Sleep problems are a condition that affects millions of people. Finally is healthy sleep particularly important for mastering daily challenges with focus and energy? In addition to poor performance and high irritability, signs such as lack of drive and appetite, increased appetite, nervousness, headaches, or fatigue indicate a lack of sleep. In this situation, action is required.

Serious diseases threaten

Night rest is essential for the human body’s metabolism to regulate and renew the body’s own cells.

At the same time, healthy sleep is important so that the brain can process important information during sleep and store it in long-term memory.

Persistent insomnia is a health risk that often leads to the formation of diabetes, depression, obesity, or heart disease. Anyone suffering from prolonged insomnia should definitely consult a doctor. Good to know: Women over 50 are particularly often affected by sleep disorders. A drop in estrogen levels during menopause is responsible for this health problem.

Common Causes of Sleep Problems

Common causes of sleep problems are increased alcohol consumption or increased drug use. Disturbing noises from the environment or your partner’s snoring can cause noises that also prevent those affected from getting a good night’s sleep. Stressful situations or stress at work or in private life have an equally negative effect on the good quality of sleep as illnesses such as pain.

It is also advisable to avoid heavy meals late before going to bed or to use the media intensively. If you also refrain from stimulating physical training before going to bed and pay attention to a pleasantly cool temperature in the bedroom, you create the best possible conditions for a good night’s sleep.

Typical sleep problems at a glance

The most common form of sleep problem is insomnia or insomnia. This clinical picture includes problems falling asleep and staying asleep, as well as problems falling asleep.

Affected people often complain of constant interruptions in the sleep process during the night.

Bad and restless sleep occurs because the phases of wakefulness and sleep regularly alternate. The situation is particularly aggravated when patients stay awake at regular intervals for several hours at night. If the bedtime is too short, is automatically a lack of sleep the speech. Along with persistent insomnia, sufferers experience chronic fatigue throughout the day. As a result, patients find it difficult to concentrate. In the worst case, patients are even afraid that they will not be able to fall asleep at all in the evening.

Tips for a pleasant sleeping experience

Before falling asleep, it is imperative to avoid all actions that trigger stress. Practices such as autogenic training, meditation, or yoga have proven themselves before the night’s rest. That’s why sleep doctors recommend doing relaxing activities, including reading books, at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

Noise renunciation

Noise is also detrimental to healthy sleep. It is all the more important to create a quiet place to sleep. Another advantage is a comfortable sleeping temperature, which ideally should be 16-19 degrees Celsius.

Darkening the room enough is just as useful so as not to be woken up by other light sources. It doesn’t matter if the sun rises early in the morning or if the light from the street lamp disturbs it. Options such as roller shutters or blinds neutralize these light sources at night.

Avoid tablets or cell phones

Sleep experts urgently recommend banning technical devices such as cell phones, laptops or tablets from the bedroom. The so-called blue light from screens is responsible for the negative effect on sleep quality. This abnormally bright lighting neutralizes the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Medical studies confirm the recommendation.

According to the results of these studies, so-called REM sleep is significantly reduced if electronic media is used immediately before going to bed.

How many hours of sleep is healthy?

According to the US National Health Foundation, the optimal amount of sleep depends on a person’s age. Scientists point out in the “Sleep Journal” that adults aged 26 to 64 feel particular well and balanced after seven to nine hours of sleep.

The same number of hours applies to young adults. In return, seniors over the age of 65 ideally need an hourly workload of seven to eight hours.

Old	Recommended sleep duration
Newborns – 0-3 months	2-5 p.m.
Babies – 4-11 months	12-3 p.m.
Infants – 1-2 years	11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Kindergarten – 3-5 years old	10 a.m.-1 p.m.
School children – 6-13 years old	9-11 a.m.
Teens – 14-17 years old	8-10 hours
Young adults – 18-25 years old	7-9 hours
Adults – 26-64 years old	7-9 hours
Seniors – from 65 years old	7-8 hours

Sleep phases at a glance

During nocturnal sleep, the human body goes through different stages of sleep. Phases of light sleep alternate with phases of deep sleep. The so-called falling asleep phase marks the time when people fall asleep. This duration is sometimes limited to a few minutes or a maximum of half an hour. Next comes the light sleep phase, which marks either the transition between the deep and REM sleep phase or the deep sleep phase and the waking phase.

During the deep sleep phase, blood pressure and body temperature drop.

Also, heart rate and breathing slow down at this stage. Here, the body enters a sort of resting phase, which serves to regenerate. In this phase, it is particularly difficult to wake a sleeping person. In addition, the deep sleep phase is essential for restful and healthy sleep.

Particularities of the paradoxical sleep phase

The REM sleep phase is also known as the dream sleep phase. While the brain is particularly active during this phase of sleep, the body, including the muscles, relaxes intensely.

Because the brain processes important information during the REM phase and hides external stimuli, it is especially difficult for people to wake up during this phase.