What are the Causes of Sleep Deprivation?
If you are still feeling drowsy after a full nights sleep, you may have a sleeping disorder. The amount of sleep one requires may differ depending on the individual. Most adults require up to nine hours of sleep a day. Some may require as less as five hours, while there are some who will feel fresh only after 10 hours of relaxing sleep. If a person is sleep deprived, the debit may be carried over and he or she may require more hours the next day.
Many of the causes are very obvious, but there are some that are not very prominent. Some of the most common causes of sleep deprivation are newborn babies in the house, late night coffee or other stimulants, and chronic diseases that cause pain.
Some other causes of sleep deficit include:
- Having pets in the bed – Studies show that having a pet sleep in your bed can disturb your sleep.
- Alcohol intake – Once the sedative action of alcohol is over, it awakes the person and affects the relaxing sleep.
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – This is a common reason for wrecked sleep in the night. Lying down, the reflux of stomach contents causes heartburn and pain, affecting sleep. Treating GERD is very important to ensure a good night's rest.
- Certain medications and supplements – Some medications, like steroids and beta-blockers, are known to keep you awake in the night. Botanical supplements also belong to the same category.
- Pain – Pain, due to several reasons, can keep the person awake and make the person feel more tired. Orthopedic mattress is one that's specially designed to reduce stress on your back, neck and joints and alleviate aches and pains.
- Exhaustion – Another common reason for sleep deprivation. Relaxing and allowing the mind to settle down is very important if the body is too exhausted after a stressful day.
- Sleep disorders – These conditions are also common causes of sleep deficits. Disorders, like periodic limb movement disorder, disturb the sleep as it causes jerking movements of the legs during sleep.
- Uncomfortable environment – Though neglected often, this can also affect your relaxing sleep. Sleeping in rooms that are too hot or too cold, too much light and noise in the room may wake you up from a sound sleep.
- Hot flashes – This is one of the causes of sleep loss, particularly in women in menopause.
