Sleep Problem: Reasons And How To Address Insomia

The struggle lies not only in waking up and going through your activities during the day but the minutes you spend lying in bed and wait for your eyes to close. There are probably many reasons why you can't sleep at night - it could be because you are stressed over work deadlines or turning an all-nighter. But sometimes, sleep problems are ambiguous and no guidelines were ever set to define what quantifies as a good sleep.

Such was the case until National Sleep Foundation published its sleep-quality recommendations in the journal Sleep Health. The foundation gathered experts from sleep communities and representatives of stakeholder organizations. Based on a review of 277 previous studies, the guidelines include several measures people can use to determine the quality of their sleep at night, Time reports. Sleep medicine specialist, Philip Gehrman, said this will help people know if they have poor sleep quality or if they are in the normal range.

The ranges vary from "appropriate" and "inappropriate." There are several indicators to measure sleep quality and the following were taken into consideration: time spent drifting off, a number of times waking up at night, the time it takes back to go back to sleep, and percentage of total time in bed spent snoozing.  Based on the findings, below are guidelines to take not to avoid having sleep problems:

Fall asleep in 30 minutes or even less

Lying awake is frustrating and can lead to anxiety and continued sleep problems. Therefore, reserve the hour before bed for relaxing activities or change your sleep schedule so you go to bed later at a time when you actually fell tired.

Wake up for five minutes or longer, no more than once a night

Waking up a few times then going back to sleep is not a problem but waking too often could be a sign of acid reflux, eating too close to bedtime, due to sleep apnea or pain or discomfort. It's best to consult your doctor for a health checkup.

Fall back asleep within 20 minutes

There are times wherein you wake up in the middle of your sleep and feel like you're more than alert. When you hit the 20-minute mark, it is advisable to get out of bed and do something relaxing but preferably not TV or computer related stuff. Activities such as reading a book, listening to a podcast or coloring may seem counterintuitive but it is the distraction your brain needs to go back to sleep.

85 percent of the time spent in bed is for sleeping

You wouldn't find this last guideline difficult if the above three have been followed. In addition, try to minimize the use of your bed for other activities as it has only two purposes: sleep and sex.