“A to Z from Our Family Medicine Doctors at UT East Texas” column
Published Wednesday, May 23, 2018, in the Gladewater Mirror
By: Tyler Arendt, MD
Do you feel tired during the day? Do you wake up and wish you had just five more minutes to snooze?
Our culture scorns sleep. High-powered executives and entrepreneurs brag about how little sleep they require and how much they get done without it.
But not getting enough quality sleep can make you irritable, depressed, anxious, and hard to get along with, the National Institutes of Health says. It’s also unhealthy, increasing your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
So, for better sleep, take the following steps.
First, make your bedroom a sleep sanctuary. Avoid doing homework and business in bed. Associate your bedroom with sleep, so when you get into bed, your body is primed for slumber.
Second, go to bed at the same time every night. Keeping your sleep/wake cycle the same over the weekend will make Mondays a lot easier.
Third, limit how many caffeinated drinks you consume during the afternoon and evening. Caffeine provides an energy boost, but it can keep you awake at night.
Fourth, and possibly the hardest, turn off the smart phone, tablet, computer, and television at least a couple of hours before you go to bed. Research has shown that screens trick your mind into thinking it’s day and disrupt your body’s clock.
In addition, make your bedroom as cold and as dark as you can, to deprive your brain of any stimulation. If you do these four things, both your sleeping and waking hours are likely to improve, and you’ll go through your day alert and rested
However, if restful sleep still eludes you, see your doctor to make sure an undiagnosed health condition isn’t causing your poor sleep.