Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : July 12, 2021 11:44 AM IST
The global pandemic has led to sleep disruption and increased stress levels.
Getting adequate quality sleep is as important as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly for good health and well-being. Yet many of us do not get enough sleep and suffer from lack of sleep. Regular sleep deprivation can put people at risk of serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes, as well as shortens their life expectancy. Poor sleep can also affect your emotional state and mental health. According to a study published in the journal 'Annals of Behavioral Medicine', just one night of sleep loss is enough to disrupt your day-to-day mental and physical well-being.
Lead author of the study, Soomi Lee, from the University of South Florida, said that continues sleep loss can increase the negative impacts, and lead to decrease in positive emotions, increase in negative emotions, and greater frequency of severity of physical symptoms.
The researchers examined daily sleep pattern of 1,958 adults for eight consecutive days. They found that sleep loss for even one night was associated with increased negative well-being and decreased positive well-being, both physically and mentally. These effects were amplified with consecutive nights of sleep loss.
Chronic sleep loss results in incomplete recovery and stress pile-up, which degrades your daily well-being. Further, the study indicated that multiple consecutive nights of sleep loss increase the severity of adverse physical impacts -- including body aches, gastrointestinal issues and respiratory symptoms such as a sore throat and runny nose.
It depends on your age. As stated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recommended hours of sleep per day is:
You do not feel rested even after getting enough sleep; you repeatedly wake up during the night; you experience symptoms of sleep disorders including snoring or gasping for air these are signs of poor sleep quality.
A person who is not getting enough quality sleep may experience a range of other symptoms like fatigue, irritability, mood changes, difficulty focusing and remembering, as well as a reduced sex drive.
There are many ways to improve sleep quality, including changing sleeping habits, behavioral and cognitive treatments, medications, and alternative therapies. Meditation, mindfulness training, and breathing exercises, are some ways of improving sleep quality without medications.
Take note, before taking sedative-hypnotic medications, it is advisable to follow a doctor's instructions, as some of these drugs can cause adverse effects.
Make sure go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, even on the weekends.
With inputs from agencies
