Getting a good night' sleep can be a little tricky. For some people, sleeping for a few hours at night can become too complicated and they end up struggling until morning. Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder. And more often than not, it is a symptom of a more serious problem like depression and anxiety. Various stressors can block sleep and sometimes people prefer to work or play instead of giving the body time to rest and recuperate. But besides this, there are other factors that can affect a person's sleeping habits. It can be small things that some people might take for granted. So if you want to find out why you have difficulty falling asleep, and difficulty maintaining sleep, check out the list below – maybe you have been doing something that affects sleep, without you even knowing it.

The Adverse Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Various studies show that the lack of sleep leads to different health complications. After working hard during the day, the body deserves a good number of hours to repair and allow certain bodily functions to take place in order to prepare itself for another day of hard work. Chronic sleeping disorder is a risk factor for certain diseases and it can also jeopardize a person's safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, drowsy driving is the cause of more than 1,500 fatalities, 71,000 traffic related injuries, and 100,000 automobile crashes annually. In addition to this, sleeping disorders resulting to excessive sleepiness is linked to twice the risk of occupational injuries. The lack of sleep results to lesser energy in performing daily tasks and attending to the needs of your family. A person's performance at work will also suffer due to sleeping disorders.

The body can become more at risk of developing health conditions with prolonged lack of sleep. These conditions include mental impairment, fetal and childhood growth retardation, obesity, stroke, heart attack and hypertension.

Your Sleeping Hygiene

Sleeping hygiene refers to the things people do before they go to sleep. These habits may promote better and longer sleep, but a few can result to poor and disrupted sleep.

1. Smoking

   A study conducted by researchers from John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland found that cigarette smokers are four times more likely to experience sleep disturbances than nonsmokers. The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians. The researchers also observed that smokers get more time in light sleep and less in deep sleep than nonsmokers. They suggested that the sleep disruptions may be caused by tobacco's nicotine content. Smokers tend to experience nicotine withdrawal during sleep, especially heavy smokers. Head researcher from Johns Hopkins said that nicotine craving can prevail even when the person is asleep. He added that nicotine withdrawal develops through the night and cause sleeping disturbances.

   For people with serious chronic sleeping disorder, medical experts will advice quitting smoking. Punjabi and his co-researchers observed the sleeping architectures of 40 nonsmokers with 40 smokers. All of the study participants underwent home polysomnography to determine their sleeping behavior. Unlike previous studies that investigated the effects of smoking to people's quality of sleep, Punjabi's team used subjects that were free of any medical conditions that may affect the integrity and accuracy of the results.

2. Drinking Alcohol

   Contrary to popular belief, drinking alcohol to induce sleep will not always work. Studies show that nightcaps can result to disrupted and poorer quality of sleep. A study conducted by the US Department of Health showed that almost 60 percent of people are unaware that drinking alcohol can lead to sleep disruptions and sleeping disorders. Although it may be true that drinking a few glasses of liquor can make you nod off, there's a difference between falling asleep and getting a good night's sleep.

   Studies show that drinking alcohol in high amounts can make a person sleep faster. But alcohol-induced sleep often has disrupted structures and the person will tend to feel tired and less refreshed in the day. The body needs to experience the right balance of non-REM and REM sleep. But alcohol disrupts this process. According to the Sleep Council, alcohol can make it harder for the brain to perform restorative tasks during sleep. Even taking small amounts of alcohol can affect the quality of sleep and result to breathing problems like sleep apnea and snoring. Alcohol makes the lining of the throat swollen and makes breathing more difficult.

3. A High-Fat Dinner

   Researchers from the Federal University of Sao Paolo in Brazil found that sleeping disorders can be one of the health problems caused by high-fat intake. The study suggested that eating foods rich in fats can disrupt sleep and result to various sleeping problems. The findings of the study were presented in the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

   The researchers found that foods rich in fat can result to frequent tossing and turning at night, increased chance of abnormal breathing and less time spent in REM sleep. They added that the REM sleep is important in making the body feel energized and well-prepared for the day ahead.

4. Eating Spicy Foods Before Bedtime

   A study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology showed that eating spicy foods before going to bed can lead to sleeping problems and disrupted sleep. Researchers from Australia gathered a group of young healthy men and asked them to eat foods spiced with mustard and Tabasco sauce. They found that spicy foods result to changes in study participants' sleeping patterns.

5. Caffeine Before Sleeping

   Too much caffeine a few hours before bed time can make the body lose its appetite for sleep. Studies show that frequent drinking of beverages rich in caffeine can lead to excitement, nervousness, headaches and sleep disruptions.

6.  Drinking Too Much Liquids

   Drinking plenty of liquids like water and juices can be good for the body. But doing this at night and before bedtime can result to sleep disruptions. The reason is simple: too much liquid before sleep can increase the incidence of waking up to go to the bathroom.

Sources
sciencedaily.com
webmd.com
theglobeandmail.com
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
medicinenet.com