BODY SIGNAL ALLERT/INSOMNIA: DESCRIPTION AND POSSIBLE MEDICAL PROBLEMS
If you’re like most Americans, you probably don’t get enough sleep. Your schedule is crammed to the hilt with work and family responsibilities that make you tired just to think about them. But then, when bedtime does roll around, you’re so stressed out by your life that you can’t shut it off enough to fall asleep. And so you may end up staring wide-eyed at the numbers on the clock as the hours drag by.
Besides stress, the aging process also affects our sleep; the older we get, the easier it is to wake up out of a deep sleep. As we age, we don’t necessarily need less sleep, but starting in our 40s and 50s, we do need less rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage in which dreams occur.
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep on a regular basis, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Am I napping during the day?
2. Do I try to go to sleep when I’m not tired?
3. How many hours of sleep would it take for me to awake fully rested?
4. Am I drinking coffee or caffeinated drinks during the day or evening?
5. Have I been anxious or worried lately?
6. Am I getting up to urinate during the night? Do I find it hard to get back to sleep?
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