Aches and pains? It may be lack of sleep

Let’s face it: there just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on our list. Between responsibilities from work and home and added travel time from traffic and other distractions, the day seems to be shrinking. And with our economic downturn of late it has become necessary for many people to put in more hours at work to meet growing financial pressures. Trimming sleep habits and grabbing meals on the go have become standard fare nowadays.

But shaving too much off of the time your body needs to recharge and be ready for the next day’s challenge can cause real physical ailments, like body aches, high blood pressure, weight gain, depression and anxiety. There may also be a link to diabetes mellitus and lack of sleep.

Everyone’s personal sleep needs vary. Healthy adults are physiologically engineered for around 16 hours of wakefulness and activity, with a reciprocal 8 hours of sleep per night. Some people can function on less, while some people seem to need more. With all of life’s many hands pulling at you from different directions, the idea of 8 hours of sleep may sound like a luxury.

Psychologists that specialize in sleep study and sleep disorders may differ in their approaches, but their clinical data all points to the same common culprit: Stress. And while we cannot erase stress from our lives, we must work on finding ways to alleviate it at the end of the day to spare our health, and be able to recharge our sleep banks.

Experts offer some tips to getting a restful sleep:

• Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule, even on off days

• No caffeine 4 to 6 hours before bedtime

• Avoid alcohol and heavy foods right before bed

• Make yourself a haven in your bedroom: eliminate noise, keep it climate-controlled and reduce light

• Try and wake-up without an alarm clock

• Aromatherapy

If you must use sleep aids as a last resort, remember that their intended usage is only for short periods of time. For more information, visit the National Sleep Foundation.

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