Are These Keeping You Awake at Night?
By Sara Butler
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the cornerstones of your health and wellness. If you don’t get enough sleep or enough quality sleep, you may be paying for it with your health. If you have trouble sleeping at night, it may be for a variety of reasons. Here are a few of the most common things that may be keeping you from visiting the Sandman.
Pain
Recent studies reported by the National Institutes of Health have found that 15 percent of Americans report suffering from chronic pain while 66 percent of people also report having sleep issues. Pain resulting from headaches, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and the back tend to be the biggest issues keeping chronic pain sufferers from their sleep.
Stress and Depression
If you suffer from insomnia it can be both a cause and a symptom of depression as well as anxiety. Your brain uses the same neurotransmitters for sleep as it does for mood, so it’s a bit of a “what came first” scenario when it comes to insomnia and depression.
Stress in your life such as money issues, marital problems or problems at work can also start you down the road to insomnia that soon turns into a chronic problem.
Snoring
About 37 million people in the United States snore. Are you one of them? Well, it may be the reason you don’t feel rested when you wake up in the morning. Between 30 and 50 percent of Americans have no consequences from their snoring, but others suffer from something called sleep apnea, a sleep disorder which can lead to huge health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. It also happens to keep you from getting restorative, restful sleep at night.
Shift Work
If you work second or third shift, it could be having a huge impact on your sleep. When you keep a schedule outside of normal sleep/wake hours, it can interrupt your body’s natural rhythms, resulting in lower levels of serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone in your central nervous system that helps your body to regulate sleep. Lower levels can make it more difficult for you to fall asleep and stay there!
If you find you are having trouble falling asleep, it is worth discussing with a trusted medical professional, such as your chiropractor. They may be able to suggest some solutions to your sleep problems and help get you back on track to feeling rested and well.