All you need to know about the benefits of tracking sleep 

Sleep tracking can be life-changing for the benefit of better sleep and better health. Studies have found that 50-70 percent American adults have sleep disorders. Nearly 35 percent of all adult’s report sleeping for less than 7 hours a day. There are multifarious reasons behind it. Today, we will shed light on the reasons that reveal the significance of tracking sleep.  

What is sleep tracking? 

When we think about having a healthy body and mind, we majorly focus on diet and fitness regimen. However, we miss another aspect of maintaining good health, that is proper sleep. From meeting deadlines to worrying about upcoming times, we stay awake till late or have disturbed sleep that leaves us low in energy, tired, and mood swings the next day. If you are experiencing disturbed sleep, monitoring your sleep can be helpful.  

What are the benefits of tracking sleep? 

From improved sleep to better health, there are many reasons to track sleep. Let’s delve deeper into knowing how tracking your sleep can improve your health: 

• Understand your sleep pattern – One of the most significant advantages of tracking your sleep is knowing the different sleep phases like how quickly you fell asleep, how much deep sleep you had, etcetera.  

• Know your sleep duration: Tracking your sleep can let you know how many disruptions you faced while sleeping. 
• Track your lifestyle factors: If you have sleep problems, tracking your sleep can give you valuable data about your slumber habits that interfere with your sleep. 
• Know your sleep efficiency: By tracking your sleep, you can assess your sleep efficiency. This number will show the records from sleeping to how long you stay awake in bed.  

What are the types of sleep that can be tracked? 

It is essential to understand the sleep types that occur while we are asleep. Let’s understand the different stages of sleep: 

• Entering Sleep: As soon as we go to bed, our brain starts to relax and produce slower waves known as alpha waves. You are not fully asleep during this time, and you may experience strange sensations like you may feel you are falling or hearing someone call your name, known as hypnagogic hallucinations. Another common experience is myoclonic jerk which means sudden jerks as soon as you fall asleep. 
• NREM Stage 1: This is the lightest sleep stage and can be considered a transition period between wakefulness and sleep. This period of sleep lasts for about five to ten minutes. 
• NREM Stage 2: This stage of sleep lasts for about 20 minutes. In this stage, while asleep, you become less aware of the surroundings, your body temperature falls, and breathing and heart rate become regular. American Sleep Foundation has stated that people spend 50% of their sleep during this phase of sleep.  
• NREM Stage 3: During this stage of sleep, people become less responsive and fail to respond. It acts as a transitional period between light sleep and profound sleep. 

• REM: This stage stands for rapid eye movement. During this phase of sleep, the brain becomes more active, the body becomes relaxed, and when dreams occur, eyeballs move rapidly. The American Sleep Foundation has stated that people spend approximately 20% of their sleep in the REM stage.  

How would you know that you are getting enough and sound sleep? 

Good night sleep is characterized into the following forms – 

• Fall asleep within 30 minutes after lying in bed 
• Stay asleep throughout the night without waking up more than once 

• Fall back asleep within 20 minutes after waking up 
• No snoring or dry mouth at night 
• No daytime sleepiness 
• Feeling fresh and rejuvenated the next day 

So, these are the common characteristics, but how would you know how well did you sleep. Here it would be best if you track your sleep.  

Why is sleep important? 

A good night’s sleep plays a crucial role in our life. It is as essential as eating healthy and staying fit. Here are a few reasons that reveal the importance of a good night’s sleep: 

• Improves Focus and Memory 
• Better Heart Health 
• Curbs Inflammation 
• Lowers Stress 
• Stronger Immune System 
• Reduced Risk of Diabetes 
• Healthier Skin 
• Boosts Fertility 
• Prevents Weight Gain 
• Longer Lifespan 

What factors affect sleep? 

Several internal and external factors can interfere with sleep at night. Know about them here: 

External Factors that affect sleep: 

Working in shifts: Shift work can affect sleep quality as changes in the schedule every week or every month confuses the body clock and results in inadequate sleep. 

Noise: External factors such as the sound of traffic, neighbor noises can impede sleep. The sound distracts your mind from relaxing and falling asleep. To optimize your sleep quality, you can try using earplugs with radio and audio off or add mineral wool insulation to your walls to block external noises.  

