A poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation in 2002 showed that approximately 74% of the population has trouble sleeping at some point in their lives. And the root of the problem might simply be our lifestyles.
According to Dr. Gary Zammit, Director for the Sleep Disorders Institute at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, about 9% to 18% of adults actually suffer from chronic insomnia and aren't able to sleep for a few days or longer.
"Insomnia is associated with deficits in attention, concentration, memory and ability to stay 'on task.' It's also associated with impairments in social and occupational functioning, poor quality of life, increased risk of accidents or injuries, and higher health care costs," he explains.
Insomnia may also be associated with a number of other risks, such as the development of psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to weight gain and poorly functioning immune systems.
"We're always looking to blame or deny what\'s right in front of our eyes. Caffeine, eating late right before bed, too much alcohol before bedtime--these can cause an insomnia problem because they are varying you in and out of bed time," says Russell Rosenberg, Ph.D. and Director at Northside Hospital Sleep Medicine Institute in Atlanta, Ga. "Even watching news before bed isn't good."
If you find you can't focus at work or you're complaining of being tired or feeling irritable, these can all be signs that you aren't getting enough Zs.
And if you find yourself waking up unrefreshed and if your quality of life is affected because you're irritable or constantly stressed due to lack of sleep, it may be time to take a step back and evaluate your habits. But if you are like most people, changing your behaviour is not something that you are likely to do.
Luckily, more ways to treat and beat insomnia are becoming available. At the end of the day, and after all the multitasking, solutions such as iMusic are there to get us out of the no-sleep rut, and into bed.
