Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Changes in hormone levels and physical discomfort can result in poor sleep quality. Aging. Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults. As you get older, however, your sleeping patterns might change. Older adults tend to sleep more lightly, take longer to start sleeping and sleep for shorter time spans than do younger adults.
Set aside no more than eight hours for sleep. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours. Most people don't need more than eight hours in bed to be well rested. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends. Being consistent reinforces your body's sleep-wake cycle.
Good sleep habits like these can help prevent insomnia: Keep the time you go to bed and the time you wake up the same every day, including weekends. Stay active. Regular activity can lead to a good night's sleep. Limit naps or do not nap at all. Limit or do not use caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.
There are many different types of sleep disorders, and the causes vary widely. Sleep disorders are often grouped according to why they happen or their effects. Sleep disorders also can be grouped based on behaviors, problems with your natural sleep-wake cycles, breathing problems, difficulty sleeping or how sleepy you feel during the day.
With sleep terrors, a sleeping child suddenly gets scared or panicked. The child might scream or sit upright in bed. Some children even jump out of bed. But most of the time, the child won't fully wake up or remember what was scary the next day. If your child has sleep terrors, research suggests that you shouldn't try to wake your child up.
Many older adults have trouble sleeping. But people with dementia often have an even harder time. Sleep troubles may affect up to 25% of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's and about 50% of people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's. Sleep troubles tend to get worse as Alzheimer's becomes worse.
This less common form of sleep apnea occurs when your brain fails to send signals to your breathing muscles. This means that you make no effort to breathe for a short period. You might awaken with shortness of breath or have a difficult time getting to sleep or staying asleep. Risk factors. Sleep apnea can affect anyone, even children.
The need to sleep can strike at any time, including when driving a car or working. This makes idiopathic hypersomnia potentially dangerous. The condition often develops slowly over time. Diagnosing idiopathic hypersomnia requires ruling out more common sleep conditions. Treatment aims to control symptoms with medicine.
Wake up at the same time every day. Even if you 're awake for long periods during the night, resist the urge to sleep in. Avoid daytime napping. Napping can throw off your sleep cycle. If you wake up and can't fall back to sleep within 20 minutes or so, get out of bed. Go to another room and read or do other quiet activities until you feel sleepy.
Sleep schedule changes, travel or sleep interruptions. Fever. Sleep terrors sometimes can be triggered by conditions that interfere with sleep, such as: Sleep-disordered breathing — a group of disorders that include breathing patterns that are not typical during sleep. The most common type of sleep-disordered breathing is obstructive sleep apnea.