Sleep Hygiene Skills Essex

Sleep is an invaluable part of our daily lives. It’s how you give your mind and body much needed rest, and is vital in promoting good health.

Getting quality, consistent sleep affects practically every part of your body, from the wellbeing of your heart and the way your body processes food, to your focus and memory.

Beyond the physical attributes, there is also a close link between the quality of the sleep you get and your mental health.

Without a sustainable sleeping pattern, you might begin to experience low mood, and react to stressors and emotions in unhelpful ways. This can heighten feelings of stress and anxiety.

But mental health conditions are not just the byproduct of poor sleep. These negative thoughts and feelings can also make it harder for you to drift off and stay asleep too.

Getting the right amount of sleep is important. For the most part, the average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of rest, though this can vary depending on your age, health and personal circumstances.

For example, if you were an active person who worked a physically demanding job, you might require more rest than others. Similarly, if you have an underlying health problem, such as diabetes, you could benefit from longer periods of sleep.

As well as getting the right amount of sleep, it is just as important to get high-quality rest.

Although sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, as few as 20% of people in the UK get the amount they need.

If this is a reality for you, and you regularly find yourself waking in the middle of the night, lying awake in bed, or feeling tired upon waking, this could be a sign that you have insomnia.

Short-term insomnia

If your sleep issues have lasted less than 3 months, this is referred to as short-term insomnia. Typically brought about due to a significant life change, such as the loss of a loved one or the end of a relationship, short-term insomnia tends to fade over time.

Chronic insomnia

If you have struggled getting regular sleep for more than 3 months, you may have chronic insomnia. This type of sleep disorder is harder to overcome, and characterised by frequent, relentless episodes of poor sleep that can endure for days, weeks or months at a time.

While these are the two most common ways to describe insomnia, healthcare professionals may refer to your condition as:

• Sleep onset insomnia – when you have trouble initially dozing off
• Sleep maintenance insomnia – when you find it hard to stay asleep
• Early morning awakening insomnia – when you wake up long before you need to be
• Comorbid insomnia – when your condition is thought to be triggered by something like stress or a long-term health problem

Insomnia affects as many as 1 in 3 people in the UK, and can impact people at any age. Multiple factors can contribute to the development of this and other sleep disorders, including:

• Feelings of stress and anxiety
• Long-term conditions, like sleep apnoea
• An uncomfortable sleep environment
• Medication that has rest-altering side effects
• Unsociable working hours
• Alcohol or caffeine consumption
• Bed sharing with a partner
• An inconsistent sleep schedule
• Frequent and persistent nightmares

Sleep is core to healthy living. If you aren’t getting the right amount of quality rest, you could be at risk of developing long-term medical conditions, such as:

• Strokes
• Seizures
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease

Sleep deprivation can also cause unhelpful thoughts and feelings to bubble up, leading to anxiety disorders and depression. This can have a very real impact on your life:

• Concentrating at work when you’re tired can become a challenge
• Taking on feedback from colleagues might cause friction if you are irritable
• A lack of energy could cause you to avoid socialising with friends and family
• Tiredness might affect your judgement and lead you to make poor decisions

Everybody has difficulties getting to sleep from time to time. Maybe a late night out with friends has left you excited and unable to drift off. Or perhaps a stressful day at work has given you racing thoughts you’re struggling to silence.

It is only when poor sleep becomes a regular occurrence in your life and affects your overall health and wellbeing that it could be viewed as an ongoing problem. To determine if sleep treatment could benefit you, consider:

• Do you have issues falling asleep regularly?
• Do you experience prolonged episodes of poor rest?
• Do you find yourself waking up more than once every night?
• Do you rise earlier than you need to and struggle to fall back asleep?
• Do you rarely feel refreshed upon waking?
• Do you find it hard to nap during the day, even if you’re tired?
• Do you often feel agitated and unable to focus?

Everybody experiences sleep differently. But if one or more of these signs are true for you and causing your quality of life to suffer, it might be time to reach out and get the help you need.