Signs You Have a Sleep Disorder and How to Get Better Sleep

Many people overlook quality sleep when trying to improve their health. In fact, sleep is one of the most important times our bodies utilize to complete processes that keep us healthy.

Sleep is also an important part of weight loss. From hormone regulation, to cognition and decision making, to an increased metabolism, getting adequate sleep can make your weight loss journey much more smooth.

To read more about sleep and weight loss, check out our previous post all about it!

Why sleep is important

We mentioned how sleep is an important aspect of weight loss, but what else happens when we sleep?

When your body is at rest, it uses this time to remove waste from your cells, just like your kidney filters and removes waste from your body. To give you an idea of the importance of this process, one study on mice showed us that among that waste are toxins that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Not only is your body taking out the cellular trash, it is also using this time to do necessary repairs. During sleep, your muscles, immune system, and even your brain are making repairs and doing the maintenance that keeps your body functioning optimally.

Finally, your body uses sleep as a time to regulate your hormones. This includes cortisol, linked to stress and anxiety, which can go into overproduction when you don’t get enough rest.

Signs of disordered sleep

It doesn’t just matter how much you sleep— quality of sleep is just as important as quantity.

What happens when you fall asleep is that your body begins to move through four different sleep phases categorized as either non-REM or REM sleep. (Learn more about sleep architecture in this post!)

All of these phases accomplish different things, like the repairs, hormone regulation, and waste management we discussed earlier. When you aren’t getting restorative sleep that moves through all four cycles, you’ll likely see the signs.

Many people struggle with symptoms like restless legs, acid reflux, or snoring. Other signs of disordered sleep can include waking up often during the night, drowsiness or crankiness during the day, trouble focusing, and headaches.

If you notice any of these symptoms, you should see your doctor who might have you monitor your symptoms in a sleep diary or conduct a sleep test to find out if you have a sleep disorder.

Common sleep disorders

If you suffer from acid reflux or restless leg syndrome, the signs are probably pretty obvious. Other sleep disorders might not have such clear cues. This can lead many people to ignore the signs and fail to address poor sleep.

insomnia

Insomnia is the disorder most people associate with poor sleep because it’s the most common. A person who has insomnia will have repeated difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep regardless of your sleep environment or time.

People can experience insomnia over shorter periods due to increased stress and anxiety or other factors. Long term insomnia is defined as insomnia that persists for three or more months.

Signs of insomnia include having a hard time falling asleep or waking up often during the night, feeling drowsy during the day, mood troubles including anxiety or depression, trouble with focus or memory, or making more errors during the day.

sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder among adults between the ages of 30-70 years old and is more typically found in men, but women should still be aware of the symptoms. In fact, TeleHealthNP’s founder Debra Johnson MS, RN, FNP-C, CPNP-PC recently was diagnosed with sleep apnea and reports a marked change in her daytime alertness and mood since receiving treatment.

A person with apnea’s upper airway becomes obstructed during sleep, reducing or stopping breathing, causing the person to wake up during the night.

Signs of sleep apnea include excessive drowsiness during the day, trouble focusing, loud snoring, observed episodes of breathing “catching” or stopping during sleep, waking up gasping or choking during the night, dry nose or throat in the morning, and headaches upon waking.

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that could be dangerous to the sufferer if left untreated. If you meet any of these symptoms, see your doctor for a sleep test and professional diagnosis.

How to get better sleep

Even if you aren’t suffering from a sleep disorder, you may be experiencing interrupted sleep due to stress or environmental factors. Many of these disruptors have to do with our modern environments, smart phones, and daily habits.

Here are six helpful tips to helping you get better sleep and enjoy a healthier mind and body.

Manage your stress

Stress is one of the biggest culprits for poor sleep. Many people find themselves up late thinking about all of their problems. Stress can even affect your weight, as described in this past post.

Some ways to manage stress are by reducing screen time, journaling, exercising, meditating or practicing mindfulness, time outside, and connecting with loved ones. It’s important to learn how to reduce stress to get better sleep.

Time your light exposure

Our body’s sleep cycles begin with the natural response all of us have to the changes in light throughout the day. This process is called the circadian rhythm and it can be observed in almost all animals.

How it works is that sunlight in the morning triggers feelings of wakefulness and when the sun sets in the evening, your body begins to produce sleep hormones like melatonin to signal it’s time to start winding down.

To help your circadian rhythm function, you should try to time your light exposure throughout the day. For instance, try to get at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight in the morning and expose yourself to bright lights throughout the day.

In the evening, switch to ambient lighting like lamps and candles instead of overhead lights. Reduce screen time at minimum an hour before bedtime to limit blue light exposure that can prevent your body from producing those sleepy time hormones.

Get moving

Exercise helps your sleep cycle in a few ways.

First, exercise helps to regulate your mood and can even reduce stress, making it easier to fall asleep with a clear mind. Exercise also helps to regulate hormones including melatonin, which we discussed as being an important trigger for sleep.

People who exercise also enjoy endorphins, a hormone which improves your mood and increases your energy after exercise. Because of this, it’s a good idea to get your workout in earlier, as exercising soon before bed can increase your energy and prevent you from falling asleep.

Skip the afternoon coffee

Caffeine is a drug that has a huge impact on our energy levels, which is why so many people are reliant on coffee, tea, or energy drinks to wake up in the morning or stay alert throughout the day. However, the effects of caffeine can last for hours after you actually feel them.

Because of this, a person seeking better sleep should avoid any caffeine at least six to eight hours before going to sleep at night, depending on how sensitive you are to its effects. As a general rule of thumb, your last cup of coffee should be around 1:00-2:00pm in the afternoon.

Avoid big meals before bed

Experts say you should eat your last big meal at least two to four hours before bed. This is for a number of reasons, the first being that laying down actually impedes digestion. Being horizontal can disrupt the flow of liquids that digest your food, leading to symptoms like acid reflux, bloating, or abdominal discomfort.

Additionally, when you eat, your body directs blood flow toward your digestive tract. This can reduce blood flow to the brain, disrupting sleep. The impact on your metabolism can also lead to weight gain.

Stick to a schedule

The human mind and body love a routine. It’s why we tend to get hungry at the same time each day and why our stress can increase when we aren’t following our usual schedule. The same is true for sleep!

Try to be consistent with your bedtime and waking time each day, even on the weekends. When your body is on this schedule, it will begin to automatically send signals that it’s time for bed when the clock strikes a certain time.

Reinforce this schedule by sticking to the same routine every evening as well. Your routine could be an elaborate ten step Korean skincare routine or it could be as simple as brushing and flossing, turning off the lights, and reading a few pages of a good book.

Set the scene

Your environment can have a huge impact on the quality of your sleep. Extreme temperatures, lights, sounds, and more can disturb your sleep, even if you don’t realize it.

Make your space optimal for sleep by having a supportive, comfortable bed and pillows, keeping your room cool, and blocking out any light. Some people like to sleep with a noise machine, but ideally you will have a quiet environment to sleep in with no noisy neighbors or roommates.

Additionally, you should avoid doing anything productive in the space you sleep in. That means no working from bed! Instead, let your bed be a place reserved only for sleep.

Sleep tight!

Sleep is such an underrated aspect of a healthy routine and is important for everything from your immune system to your brain cognition.

Sleep disorders are common and can be incredibly disruptive to your sleep cycle and your overall health. Know the signs of disordered sleep that we described above to be able to recognize and correct them.

If you have tried everything to fix your sleep and are still suffering, make sure to see a doctor who can conduct tests and discover if you are suffering from a more serious sleep disorder like insomnia or apnea.