Lighting: Being exposed to light during nighttime tricks the body’s circadian rhythm into thinking that it is daytime. Therefore, the brain does not get relaxed and shifts to sleep. To maintain a healthy circadian rhythm, you should block out the light before sleeping.  

Diet: The food you consume the most, especially before going to bed, directly impacts your sleep. For example, if you consume caffeine before going to bed, it can make you more active and not let you sleep even if you are willing to. Make sure you do not consume those foods before going to bed that could interfere with sleep.  

Internal Factors affecting sleep are: 

Chronic Stress – Any stress on the mind could lead to anxiety and prolonged depression. This could ultimately impact your sleep pattern. It can keep you awake all night, leaving you frustrated the next day.   

Body Aches or Pains: Pains in the body like muscle pain, headache, stomach ache, or other health issues could create discomfort in the body and affect one’s sleep.
 

How many hours of sleep are enough for good health? 

The number of hours a person needs to maintain good health varies for each age group.  

The Bottom Line 

Poor sleep is prevalent globally, and people find it hard to go to bed and fall asleep immediately. Tracking your sleep can help you improve your sleep and prevent complications. 

Yes, this is something of a blanket statement. But everything else put aside, we are presently living in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic.

Introduction

Everybody wants it. Everybody needs it. But not everybody gets it; or at least enough of it. Those who do get enough of it seem happier and more energetic after it.

Though not always spoken about in the open, it’s somehow always been the talk of the town ever since you started growing up. Even today, you read about it everywhere, watch on the tv, and even get to see some of the action in person.

It’s so pervasive that you’re sure your peers can tell when you haven’t got enough of it. But, most of all, you wouldn’t even be here reading this without at least some of it. 

That’s right, mate. SLEEP is most definitely the thing your life revolves around, even if you haven’t realized it yet.

Enough pillow talk, let’s see why sleep is the new sex. Yes, get off your pillow and open your eyes up for a bit right now, please.

Why Is Sleep So Important?

Seriously though, sleep and the rest that comes with it are as real and important as anything else in life. If you don’t believe this, or worse, haven’t heard much about this – it means that you’re probably living under a rock – or away from the digital world – which in today’s world passes off as the same thing.

Famous people are talking about sleep all the time. Sure, there are the exceptional geniuses who want to make you believe that it’s a waste of time and you don’t need much of it, but just really think about it for a bit. Or better yet, try it out for yourself. Record your daily activities along with your mood and energy levels for a week of sleeping for eight hours a day, as opposed to say sleeping for five hours a day. I think we already know the result of such an experiment.

Anyway, Mathew McConaughey sleeps for nine and a half hours each day. Why? Because he needs it. The man has blatantly accrued much of his success to only a handful of healthy habits that he’s created for himself and stuck with. Getting a night of good sleep is high up on the list. His wife doesn’t mind this about him at all. In fact, she does her bit in making sure he gets his nine and a half hours because she would rather not deal with him being cranky and whiny if he doesn’t complete it through the rest of the day. Mathew strongly believes that his sleep helps him restore himself while also allowing him to perform his daily duties with more energy and a lot more effectively.

Besides the fact that Mathew almost always transpires a good level of belief in those who listen to him and what he has to say, science has been his greatest ally in his argument backing the power of sleep.

So, What Does Science Have to Say About Sleep?

Science has and always will back the need and importance of a good night’s sleep in maintaining the overall health of a person. Right through history, every being has quickly evolved itself into realizing its circadian rhythms or internal clocks. This clock then goes on to dictate much of how the person would function through the hours we have each day. A majority of beings quite naturally adapt to sleeping during the nights and waking/working during the day.

Improve Your Sleep Drive

Here’s another catchphrase for you – Natural medicine/therapy are the new pharmaceuticals.

Here are some ways in which you can improve your sleep drive –

Additionally, you can –

Try CBD –

 Helps in relaxing the body and mind from anxiety and stress while also aiding a growing-larger-by-the-minute group of people with sleeping better and on time.

Try Melatonin supplements

Melatonin is a naturally occurring chemical hormone created and used within and by our bodies to help us sleep.

