, how many times did they awaken at night, what time they woke up, and how they felt in the morning. Keep this current while you are making changes to your sleep schedule so you can track to see what works for you and what doesn’t.