Research on Sleep and Sleep Disorders

As society and lifestyles change the amount of time needed to sleep has declined. The time spent awake seems to have taken over. From the early morning risers to the late night insomnia, over the years sleeing habits have definitely changed.

According to The National Sleep Foundation women definitely have a reason to lose more sleep than men. One of the reasons that was brought out was the rotating shifts and night shift schedules, this makes it hard to have a regular healthy sleep habit. Of course 20 years ago, less women worked, many stayed home taking care of their families. They were able to at least sleep at night and maybe take a nap now and then.

Another reason why women get less sleep than men do is because of pain. Again the National Foundation for Sleep brought out that (58%) more women suffer from night time pain than men (48%) according to a 1996 NSF Gallup poll. In more recent (2000) NSF Sleep in America poll, one in four women reported that pain or physical discomfort interrupted their sleep three nights a week or more.

A social factor that may account for this gender difference would be again their rotating shifts. Working a rotating shift takes away from time spent with family/home responsibilities and enjoying recreational activites (National Sleep Foundation).

A psychological factor may be menopause. Menopause is a time for hormonal, physical and a psychological change for a womans body. Understanding menopause and the changes that occur can help with insomnia during this period.

A physiological factor would be insomnia. According to the National Sleep Foundation more women are more likely to report insomnia than men. Fortunately, their are a number of approaches to improving sleep, including those you can do yourself , such as exercise, establishing regular bed and wake times, dietary changes (less or no caffine or alcohol) and improving your sleep environment. One recent study found that overweight, post-menopausal,
women who exercise in the morning experience less difficulty falling asleep and better quality sleep than evening exercisers.
Some factors that may explain why sleep disorders go untreated according to the National Sleep Foundation people disregard talking to their physician about their sleep disorders. Two out of ten people in a survey would not seek help from a doctor.

I have learned from this unit the importance of our senses and how they are used to determine our perception of the world around us.