Editorials

Dealing With Sleep Deprivation

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18 January 2017

By Alex Khalil

It’s safe to say, a lot of people face sleep deprivation at some point. Whether it’s because of stress, awful sleeping patterns, or you just can’t seem to shut your eyes, it’s horrible when it happens, especially at length.

So, from our resident night owl, here are a few tips to help you either sleep better, or sleep earlier.

First off, the biggest problem a lot of young people face (yes, a millennial ripping into millennials; deal with it), is that we’re surrounded by tech. LED screens feature in the majority of our time spent awake. Looking at phones, tablets, TVs, desktops, laptops. You get the idea. I know it sounds a bit condescending, but turn it off. Read something or occupy your brain some other way. It’ll relax your body, and the strain on your eyes will be nowhere near as bad.

Another contributing factor would be your diet. Things like sugar, and high caffeine drinks can seriously affect your sleeping. It’s the same if you eat a large meal before sleeping. Your body is trying to process all that sugar, and glucose and carbohydrate, so try to avoid eating large meals late at night.

Something else that people overlook would be as simple as how comfortable you are. Getting the room to the right temperature, getting comfy, and making sure you’re not too warm or too cold. If any of these factors are off, your sleep will be bonked for the night. And trust me, no one wants that.

Or, and yes this can happen, you could be experiencing anxiety, or even depression. If you think this is why you can’t sleep, see someone about it. For real; I’m not kidding. If you think you are losing sleep due to depression or anxiety, call your doctor, and ask for an appointment.

But the easiest way to fix the problem?

Fix it once, and fix it properly. Force yourself to turn in early, wake up at roughly the same time everyday. Slowly you’ll end up with a pattern, so you can sleep easy.

So yeah.

Just a bit of advice for all you budding insomniacs out there.

Sleep tight.

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