{"id":3295,"date":"2023-05-08T22:29:21","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T22:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=3295"},"modified":"2023-05-08T22:29:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T22:29:21","slug":"2-big-sleep-red-flags-you-shouldnt-ignore-plus-how-to-fix-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=3295","title":{"rendered":"2 Big Sleep Red Flags You Shouldn&#8217;t Ignore (Plus, How To Fix Them)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-3296\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61.png 900w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-770x428.png 770w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-293x163.png 293w, https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-390x217.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Image by\u00a0<strong>Sergey Filimonov<\/strong>\u00a0\/ Stocksy<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do you know if you are getting enough time in each sleep stage? How do you know if the quality of your sleep is good enough to keep your body\u2019s trains running on time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/wc\/shelby-harris-psyd-dbsm\" target=\"_blank\">Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM<\/a>, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, it\u2019s as simple as being aware of how you feel during the day. Understanding your own norms\u2014what does a good day feel like in terms of energy and alertness throughout the day? After you wake up, how long does it take you to get to your highest energy zone of the day\u2014is it an hour after you wake up, two hours, three?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harris cautions that it\u2019s unrealistic to expect yourself to bound out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning. Something called\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/how-sleep-inertia-causes-grogginess-and-how-magnesium-can-help\" target=\"_blank\">sleep inertia<\/a>\u00a0gets in the way of us being that excited to wake up. Generally, it takes between two and three hours to feel fully alert (taking caffeine out of the equation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, if you typically wake up at seven a.m. and you\u2019re still yawning on the conference call at eleven a.m., that might be a sign that you\u2019re not getting the amount or quality of sleep that your body needs. Same goes for prolonged periods of sleepiness or fatigue. Harris says that \u201cit\u2019s normal to have moments of being sleepy, those dips in your&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/why-your-circadian-rhythm-rules-your-health-exactly-what-to-do-about-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">circadian rhythm<\/a>&nbsp;throughout the day, like after lunch or after dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sleepiness, fatigue, and even naps are fine as long as they are every once in a while, but if you find yourself consistently relying on caffeine in the afternoon to stay awake, it\u2019s important to look more closely at your sleep quality and quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are a couple not\u2011so\u2011obvious signs that you might not be maximizing your time between the sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mbg-bmmBs_PmQ\">You use the weekend to catch up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Warning Flag #1: One sign that you might not be getting enough sleep is if you&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/why-your-circadian-rhythm-rules-your-health-exactly-what-to-do-about-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rely on the weekends to catch up<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many people will clock in around six hours of sleep during weeknights and then sleep like teenagers on the weekend. Experts agree that sleep debt is real, and just like the kind that goes on your credit card, too much is bad news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, sleep debt is even harder to pay off because you only have so many hours in the weekend. If your baseline is eight, but you\u2019re getting six hours of sleep five nights a week in the middle of the week, you\u2019re missing out on ten hours. Even if you sleep an extra two hours on Saturday and Sunday, you\u2019re still in the hole by six hours. Over time, it accumulates, and the next thing you know, you\u2019re chronically sleep deprived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mbg-vuNzlbJYh\">ou overuse sleep aids<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Warning Flag #2: Many people turn to prescription sleep aids when they find themselves struggling to sleep. Often this is something you might dip into if you are going through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/why-stress-management-is-so-important-for-your-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a stressful moment in your life<\/a>, but stop using them as soon as you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sleep experts say using sleep aids occasionally is not necessarily a sign that you aren\u2019t getting healthy sleep, as long as it\u2019s temporary. But we all know someone who takes Benadryl every night just to get some shut-\u200beye. And that, friends,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/sleep-medication-dementia-risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is a red flag<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Going back to first principles: your body knows how to sleep, and if you can\u2019t sleep without pharmaceuticals, that is something to look at more closely. Try to get to the root of the problem first, and lean on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/articles\/supplements-for-sleep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gentler sleep supplements<\/a>&nbsp;as needed for extra support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mbg-M5RQEj3SDx_\">The takeaway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you feel tired all the time, you\u2019re probably not getting the sleep you need. If you\u2019re relying on coffee to keep you awake in the afternoon and sleep aids to get a minimum amount of sleep at night, you\u2019re probably stuck in a vicious cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/wc\/colleen-jason-wachob\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mindbodygreen.com\/wc\/colleen-jason-wachob\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you know if you are getting enough time in each sleep stage? How do you know if the quality of your sleep is good enough to keep your body\u2019s trains running on time? According to\u00a0Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, it\u2019s as simple as being aware of how you feel during the day. Understanding your own norms\u2014what does a good day feel like in terms of energy and alertness throughout the day? After you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-preventative-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3297,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3295\/revisions\/3297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}