To Conclude

Just like orange is the new black, 40s are the new 30s, and nose-rings are the new earrings – sleep is the new sex. And, getting a good amount of it is going to help get more of what’s cooking in your mind right now. And why the hell not? Just scroll back up and read the benefits of sleep and how it can improve the quality of your life.

If it hasn’t yet come to you, now is the best time to learn and then improve your sleep life. Get on board, man. For, the train along with all the gravy you will ever need leaves the station at least once every twenty-four hours. All you have to do is sleep back and enjoy the time spent under.

Happy sleeping (and sweeter dreaming) to you my friend.

The impact of stress on our sleeping pattern is quite prominent. As both stress and sleep are closely interlinked with each other, stress can adversely affect the quality and duration of our sleep. Lack of sufficient sleep or insomnia can further lead to high level of stress in humans, and long lasting mental and physical health predicaments.

Having quality sleep is critical for effective functioning of the body throughout the day. It also enables the body to repair itself and to maintain its optimal immunity level. Therefore, having ample and quality sleep helps our body to keep certain diseases at bay.

In spite of the daunting challenges of stress in our day-to-day life, there are a handful of steps that can promote better sleep during stressful times. Though these efforts do not pay off immediately, do not give up.

Establish Your Routine

It is always recommended by health experts that people should avoid major variations in their daily sleep regime because human mind easily acclimates to a consistent sleep schedule. Establishing a routine can facilitate a sense of normalcy even during stressful times.

Sleep-specific aspect of your daily schedule should include following factors:

• Wake-Up Time: Set your alarm and try to make it a habit to wake up every day at a fixed time. Waking at the same time daily will really help you to have a sound sleep at night even during stressful situations.
• Wind-Down time: This is a time to get relaxed and be ready for the bed. You can do various activities during wind-down time such as meditating, reading, brushing your teeth and putting on night dress. Giving some extra wind-down time during stress will definitely do wonder as far as quality sleep is concerned.
• Bed-time: having a consistent time to fall asleep ensures good sleep.

Stay Active

During difficult times it is quite oblivious for people to overlook the importance of exercising, but being involved in some kind of physical activities such as going for a brisk walk, joining a gym or a yoga classes has numerous important benefits including sleep. When people do physical activities their bodies release chemical named endorphins in our brain that act as painkillers. It also reduces stress and improves our ability to sleep.

Reserve Your Bed for Sleep

Sleep experts emphasize that sleep and sex should be the only activities that take place in your bed. It is also recommended that people who are working from home should avoid bringing laptop into their bed to do office work, or to watch a movie or series because such activities can cause more stress. Reserving bed only for sleep will create a strong connection between your bed and sleep and even induce sleep during stress.

Effects of Light on Human Body

• Spending some time in sunlight increases the release of serotonin hormone which is associated with boosting our mood. Exposure to sunlight also has a positive impact on our body’s circadian rhythm which is an internal process and regulates our sleep-wake cycle.
• You should be mindful of your exposure to screen time before bed during stressful conditions. The blue light produced by electronic and digital devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and computers has been found responsible to disrupt our natural sleep pattern because it suppresses the production of melatonin by Pineal gland that regulates our sleep-wake cycle. Hence, you are advised to avoid using these devices for an hour before going to bed.

Socialize More

Socialization has a direct impact on our stress level in multiple ways. Being socially active directly increases the level of Oxytocin hormone which induces anti-stress-like effects and stimulates various kind of positive social interaction. It also enhances our cognitive skills to cope with difficult situations easily and reduces physical and social distress. Interaction with other people also temporarily distracts us from anxiety and stress and also ensures sound sleep at night.

Healthy Diet for stress management

Stress management always in favor of adopting a nutritious diet to counterbalance the impact of stress by strengthening the immune system of the body and lowering the blood pressure. A healthy diet contains high amount of antioxidant and nutrients, such as magnesium and melatonin that help you to fall asleep faster even during stressful conditions.

Conclusion

All in all, quality sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining one’s overall health. The steps mentioned above can help you get sound sleep at night. However, if you face difficulty in falling asleep, you are advised to visit your doctor for effective treatment.

 Why we Dream?

For years now, scientists and researchers have wondered why we really dream. But in spite of continuous research and inquiry, we still do not have a solid answer for it. However, there are a number of theories that have been developed by experts that aim at explaining the purpose of dreams. Let us go through a few of them in this article.

