Sleep disturbances diminish our quality of life and may lead to health problems. Our body and mind are not able to sufficiently regenerate. Besides known causes like stress there are numerous secret robbers of sleep that deprive us from sleep.
Let’s take a closer look
Allergies
You are going to bed at night. All of a sudden your nose is running, your eyes are itching, you are coughing. A calm sleep becomes impossible. When you are not having a cold these might be signs for a dust mite allergy. Covers, pillows, carpets, textiles and mattresses are the habitat of dust mites. Human and animal skin scales are the nutritional basis for the microscopic tiny spiders. The allergen excrements the dust mites defecate mingles with dust. Now, once an allergic person inhales this mixture cold-like reactions occur. Through the years, this might lead to asthma and chronic inflammations of the nasal mucosa as well as of the sinuses.
If a dust mite allergy is suspected, first do an allergy test at an ENT doctor or an allergist. Since mites develop especially well in a warm and humid bedding climate, you should pay special attention to the proper bedding content. Here, especially covers made of bio-sheep-wool are ideal. Bio-sheep-wool is able to create a dry-warm bedding-climate and therewith deprives the mites from their base of life. Regularly change your linen and wash them with 60 °C. Ideal room temperature is from 61° to 64°F as well as a relative humidity between 40 and 60 %.
Medicines
Some medications contain caffeine or influence the release of certain hormones or neurotransmitters in the brain and therefore might lead to sleep disturbances. Examples include medications with active substances against high blood pressure and heart problems, appetite suppressants, some antibiotics, cortisone preparations etc. Furthermore, some birth control pills, cough- and cold-preparations as well as medications causing heartburn or stomach trouble might impair with healthy sleep. Furthermore, it is suspected that a range of neuroleptics and antidepressants cause restless legs syndrome. Migraine drugs, high blood pressure medicine and some antiallergics should only be taken in the evening since they might cause tiredness.
In case of increasingly often occurring sleep disturbances check whether a regular medication intake increases resp. causes the disturbances. It is advisable to thoroughly check the package insert for side effects as well as for the ingredients.
Cigarettes
In a US-study it was found that smokers suffer more often under sleep disturbances than non-smokers. 40 smokers as well as 40 non-smokers participated in the study. The scientists of the University of Baltimore observed the sleeping phases, brain waves, breathing, circulation, activity of heart, muscles and eyes as well as snoring. Furthermore the participants were asked about their recovery during sleep. Subsequently, the results were compared. The evaluation of the results revealed that the sleep of a smoking person is much more superficial than the sleep of a non-smoker. Nicotine disturbs the change from light slumber into deep sleep and leads to nightly withdrawal symptoms which will influence decisively healthy sleep.
Read in #2 why dark chocolate might impair sleep.
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