Some of those yawns can be blamed on the complexity of modern women’s lives - they’re workers, wives, mothers and caregivers to elderly parents-all of which add up to stress and anxiety that doesn’t stop when the lights go out. With lack of sleep, you’re more likely to have a lower mood, less energy, more irritability. Women who are sleep-deprived are also at risk for a range of problems: depression, heart disease, even obesity.
Despite the toll that sleeplessness takes on their lives, women refuse to slow down. Instead almost 80 percent said they cope with their insomnia by drinking caffeine drinks. And while they don’t take time off from work or cut back on home duties, they do sacrifice time with friends and family and stop eating a healthy diet.
Insomnia is a complex of symptoms – consisting of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing non-refreshing sleep – that result in daytime consequences that significantly impact productivity and quality of life. Up to one third of Americans suffer from some form of insomnia with approximately 10% having chronic insomnia. The prevalence of insomnia increases with age and occurs nearly twice as often in women as in men.
Lately there has been suggested that there is a link between obesity and sleep disorders.
Is it possible then to sleep yourself skinny?
Well, not quite, but getting enough real sleep could help in the long term. Studies have shown a definite relationship between adequate sleep and weight gain while aging. Another study on sleep shows that people don’t actually sleep as much as they think they do. Women averaging five hours sleep each night put on significantly more pounds that those who averaged seven hours.
The research also suggests that those who sleep less have a greater increase in body mass index and waist circumference over time and a greater chance of becoming obese over time.
The studies are suggesting that sleep deprivation has a direct effect on eating behaviour. People who are sleep-deprived show increased appetite, particularly for high-carbohydrate, calorie-rich foods. Mechanisms for these associations may be mediated in part by changes in hormones related to feeding; sleep-deprivation causes an increases in ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite, and decreases in leptin, a hormone that decreases appetite.
One culprit behind women’s sleep difficulties can be fluctuating hormone levels. With optimal levels of estrogen and progesterone in your system, the time it takes to fall asleep and the number of awakenings during the night decrease. But hormone fluctuations occur for many reasons, including monthly menstrual cycles, use of birth control pills, pregnancy, and perimenopause (the two to eight years before and up to one year after menstrual periods end) and menopause.
During the menopausal transition, significant sleep disruptions are provoked by sleep-disordered breathing, vasomotor disturbance, and mood disorders. Regardless of age, women with chronic insomnia are at higher risk for developing or sustaining depression.
Insomnia can also speed up the rate skin ages, and even increase the risk of breast cancer. But unfortunately, many women still do not yet realize to what extent insomnia can negatively affect them.
Even with hectic lifestyles women need to help themselves maintain a regular sleep routine. A Sleep routine is really important because it really shapes how you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Whether it’s due to partners snoring, nagging consciences or the stresses and anxieties of modern life, it’s important to take command of your sleep time.
Have you ever wondered how some people can wake up precisely the same time every morning without an alarm clock? There is an underlying mechanism, called “the inner sleep clock” which most people aren’t even aware of. It is a system inside of your body that controls when you sleep, how long you sleep, and how much energy you have during the day. It’s THIS system that plays a key role in why you feel tired and lethargic at some points during the day. Most people have no clue about this system, how it affects their energy, and that they can find out how to gain full control over it very quickly.
To cure your insomnia you need to treat the root cause of it and not just the symptoms. You need to “re-train” your mind to enter a deep and restful sleep. It’s very easy when you know how! Once you have gained control of your sleep, you will find that you have gained control in all other aspects of your life. You will do better emotionally, physically, and socially.
Sound sleep is far more than a good night’s rest; it represents the benefits of health and a healthy lifestyle. After all, it’s a third of your life; it must be important.
Imagine how different your days and nights would look without the constant fatigue and tiredness from lack of sleep. Let SleepDomain show you how to make this a reality. Don’t continue to suffer in exhaustion, anxiety and silence.
Tags: chronic insomnia, insomnia, lack of sleep, sleep, sleep deprived, sleep disorders, staying asleep
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