What is a dream?

A dream expresses the images, thoughts, and emotions that are experienced during sleep. Dreams can range from extraordinarily intense or emotional to very vague, confusing, fleeting, or even boring. Some dreams are joyful, while others are sad. Sometimes, dreams can have a clear narrative, while at other times, they make no sense at all.

Psychology of Dreams

In the 19th century, Sigmund Freud stated that all dreams, including nightmares, are images of the things you see in your daily life, but they are somewhat shaped into things fulfilling our subconscious wishes. He further added that whatever you feel while dreaming (thoughts, urges, desire, etc.) represents your subconscious part of thinking. Freud strongly believed that by keeping account of all these things you remember from your dreams, you can better understand your subconscious mind and help resolve and address the psychological issues that you may be repressing.

How often and why do we dream?

There is a lot that we still need to find out about dreams and sleep, but what scientists do know is that just about everyone dreams every time they sleep, for a total of around two hours per night, whether they remember it when they are waking up or not. The dreams that are most vivid happen during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and those are the dreams that we are most likely to recall. We do dream during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep as well, but those dreams are remembered less often and usually have more mundane content.

Now that we know what dreams can comprise of, and how often we actually dream, let us answer the more pertinent question of why we dream at all. Given below are the most prominent theories on the reasons behind dreaming, along with how these explanations can be applied to specific dreams.

1. Dreams are a result of mental processing during sleep.

According to the activation-synthesis model of dreaming, which was first proposed by J. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley in 1977, circuits in the brain become activated during REM sleep. This process causes areas of the limbic system involved in emotions, sensations, and memories, including the amygdala and hippocampus, to create an array of electrical brain impulses. According to this theory, the brain synthesizes and interprets this internal activity and attempts to find meaning in these signals, which we experience as dreams. This model suggests that dreams are a subjective interpretation of these signals generated by the brain during sleep. When we wake, our active minds pull together the various images and memory fragments of the dream to create a cohesive narrative.

2. Dreams are a medium of unconscious expression.

Consistent with the psychoanalytic perspective, Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggests that dreams represent unconscious desires, thoughts, wish fulfilment, and motivations. According to Freud’s view of personality, people are driven by repressed longings and primitive thoughts, such as aggressive and sexual instincts, that are subverted from conscious awareness. Freud was of the opinion that repressed longings find their way into our awareness via our dreams. He also divined symbolic meaning from the random images that appear in our dreams as well as their emotional content, creating a method of dream interpretation. Under this ideology, the purpose of dreams is to bring these repressed wishes and deepest desires to the surface so that the dreamer can confront and reconcile these repressed feelings.

3. Dreams show your life in pictorial form.

Under the continuity hypothesis, dreams function as a reflection of a person’s real-life and showcase his/her conscious experiences. But instead of a straightforward replay of waking life, dreams show up as a combination of memory fragments. However, this theory doesn’t explain why some parts of waking life, such as the scarier, embarrassing, or emotionally heightened components, are often replayed in dreams while other moments are not. Still, studies show that non-REM sleep may be more involved with declarative memory, while REM dreams include more emotional and instructive memories. So, as research shows, we don’t remember as much of the non-REM dreams; we may just not recall all the basic, day-to-day content we may have dreamed about the night before.

4. Dreams allow us to consolidate information and memories.

According to the information-processing theory, one of the main explanations for why we sleep is that slumber allows us to consolidate and process all of the information and memories that we have collected during the previous day. Some dream experts suggest that dreaming is a by-product or even an active part of this experience processing. Research supports this theory, finding improvement in complex tasks when a person dreams about doing them. Studies also show that during REM sleep, low-frequency theta waves were more active in the frontal lobe, just like they are when people are learning, storing, and remembering information when awake.

5. Dreams promote creative thinking.

Another theory about dreams says that their purpose is to help us solve problems. In this creativity theory of dreaming, the unconstrained, unconscious mind is free to wander its limitless potential while unburdened by the often-stifling realities of the conscious world. In fact, research has shown dreaming of being an effective promoter of creative thinking. Relishing in the absurdity or nonconventional content of your dreams may inspire epiphanies if you are receptive to the messages. Scientific research and anecdotal evidence back up the fact that many people do successfully mine their dreams for inspiration.

