Do you have trouble falling or remaining asleep? Are you struggling with mid-sleep awakenings or difficulty getting back to sleep after waking up? Do you find yourself tossing and turning thinking about everything and anything, however random? Are you sleepy and tired during the day despite getting an adequate amount of sleep? Do you sleep very lightly and seem to drift in and out of sleep?
If you answered yes to any of above, you may be struggling with sleep problems. Sleep difficulties are common and affect people in different ways particularly women, travellers, shift-workers, children, and those over 65.
Sleep troubles are a collective term that refers to conditions that affect onset, quality, amount, timing, or duration of sleep.1,2 When poor sleep starts to affect your health, relationships, and daily functioning, you should seek immediate professional help because the resulting hospitalisations, underlying medical conditions and its complications can be dangerously serious or even fatal.
What causes sleep problems?1-3
There are several reasons why sleep problems can develop including stress, nutritional deficiencies, surroundings, sensory overstimulation, disrupted sleep routine (shiftwork, newborn baby, jetlag across different time zones and seasonal changes), aging, sicknesses or diseases and medication side effects.
Are there different types of sleep?3
Yes, there are different kinds of sleep varying from a light or short catnap to full-cycle deep sleep. Generally, the human body cycles through two phases of sleep, namely Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep, which is further divided into three stages.
The body cycles through all these stages about 4 to 6 times every 24 hours to feel fresh and rested, with each sleep cycle averaging ± 90 minutes.1,3,5 Each phase and stage involve falling into deeper sleep, almost like a staircase of sleep. Whilst asleep, people go up and down this staircase many times, and in fact may also wake up several times.
- NREM Stage 1 (Drowsiness) → You are sleepy, your eyes move around rapidly in a range of directions and begin to be close. If you’re woken during this stage, you may feel as if you haven’t fallen asleep at all, which is why you may even deny “dozing-off” during a meeting or in class.
- NREM Stage 2 (Light sleep) → Your eye movement stops, both your heart rate and breathing slow down as well as your body temperature drops. Your body is getting ready for deep sleep.
- NREM Stage 3 (Deep sleep) → Your eyes and muscles are fully at rest. The body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system. It’s harder to disturb you during this stage, and if someone woke you up, you would feel disoriented and brain fog for a few minutes.
- REM Stage 4 (Deeper sleep) → REM sleep occurs several times during a sleep session and is where most dreaming is thought to take place. Your muscles enter a state of temporary paralysis, except for your eyes which move around rapidly in a range of directions, but do not send any visual information to your brain.
How much sleep do we need?3
There is a popular belief that we all need 7 to 8 hours sleep every night and this is not true. Many experts and studies have shown that people vary greatly in their need for sleep, ranging between needing 6 hours a session up to 10 hours or more. Not only does the need for sleep vary from person to person, and with age. It also varies depending on sleep goal, lifestyle, life stage and level of activity.
For example, if someone is taking a power nap while travelling versus proper sleep session. Or an elderly person that has retired from work, they may be less active and therefore require less sleep. On the other hand, a young family, juggling the demands of a family, home, and life may need more sleep.
The secret to a good night's sleep
The good news is you can maintain good peaceful sleep and better bedtime routines with these easy self-care tips together with a sleep-aid supplement that works.
References:
Danielle Pacheco and Anis Rehman (16 May 2022). Sleep Foundation: Sleep Disorders. Accessed 27 November 2023 Available from: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disorders
René E Cormier. RE. Sleep Disturbances. In: Walker HK, Hall WD, Hurst JW, editors. Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition. Boston: Butterworths; 1990. Chapter 77. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK401/
Northumberland Mental Health NHS Trust (12 January 2021). De Montfort Surgery: Sleep Problems. Accessed 27 November 2023. Available from: https://www.demontfortsurgery.co.uk/sleep-problems
Jennifer Robinson (6 November 2022). WebMD : What are REM and NREM Sleep? Accessed 27 November 2023. Available from: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-101
Patel AK, Reddy V, Shumway KR, et al. Physiology, Sleep Stages. [Updated 2022 Sep 7]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/
