Good Sleep Hygiene

578 Words3 Pages
Falling asleep or getting enough sleep is very difficult for many people. Difficulty in initiating sleep is most often a problem with what doctors refer to as “sleep hygiene” – the activities that precede and surround the act of going to sleep. Insomnia and circadian rhythm disorder are two reasons why so many people have an unhealthy sleep schedule. However, by controlling the practices, habit and environmental factors that are critically important for sound sleep is considered “good sleep hygiene.” Good sleep hygiene is important to your health because it helps prevent the development of sleep problems and disorders like insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/ or staying asleep. Poor sleep for any length of time can lead to problems with memory and concentration- sleep help your brains organize memory and improve concentration. When you can’t sleep, your brain loses some of its ability to perform higher cognitive functions, like thinking reasoning, learning, and remembering. Getting more sleep may help you both focus better and to process learning better, which can allow for better retention of knowledge and skills over time. Circadian rhythm disorders are disruptions in a person’s circadian rhythm – a name given to the “internal body clock” that regulates the (approximately) 24 hour cycle of the biological process in animals and plants. We all have a day-night cycle of about 24 hours called the circadian rhythm. It greatly influences when we sleep and the quantity and the quality of our sleep. The more stable and consistent our circadian rhythm is the better we sleep. This cycle may be altered by the timing of various factors, including naps, bedtime, exercise, and especially exposure to light (from traveling across time zones to staring at a laptop in the bed at night). . Jet lag is a disruption
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