It’s that time of year again when we should focus on all the moms in our lives. They mean so much to all of us, and they do so much for us each and every day that they deserve to have the focus on them at least once a year.
Sleep can affect everyone in different ways, but women, in particular, can suffer from a number of sleep issues such as Insomnia, Restless Leg Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The facts show that one in four women will suffer from insomnia, more women than men will experience RLS, and unfortunately, Sleep Apnea due to the stigma and how our moms brush things off and put others before them. Because of this, these conditions may go drastically underdiagnosed.
When we don’t get the recommended amount of sleep and quality of sleep it can impact our mental and physical health. Because our moms are more likely to suffer from sleep-related issues, this can impact their daily quality of life and their ability to take care of others and themselves. Doing everything we can to help the moms in our lives get their best sleep will help them maintain good health by increasing their overall mood, mental health and general health problems.
Women, in particular, may suffer from various hormone changes throughout their lives, which can certainly impact their quality of sleep; however, you can implement these steps to help you get the best sleep possible.
- Try to keep a regular sleep schedule. This means going to bed at the same time every night or at the bare minimum when you feel sleepy.
- Reduce the amount of caffeine and alcoholic beverages you consume.
- Exercise regularly, even just an evening walk around the block.
- Take time for yourself, because if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t be expected to be in the shape to take care of others.
- Maintain your sleeping environment for precisely that, eliminate any blue light devices, and keep the room cool and bedding fresh and clean. If you need to wear an eye mask, ear plugs, or implement white noise, then do it.
- Try not to nap later in the day or at all, as this will make it more difficult to sleep later, and we want to stabilize your circadian rhythm to a regular routine.
- Should issues continue, do not wait to see your doctor or sleep specialist, as they may have some more solutions for you to try.
Without the required sleep that our bodies need, we are not allowing our bodies to get into restorative and healing stages. We spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping, or at least we should be, as it’s the one thing we do every day without fail.
There is nothing within our bodies that does not require sleep to either function properly or to stay healthy. The most important of all the things that sleep helps is our brain. Sleep’s essential function is to restore the brain. Now the brain runs on electricity, which causes a build-up of waste products called metabolites which is caused by the chemical energy that the brain uses to function, and like all waste, it needs to be disposed of. This can only occur when our bodies are in a restorative stage of sleep. During our restorative sleep, our bodies do many things, such as digestion slows in our gut, and our kidneys slow down the production of urine. When we get a good night of sleep, our bodies also produce a naturally occurring substance called ATP or adenosine triphosphate. This is something that the brain requires for energy and is essential for communication between the brain cells.
We want our moms at their best, and if they are not getting the level of sleep that they need, then chances are that they will experience some, if not all, of the following symptoms:
- More difficulty or inability to concentrate
- A notable change in mood and/or irritability
- Difficulty remembering things
- Quickly become emotional or overreact
- Increased poor judgment or inability to judge
- Zero patience
- Difficulty making decisions or not making good decisions
- An issue with hand-eye coordination
Should our moms experience poor sleep for extended periods of time, they may run the increased risk of the following:
- Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders
- Heart disease (heart attack, stroke, irregular heartbeat)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Obesity
- Poor immune system
- Early death
We want to take this time to show our moms some love. Take some stress off of her and treat her to something special. This may help her to relax and get a better night’s sleep. If you have a mother that you know is suffering from snoring, daytime fatigue, or overall inadequate quality of sleep, then encourage her to reach out to one of our dream teams at Snore MD to get a sleep evaluation, so we can see if we can help her get her best sleep ever.
