Your Sleeping Habits Are Part Of The Problem

The thought of a good nights sleep is simply heaven for many and something to look forward to after a busy day. For some of us we get just that, but for others a good nights sleep is something they could only dream of (if they could get to sleep).

Sleeping is extremely important for us and we are in danger of forgetting its significance in our lives. Who needs sleep when we have more interesting things to do? Well, we do. We need sleep to conserve energy, consolidate memory, restore and recharge our bodily functions, keep our immune system in check and get us back to balance after a stressful day. In other words, we need sleep to function optimally.

But since the invention of the light bulb, us humans have been sleeping less, to our own detriment.

Our brains have evolved enough to invent the smart phone, but our brains and bodies haven’t evolved enough to be coping with the effects of less sleep. Sleep disorders are a large and under-recognised problem in Australia, contributing to many physical and psychological health conditions. We often blame other factors for our symptoms of illness, whilst leaving lack of sleep relatively unexplored.

Sleep is something many people think little about until a problem arises; yet here we are as a society with quite a few problems. About 1 in 3 people suffer from sleeping issues at some stage of their life, with many people experiencing chronic sleeping problems.

Sleep is a vital biological function. We need to be doing it. No matter what age we are, limited sleep can affect every aspect of our life, from work through to our home life. We all know what it feels like to not have enough sleep. We wake up feeling still fatigued and less than able to tackle the day. In some countries, sleep deprivation is a form of torture, yet here we are, going about our day feeling just that.

Before the invention of the electric light most people were getting 10 hours of sleep a night. Us adults now get roughly about 7 hours a night, if we are lucky. Obviously, we can survive on this lesser amount of sleep, but it may come at a cost. With our modern sleeping behaviours, we are pushing it way past what our bodies have evolved to do, and subsequently feeling the consequences.

We are just not doing sleep right.

Alarm clocks buzzing before we are ready to wake, swigging mug loads of coffee, sitting for most of the day indoors, avoiding sunlight, coming home and sitting again, drinking too much alcohol to get to sleep in the first place and late nights spent staring into our smart phones. A whole heap of habits that are not conducive to healthy sleep, or wellbeing. We are not even giving ourselves time to count sheep.

The problem with poor sleep is that it affects everything. We might be familiar with what usually goes hand in hand with tiredness; constant irritation, aggression, low confidence, anxiety, moodiness, depression, lack of concentration, inability to problem solve, and an i