How many of you have sleep problems of any kind? Waking up in the middle of the night? Tossing and turning? I know many college students (and I’m guessing some professors too!) that stay up very late trying to finish homework or hanging out with friends. The amount of sleep that all of us are getting is not nearly enough. Add sleeping problems along with that, and there is a low chance of anyone getting any type of good sleep that everyone needs. The article that sparked my interest discusses different types of sleep problems as well as the expert advice that we need to change some of these problems.
First of all, there are nine different sleep problems including:
1. The night waker
2. The early bird
3. The chronic insomniac
4. The hormone sufferer
5. The worrier
6. The night owl
7. The overstimulated sleeper
8. The downtime seeker
9. The slow riser
I have decided to focus on three of these problems. You can read about every type on the website.
The early bird sleeper is one that goes to bed quite early in the evening (example: 7PM) and then wakes up in the middle of the night around 2AM and not be able to go back to sleep. This leads to not falling back to sleep and having such a long day that has strange hours. Expert advice says that someone with this problem should gradually change their sleep schedule so that they can go to bed at a decent time in order to get up at the time they plan to.
The worrier has constant stress that causes the individual to wake up multiple times during the night, and he/she also can’t fall back asleep because of the thoughts about work or making mental to-do lists. Insomnia just starts building up and the brain is very active during sleep for these people. Techniques for reducing these occurrences include distraction by relaxation, keep the sleep environment quieter, and wearing earplugs.
The night owl is probably a very common type of sleeper for college students. These types of sleepers stay up extremely late and end up waking up early as well. These individuals wake up feeling exhausted, drowsy, and irritated. Expert advice for these problems include reducing the amount of light exposure at night, getting to bed earlier, and also not consuming caffeine.
All of these problems can be solved by changing a few things about sleeping habits, organization, and relaxation techniques.
Eden,
ReplyDeleteI was never a huge sleeper. In high school I wasn’t really too concerned about it, but still got a decent amount. My freshman year of college I was completely drained all the time and got zero sleep- 4 hours was a typical amount. Now I’m a couple months into my junior year and sleep is my new best friend. Without enough sleep I notice I lack energy, my skin is worse and my personality is just not the same. I have been the night waker (mainly just toss and turn a lot), night owl and worrier for sure out of the problems you listed. I would be curious to know what some of the other ones are.