Why Do People Lose Sleep?

When your alarm is going off and all you want to do is hit the snooze button; you did not get any sleep last night. You were up half the night trying to fall asleep but you just were not able to. Or, some people just have a hard time staying asleep while others wake up multiple times throughout the night. On the other hand, teenagers use their cell phones when they should be in bed asleep. Millions of people lose sleep due to varying reasons from medical disorders, changing work schedules, personal issues, or self-inflicted reasons. According to Oglethorpe (2017) there are approximately 1 in 3 adults that do not get enough sleep every night. Also, Engle-Friedman (2014) states, that more than half of students aged 15 to 17 claim to be not getting

The most common sleep disorder is insomnia. Floam et al. (2015) states that insomnia is when someone has a hard time trying to fall asleep or staying asleep through the night at least three times a week. Their research also found that approximately 60% of people claim to lose sleep at least two nights a week; also, only about 10% of adults are actually diagnosed with insomnia. Insomnia can be a problem by itself or it can be caused by other medical problems. However, insomnia is not usually a condition that people have for very long. Insomnia is more common in elderly people, women, and people with other medical disorders. Secondly, there is sleep apnea which is another sleep disorder. According to Oglethorpe (2017) sleep apnea is when your breathing pauses or goes shallow form a few seconds to a couple of minutes all while you are asleep. People that have sleep apnea are usually loud snorers usually more common in men. However, even though you might not wake up from these incidents of sleep apnea, it causes your sleep to be not as effective and you might be tired throughout the day. One of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness; so, if you believe you are constantly tired throughout the day you should go get tested for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed by having a sleep test done at a medical facility where they will monitor your breathing. Altogether, there are a

Research shows that 1 in 4 high school students admit to falling asleep in class (Sagall, 2006). High school and college students have the least amount of sleep compared to younger children and older adults. With these students having jobs and hours’ worth of homework they are more focused on completing those tasks than taking time to sleep. Secondly, the times most high schools start is very early and at the age of most students they like to stay up late. As stated by Ming et al. (2011) studies have shown that those schools with a later start time have students with better grades, attendance, and participation. Lastly, a changing work schedule can affect how you sleep. There are a few jobs out there that have horrible schedules, constantly changing shifts, or require you to stay up for long hours. Altogether try to keep a consistent sleep schedule as much as you can and sleep when you’re supposed