Who is Most Likely to Sleep Poorly?
Most of us have the occasional nights of poor sleep. However, certain individuals may be particularly subject to it. These include students, shift workers, travellers, acutely stressed or depressed people, or those in chronic pain. People working long hours or multiple jobs may find sleep less refreshing.
The elderly also have frequent difficulty with sleep problems. The total amount of sleep needed isn’t reduced, but factors that can combine to rob the elderly of sleep include impaired health, pain and increased use of medications.
Teenagers tend to fall asleep late and wake late.
Many young adults keep relatively irregular hours and as a group they report higher rates of dissatisfaction with the sleep they are getting.
Being overweight increases the risk for sleep apnoea.
What is Most Likely to Rob You of Restful Sleep?
Stress is considered by most sleep experts to be the No. 1 cause of short-term sleeping difficulties. Common triggers include school- or job-related pressures, a family or marriage problem, and a serious illness or death in the family. Usually the sleep problem disappears when the stressful situation passes. However, if short term sleep problems such as insomnia aren’t managed, they can persist long after the original stress has passed.
So, talk to a physician about any sleeping problem that recurs or persists for longer than one week.
Your doctor can help you take steps early to control or prevent poor sleep, especially insomnia brought on by depression.
Lifestyle Stressors: Drinking alcohol or beverages containing caffeine in the afternoon or evening can stop you getting a good night’s sleep. Exercising close to bedtime, working or doing mentally intense activities before or after getting into bed, or following irregular morning and night-time schedules, can also work against good sleep
Shift workers are two to five times more likely than regular employees to fall asleep on the job because shift work forces you to try to sleep when activities around you — and your own "biological rhythms" — say you should be awake.
A distracting sleep environment such as a room that's too hot or cold, too noisy or too brightly lit can hinder sound sleep. Interruptions from children or other family members can also disrupt sleep.
