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Lifestyle Factors
How you live your life affects how you sleep.
The choices you make in the way you live, as well as things you may not have a lot
of control over, can seriously affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Jet lag
Whether it's vacation or business travel, long flights can disrupt your regular
sleeping patterns and body rhythms, making it difficult to get the sleep you want.
Eating, drinking and smoking
Overeating can cause you to feel bloated, making it uncomfortable to lie down and
difficult to sleep. Heavy, spicy, or high-sugar foods in your diet can cause
heartburn, which in turn can keep you awake.
Many people think that drinking alcohol can help them fall asleep, but it often
causes you to wake during the night. Caffeine, from coffee or other beverages, can
cause sleep problems, even if consumed during the day.
Smoking cigarettes can also cause sleeping problems, since nicotine is a
stimulant.
Stress
Being overly concerned about almost anything in your life can make your mind too
active and contribute to insomnia. It makes it difficult to relax and sleep if you
are worrying about work, school, family or your or a loved one's health.
Aging
Sleep patterns often change and sleep becomes less restful as you get older. Because
you may be sleeping more lightly, you are more likely to wake up. In addition, your
internal clock may be causing you to get tired earlier and wake up earlier than
you may want.
Shift work
Working late, early, long or regularly changing shifts can disrupt your body's
circadian rhythms.
Your circadian rhythms (from two Latin words: "circa" for "about" and "dia" for "day") guide your wake–sleep
cycle, metabolism and body temperature; and when they are disrupted, your sleep
patterns are disrupted.
Next: Sleep Disorders
