Sponsored by the Better Sleep Council, Better Sleep Awareness month hopes to help the 40 % of Americans that suffer from some form of sleep disorder, including sleep apnea. Whether you know what's causing you to lose sleep or not, there are some ways that you can improve your level of rest.
One way to improve your level of rest is to take a nap. For most people, some time during the hours between 12 and 3 in the afternoon, our bodies begin to prepare themselves for sleep. A drop in body temperature, a drop in alertness, a decrease in pulse rate and breathing rate, all combine to help the body prepare itself for the mid-afternoon nap that has been banned by modern society. However, if you can, take a nap from between 10 to 50 minutes some time before 3pm. Let your body dictate when you take it, but make sure you're up again by 3pm to avoid interfering with your night sleep.
Second, make sure that you rest for at least half an hour before heading to bed at night. No matter when you're going to bed, taking that half hour--even at the expense of a half hour of actual sleep--can mean better rest for your entire night's rest.
And if daytime sleepiness persists, you may suffer from sleep apnea. To learn more about the dangers of sleep apnea and be diagnosed for the illness, please contact the Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment Center for your free initial consultation.