Do you get enough Sleep?

The amount of sleep a person needs from the beginning of their life until the end of their life depends on various factors, which include their health, their age, how much physical activity they receive, and how much mental activity they get.

On average babies sleep about 16 hours each day, teenagers need around 9 hours of sleep, and adults need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. Parents of young children understand the importance of baby sleep. This is just a generalization when it comes to adults. Some adults do very well on 5 hours sleep while some may need up to 10 hours of sleep. The only way you can tell if you are getting enough sleep is to pay close attention to what your body is telling is you. Do you tend to become tired and drowsy in the afternoon hours even if you are busy? This is your body letting you know that you did not receive enough sleep the night before. Everyone needs a good night's sleep!

Every once in awhile each person will have a bad nights sleep, however, if you are getting enough sleep your body will begin to suffer. Your body cannot run on less sleep just because you it too, it needs a certain amount of sleep in order to function properly. Too many people today are trying to survive on less sleep than their body needs. This will in fact affect your judgment and your reaction time, which can be fatal if you are driving in rush hour traffic. Good sleep also improves work productivity.

Pay attention to your body. Get on a bedtime routine. Create a sleep environment. Yes, you need your bedroom to call out to you that it is time to shut those eyes and get some sleep. Creating a sleep environment is quite easy.

A few of the most popular items for aiding in creating a sleep environment include white noise machines, tabletop water fountains, aromatherapy items, and light therapy products.

Using products such as white noise machines, tabletop water fountains, Electric Aromatherapy Diffusers, and light therapy sunrise alarm clocks can be the best way for you to create a calm and peaceful setting that will help you get enough sleep each and every night.

When you use a white noise machine, the machine will absorb all noises that might awaken you during the night. The white noise machine you choose will absorb sounds such as traffic, the ticking clock in the hall, or other noises around the home that might be the culprit that awakens you. A tabletop water fountain, will give you something to focus your mind on so you can relax and drift off to sleep while the electric aromatherapy diffuser will help in providing a relaxing and calm mood for sleep.

Another great product is the BioBrite Sunrise Alarm Clock. This clock is great for slowing changing the light in the room to simulate the setting sun slowly vanishing over the hill during the 30 minutes prior to bedtime and slowly climbing over the hill 30 minutes prior to the time for waking up. Your body will really love the calm way of getting up in the morning instead of that loud and annoying old alarm clock.

Just remember, your body cannot get back the hours of sleep you miss. Stay on a sleep schedule as best as you can so your body will be ready for alert and ready to go.

Seniors Need Less Sleep?

We have all heard that a senior citizen need less sleep, but is this really true. Honestly, all senior citizens still need between seven and nine hours sleep. What really occurs is that as we grow older our internal sleep regulator changes making all of us feel like we have to go to bed at an earlier time, which makes us wake up earlier in the morning. Thus begins the vicious cycle. When you are arising early in the morning, your body begins to become tired in the middle of the afternoon, which causes us to desire a short afternoon nap. Now, you have a problem that is not easily fixed.

When any age person does not receive adequate sleep, it affects the daytime hours as well. Daytime sleepiness is a major problem for seniors and many others do not sleep well at night. This can dull the senses, sap energy, and makes you require a daytime nap. Taking a nap every day is not the answer for lost sleep in the night in most cases. Normally if you take a nap for a longer period of time than 30 minutes, you may have problems going to sleep again when bedtime comes.

The amount of sleep you need as you age does not change, but your sleep patterns do. The way to work with your internal clock and changing sleep patterns is to make a few lifestyle changes that will help you with sleep problems.

Ways for seniors to get their internal clock back on track and enjoy a restful night’s sleep:

• Create a schedule for going to bed and waking up. Stay on this schedule every day of the week

• Create a bedtime routine – soak in a warm bath, read, or listen to a tabletop water fountain such as the Alpine Calming Bamboo Fountain

• Create a bedroom for sleeping – the bedroom should be dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool. Invest in a white noise machine and aromatherapy products. A white noise machine will ensure that all noises that might be waking you up at night are absorbed and you will be able to sleep all night long without any interruptions. A few of the most popular white noise machines include the White Noise Machine-SleepMate 980A, the Marpac Marsona DS-600A, and the European 240 Volt SleepMate 980 Sound Screen. If the bedroom is not quite dark enough, you can also invest in a sleep mask such as the Dreamer Sleep Mask by Dream Essentials.

• Only use the bedroom for sleeping or for sex

• Eat at least two to three hours before your bedtime.

• Remember to exercise. You should begin a moderate exercise programs a few hours before retiring every night.

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine.

Sleep Disorders and Solutions

Practically every adult requires no less than eight hours of sleep per night to be totally rested. However, recent studies have shown that many adults do not get the sleep they need; in fact, forty million people residing in the United States have some form of sleep problem. Sleep problems are costly and dangerous.

What many people do not realize is that you must receive adequate sleep or it can lead to health problems and increased problems with high blood pressure and diabetics.

There are a variety of reasons Americans do not get adequate sleep including stress, traffic noise, other noises around the home, sick children, being too cold at night, being too hot at night, and alcoholic beverages.

On average, the most common sleep problems are insomnia and/or feeling drowsy during the day.

Symptoms of insomnia range from having problems falling to sleep to having problems getting back to sleep with many individuals waking up earlier than they wanted. However, just because a person has trouble going to sleep once in awhile does not necessarily put them in the same category as a person that suffers from insomnia. The big picture of what is going on in a persons life has to be examined. Insomnia is when a person has these problems every night for a few weeks. Insomnia is seen more commonly with females, individuals with depression, and those over the age of sixty.

Once again feeling drowsy during the daytime is quite normal. However, if you being to have problems with slowed thinking, heavy eyelids, and irritability you may need to talk with your physician. On the other hand, for insomnia and feeling drowsy during the day there are a few things you can do yourself that may be your ticket to a great nights sleep.

Many individuals have had success with several of their sleep disorders by setting a bedtime schedule. You should go to bed at the same time every night and awaken at the same time each morning. Avoid large meals 2 hours prior to bedtime, avoid caffeine, beer, nicotine, liquor, and wine 4 to 6 hours prior to bedtime, avoid taking naps after 3pm, and do not exercise 2 hours prior to bedtime. Things you should do involve creating a sleep environment.

A good sleep environment will be dark, quiet, comforting, and void of distractions. Distractions such as a television or even outside noise such as traffic will keep you awake or wake you during the night. Creating a sleep environment using products such as a white noise machine, tabletop water fountains, and Electric Aromatherapy Diffusers is one of the easiest and fastest ways for you to create a calm and peaceful setting that will help with sleep disorders.

A white noise machine in your bedroom will absorb all noises that might awaken you during the night. The white noise machine will absorb sounds such as traffic, strange settling noises of your home, or other noises around the home that enter your quiet time. A tabletop water fountain will give you something to center your mind on so you will be able to unwind and go to sleep will the electric aromatherapy diffuser will help in providing a relaxing and calm mood for sleep all night long.