6. Dreams help us cope with our emotions.

The emotional regulation dream theory says that the purpose of dreams is to help us process and cope with our emotions or trauma in the safe space of slumber. It suggests that REM sleep plays a vital role in emotional brain regulation. The theory also helps explain why so many dreams are emotionally vivid and the fact that emotional or traumatic experiences tend to show up on repeat. The amygdala, which is involved in processing emotions, and the hippocampus, which plays a vital role in condensing information and moving it from short-term to long-term memory storage, are active during vivid, intense dreaming. This shows a strong link between dreaming, memory storage, and emotional processing. In fact, research has shown a connection between the ability to process emotions and the amount of REM sleep a person gets.

7. Dreams make us prepare ourselves for the real world.

The primitive instinct rehearsal and adaptive strategy theories of dreaming say that we dream to better prepare ourselves and to confront dangers in the real world. The dream as a social simulation function or threat simulation provides the dreamer a safe environment in which to practice important skills, especially potentially dangerous ones, such as evading a wild animal. So, while dreaming, we hone our fight or flight instincts to give us an increased potential for survival and build mental capability for handling such scenarios, from the frightening to the embarrassing, if they happen for real. The theory suggests that practicing or rehearsing these skills in our dreams gives us an evolutionary advantage and helps to explain why so many dreams contain scary, dramatic, or intense content. Additionally, this simulation model works to make sense of the often embarrassing, stressful, emotionally-fraught, or awkward dream narratives many of us experience. This theory contends that these dreams are intended to help us avoid, cope with, or endure these experiences in the real world.

So, these are a few theories that propose different reasons behind dreams—the true reason behind why we actually dream requires a lot more research to be found. However, most of the theories mentioned above are right on some level or the other. Thus, it is not appropriate to assume that only one hypothesis is correct. This is also why many researchers believe the purpose of dreaming is probably a combination of the factors proposed in a variety of dream theories. For now, since they’re still isn’t any definitive answer to why we dream, let us view our own dreams in the light that resonates best with us.

Does Melatonin Help Induce Sleep?

Roughly 70 million Americans are affected by poor sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that tells your body when it is time to head to bed and has become a popular supplement among people struggling to fall asleep.

Sleep is as essential to your health as eating healthy or getting regular exercise. Poor sleep is often characterized as a sleep disorder and affects 1 in 3 adults around the world. Most adults need more than 7 hours of sleep per night for the best health and well-being. Unfortunately, not many people get that much sleep per night. Many people also have insomnia, a disorder characterized by loss of sleep, fatigue, and wakefulness during the night.

Melatonin is a hormone in your body that tells your body when it is time to go to bed. As a result, a deficiency of this hormone might cause mild insomnia. Melatonin is now being used as a supplement by many people worldwide due to its sleep-inducing properties.

What is melatonin?

Often nicknamed “the sleep hormone,” melatonin is a chemical naturally produced by your body. High melatonin levels can help you fall asleep fast, but most times, it isn’t enough by itself. It merely lets your body know when bedtime is approaching so that you can start to relax and get into sleep mode. Melatonin is an effective remedy against jet lag and is a powerful antioxidant. It has previously helped people with eye health, treatment of stomach ulcers, heartburn, relief of tinnitus symptoms, and can help increase the amount of growth hormone in males.

How does melatonin work?

Melatonin works in conjunction with the body’s circadian rhythm, a system which is commonly known as the internal clock. It lets your body know when it is time to eat, sleep, or wake up. Melatonin levels in our bodies start to rise when it is dark outside, signaling the body to start relaxing as bedtime approaches.

Melatonin also binds itself to receptors that induce relaxation. For example, it attaches itself to brain receptors to limit nervous activity and put muscles at ease. Melatonin helps reduce dopamine levels in the eyes, a hormone that keeps them awake even when tired.

How is melatonin related to sleep?

Research has shown that melatonin secretions in the brain can help you get to sleep. Whether melatonin is produced naturally by the body or taken into the body as a supplement,

In an analysis of 19 studies on people with sleep disorders, scientists found that melatonin helped reduce the time it took to fall asleep by an average of 7 minutes. In many of these studies, people also reported significantly better quality of sleep.

