1. Health
About.com
Sleep

Sleep Better Now

By , About.com Guide

Explore some simple changes to sleep better now, whether you have a sleep disorder or you just want to improve your sleep. Discover the basics of sleep and start by determining your sleep needs. Consider ways that you can improve your sleep habits and thrive. For those with sleep disorders, learn new ways to cope and gather strength through support groups. Finally, learn how poor sleep affects nearly every aspect of your life and may negatively impact your health.
  1. Basics of Sleep
  2. Determine Your Sleep Needs
  3. Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits
  4. Living with Sleep Disorders
  5. Sleep and Your Health

Basics of Sleep

Discover the basics of sleep and answer some curious questions. Reflect on just why it is that we sleep. Learn about sleep stages, sleep architecture, clock genes and sleep inertia. Expand your sleep-related vocabulary by learning some new words. Contemplate many bodily functions - including wet dreams, morning wood, sneezes, and farts - and whether and why they occur in sleep. Get some sleep-related movie recommendations. Discover what it is about Thanksgiving dinner that makes you feel so sleepy. Remind yourself of when daylight saving time occurs.

Determine Your Sleep Needs

How much sleep do you really need? Determine your sleep needs with a simple experiment. Evaluate the sleep needs of your children, no matter their age. Consider the special sleep requirements of teenagers and whether they should be allowed to sleep in. Also learn how being in college can disrupt sleep. Finally, learn whether you might be sleeping too much and what this might mean.

Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits

Certain changes may help you to sleep better. It is possible to improve our sleep through simple interventions that foster a better sleep environment and promote healthy sleep. Start by identifying what might be secretly ruining your sleep. Learn how to improve your sleep as well as the sleep of your children. Consider whether you should use an alarm clock or allow pets, television or cell phones in your bedroom. Finally, learn some tips to wake up more easily and stay awake during the day.

Living with Sleep Disorders

For people who have a sleep disorder, there can be certain hurdles in living with the condition. Whether you are learning to cope with the treatment or overcoming the effects of your disorder, you may find it worthwhile to reach out to others. There are many resources, support groups, and foundations that might be helpful to you. It will be important to maintain your commitment to your treatment as it will improve your overall health and well-being. Find out how you can accomplish this and thrive in life with your sleep disorder.

Sleep and Your Health

Sleep problems may have important consequences on your overall health and well-being. Something as common as sleep deprivation may lead to negative physical effects, hallucinations and even death. Sleep apnea may worsen multiple medical conditions as well as increase your risk of stroke and sudden death. There are also serious consequences when children have sleep disorders, often leading to behavior and growth problems. Consider the myriad ways that sleep may affect your health.

See more newsletters

©2013 About.com. All rights reserved.

We comply with the HONcode standard
for trustworthy health information: verify here.