Learn How to Fix Common Sleep Problems for a Better Night’s Sleep

Sleep apnea is more common in men than in women. When a person with sleep apnea tries to breathe in air, suction is created, which closes the windpipe and restricts the flow of air. When blood oxygen levels fall, the brain awakens the person who snorts or gasps for air before resuming snoring.

 

This cycle is often repeated several times during the night. It causes repeated awakenings, preventing patients from reaching the deepest stages of sleep, and leaving them tired during the day.

How to Get a Restful Night’s Sleep

First, understanding the stages of sleep is beneficial. Usually, we go through five stages of sleep.

• Stage One: Light sleep – We drift in and out and are easily roused. Our eyes move slowly, and our muscle activity decreases.

Stage Two: Our eye movements cease, and our brain waves slow, with brief bursts of rapid waves known as sleep spindles.

 

• Stage Three: Deep slumber – Delta waves, which are prolonged brain waves, occur mixed with smaller, quicker waves.

• Stage Four: Deep slumber – Delta waves are largely produced by the brain. There are no eye movements or muscle motions.

• Stage Five: REM sleep – Breathing becomes faster, more irregular, and shallow. The eyes jerk violently, and limb muscles become briefly immobilized. Dreams almost always occur during this stage of sleep. However, they can occur during other stages of sleep as well. Each cycle takes around two hours. The cycle then begins again at stage 1. As the cycles repeat, deep sleep periods shorten, and REM sleep periods extend. Adults spend half of their sleeping time in stage 2, 20% in REM sleep, and 30% in the remaining stages. REM sleep accounts for almost half of an infant’s sleep duration at first.

We frequently overlook the simple fact that these processes require time; thus, one of the first things you can do to help yourself is to allow adequate sleep time.
Many consider the time they go to bed to be their “8 hours.” However, if you spend 20 minutes reading, another 20 minutes watching television, and another 10 to 15 minutes getting to sleep, you have just lost an hour of sleep.