An analysis of 10 studies explored melatonin’s effects in people who traveled through five or more time zones. Scientists found that melatonin was remarkably effective at reducing the effects of jet lag. The analysis also found that lower doses (0.5 mg) and higher doses (5 mg) were equally effective at reducing jet lag.

What are some of the reasons I can’t go to sleep at night?

• Stress

As melatonin helps your body prepare for sleep, people who don’t make enough of it at night can struggle to fall asleep. Many factors may cause low levels of melatonin at night. Stress, smoking, exposure to too much light at night, not getting enough natural light during the day, shift work, and aging are some of the causes of lack of sleep that also affect melatonin production.

• Effect of blue light

Johns Hopkins sleep expert Luis F. Buenaver, Ph.D., C.B.S.M., advises that you keep the lights low in the evening to help your mind and body prepare for sleep. If you have to work in the evening or answer emails, you can use filters to screen out the blue and green wavelengths of light emitted by your smartphone and computer. Your brain associates this blue and green light with daytime, and it can interfere with melatonin’s sleep-promoting effects. Readily available blue light filters can help you get to sleep.

Other positive effects of melatonin

• Helps support healthy eyes

In one study, scientists asked 100 people with age-related macular degeneration to take melatonin daily, which helped them protect the retinas and delay AMD damage, without any significant side effects. It has potent antioxidant benefits that could help lower the risk of eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration.

• Helps treat stomach ulcers and heartburn

A study with 21 participants found that taking melatonin and tryptophan along with omeprazole — a common medication for acid reflux — helped heal stomach ulcers caused by the bacteria H. pylori faster.

In another study, 36 people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were given either melatonin, omeprazole (a medicine that helps treat GERD), or a combination of both to treat GERD and its symptoms. Melatonin helped reduce heartburn and was even more effective when combined with omeprazole.

Conclusion

Melatonin is a very active and useful supplement for people who have insomnia and other sleeping disorders. Although it cannot make you sleep all on its own, it can help reset your circadian rhythms, which help you relax. However, it is encouraged that you consult a trusted and certified medical practitioner before you start a regular melatonin medication regimen.

Reference links

• https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data_statistics.html
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/melatonin-and-sleep#section7
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/melatonin-for-sleep-does-it-work

Sleep Like a Baby – CBD and Sound Sleep Every Night

Everyone wants to sleep well, but our natural sleep cycle is often disturbed, and we experience insomnia. What causes insomnia, and how can we treat it? Did you know 50 to 70 million U.S. adults face problems sleeping, and approximately 40 percent of adult Canadians suffer from sleep deprivation?

What are the reasons for insomnia?

1. Lack of physical activity

Physical activity helps in keeping the body active. It helps in regulating one’s sleep habits. However, we are so busy in our lives that we have almost forgotten the significance of the human body. We do not spare enough time for letting our body exercise and grow.

2. Stress

One of the most common reasons for being an insomniac is stress. According to an American survey, money and work are the top two reasons for triggering stress and pressure among teenagers and adults.

Stress increases the amount of cortisol in the body. Cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone.  It works with your brain to control your mood, motivation, and fear and decrease short wave sleep, increasing the light sleep and sleep-waking.

3. Pain

Among all the medical conditions, pain is seen as the topmost hindrance in sleep. However, pain and sleep are interconnected. Pain interrupts sleep while sleeplessness worsens pain. For example, if you are an arthritis patient and moving while asleep, the pain may wake you up and not let you fall back asleep easily. Chronic inflammation and pain should be treated at the earliest by identifying the real reasons behind them.

4. Diet

Diet has a direct effect on sleep. If your diet is unhealthy and you have irregular eating patterns, you are likely to suffer sleep issues. In research conducted on 495 women from age 20 to 76, their sleeping pattern and diet were taken note of. It was found in the research that women who consumed more sugary foods and high-calorie foods tend to have sleep issues than women who were conscious of their diet.

5. Medication

Medication has become part and parcel of our lives. However, taking medicine in excess leads to insomnia. It impacts the normal working of the body and interferes with the biological clock of the body. Thus, the normal functioning of the body gets disturbed and we suffer insomnia.

