Are You Sleep Deprived?
Lately I have been sleeping in later and later but I still feel tired and drowsy during the day. Perhaps this is why I can’t seem to get the topic of sleep off my head and, consequently, in this blog. Hopefully, in my quest to find out more about sleep, I will also provide information to those who need it.
So, how do you know if you are sleep deprived? If you always feel sleepy – like I do – does it automatically mean that you are sleep deprived? According to Dr. Melissa Conrad Stoppler, you may be sleep deprived if you answer yes to the following:
1. Do you often feel drowsy during the day?
2. Do you usually fall asleep within the first five minutes after lying down in bed?
Then again, she says it is either you are sleep deprived or you have a sleeping disorder. She goes on to say:
Other than daytime drowsiness and rapidly falling asleep at night, short episodes called microsleeps are another hallmark of sleep deprivation. Microsleeps are short bursts of sleep that occur during the waking hours. These may be so transient that you may not even be aware that they are occurring.
It’s not possible to fight sleep deprivation with caffeine or other stimulant drugs. Developing and maintaining a healthy sleep cycle is the only way to overcome the effects of sleep deprivation.
Maybe that’s why even 5 cups of coffee do not really help me during the day. Maybe I am sleep deprived…what do you think, how about you?
March 14, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Hey Charlie, have you considered changing your bed or mattress? I believe that it’s not just the quantity of sleep you get, but also the quality that matters and if you can’t get comfortable in bed, then you won’t sleep properly. Apparently it’s something to do with “delta” sleep, which I think is the deep sleep when your body can repair itself etc. I have often suffered from insomnia and then oversleeping myself, but found it improved a lot after I bought a new bed recently. This is my bed (pictured in the shop I bought it from, not in my room lol). It’s a pocket sprung mattress with a layer of memory foam. What type of bed do you have and do you think it could be a factor?
March 14, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Hey Charlie, have you considered changing your bed or mattress?
I believe that it’s not just the quantity of sleep you get, but also the quality that matters and if you can’t get comfortable in bed, then you won’t sleep properly. Apparently it’s something to do with “delta” sleep, which I think is the deep sleep when your body can repair itself etc. I have often suffered from insomnia and then oversleeping myself, but found it improved a lot after I bought a new bed recently.
This is my bed (pictured in the shop I bought it from, not in my room lol) http://www.clerysbedstore.ie/product/158/0/backcare_visco_double_with_storage. It’s a pocket sprung mattress with a layer of memory foam. What type of bed do you have and do you think it could be a factor?
March 23, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Thanks for the tip – I think my mattress is quite fine, but then I could be wrong!