6. Age

Studies show that more people who are in their late 60’s have insomnia. As we get older, our sleeping patterns change. Poor sleep habits, medications cause this, and inactivity, stress, grief, and worry can affect cortisol levels. Cortisol is an important hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.  The sleep-wake process has a 24-hour rhythm; Its concentration in the body peaks in the morning and is lowest in night. As a person ages, this cycle gets disrupted, and they can face problems sleeping.

7. PTSD

Post-traumatic stress is a mental condition that is triggered by a traumatic incident. A study claims that 70% of adults experience a traumatic experience at least once in their life. This experience can manifest itself in PTSD. Researchers say that the cure from depression varies from person to person; therefore, where one person could cure his nightmares and stressful thoughts on his own, while someone else might suffer from the same for decades if not treated on time.

PTSD is reported to harm regular sleeping habits and can be a cause of insomnia.

8. Blue Light Electronic Device

The blue light interferes with sleep in a bad way. People who read on a blue light emitting device tend to face more sleep issues as compared to people who take care of their eyes’ health. Exposure to such light impacts the sleep and wake upcycle because it directly impacts Melatonin’s hormone. While trying to sleep in such a condition, it can cause sore or irritated eyes with heavy eye bags.

How can you improve sleep naturally?

• Wake up at the same time each day: The first step towards getting proper sleep is scheduling your wake-up time. It is a psychological trick. You can consider it as a training session for your brain.

Why does it matter?

It matters because a sleeping habit is a physiological activity, and it follows a pattern. You can understand it as a time table that the body sets different tasks, called Circadian rhythms. One of the reasons for insufficient sleep is disturbed Circadian rhythms; Therefore, if you try to keep to a sleep schedule, then chances are your insomnia can get cured.

• Eliminate alcohol and stimulants like nicotine and caffeine.

Studies show that nicotine stimulates the transmission of signals between two neurons. A person’s thought process can increase post smoking and cause disturbances in sleep, increasing the frequency of waking up in the middle of sleep. Similarly, caffeine, if not digested properly, can affect sleep for several hours.

If you are facing trouble sleeping, avoid late-night smoking and caffeine consumption.

• Exercise regularly:

Numerous studies claim that exercise helps in ensuring sound sleep.  It does not directly aid sleep; however, it indirectly helps in boosting better sleep at night. While exercising, the body drains a lot of energy, because of this, a person craves more sleep. On the other hand, exercise also releases different stress releasing hormones, which indirectly positively affect sleep.

Medicinal help

We all know sleep is vital. If natural methods prove not to cure your insomnia, you can use medicine as a last resort. Different medications can stimulate sleep. One of them is cannabis-based medicines. Studies show that there are five stages of sleep the Rapid Eye Movement or REM. The stage crucial for learning, handling mood, and memory. Moreover, this is also the stage in sleep in which a person dreams.

• Interestingly, a 2008 study stated that a chemical named Tetrahydrocannabinol, found in Cannabis, may reduce the REM sleep that a person gets. Reducing dreams could, in turn, aid those who suffer from PTSD nightmares. Studies show that there are three kinds of cannabis plant strains that create different experiences and emotions
• Indica It is a soothing experience, which is induced by the CBD of Cannabis.
• Sativa It is a feeling of excitement and happiness, which is induced by the THC of Cannabis.
• Hybrids It is a blend of both, i.e., of Indica and Sativa. In this, a person experiences both joy and relaxation.

Can CBD help in improving sleep?

CBD may produce excellent medicinal benefits that can be used to treat insomnia, relieve stress, and induce a calm and soothing sleep experience. A research was conducted on 72 subjects out of which 47 were experiencing anxiety while 25 were having poor sleep experience. Each subject was given 25 milligrams of CBD in the form of capsule each day. In the initial month of experiment, 79.2 percent subjects experienced reduced levels of anxiety whereas 66.4 percent reported better sleep. Likewise, many researches have been done so far with favorable outcome.

In what ways CBD can be consumed?

CBD can be consumed in the following ways:

1. Oils and tinctures
2. Pills and capsules
3. Edibles, like gummies
4. Vape concentrates

Conclusion

Insomnia is a critical health condition that could hamper the overall normal functioning of the body. It is suggested to treat this issue if faced at the earliest for a healthier and longer life.