Sleep is a significant part of regulating a person’s mood, giving them positive energy for the day, making them feel more rested and more capable of handling the stress of day to day living, which includes work and school responsibilities, as well as for the caring of children. The last part of which can be very demanding.
And unfortunately more and more Americans are getting a lack of sleep per night, as evidenced by some statistics. There are certain statistics which show just how little sleep Americans are getting, and that many are falling short of the recommended amount of seven hours per night.
These statistics are in the following section.
- About 60 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders or deprivation.
- Back in 1942, we averaged almost 8 hours of sleep a night ? now that’s down to 6.8 hours.
- Seven to nine hours of sleep per night are what’s generally recommended.
- In the United States, 42% of adults usually get less than seven hours of sleep, falling short of the recommended amount.
- Getting more hours of sleep is positively associated with having higher well-being, with the relationship peaking at eight hours and leveling off thereafter.
A possible cause of lack of sleep in America is the stress of jobs. A job contains a great deal of stress and even more so in the past couple of decades as the push to compete and do more in America has led to longer hours for workers and more responsibilities for workers in general. This possibly has led to a lack of sleep due to workplace stress.
There are some statistics surrounding this as well. They are in the following section.
- The National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health, NIOSH, report that 40% of US workers say that their job is ?very or extremely stressful.?
- Two-thirds of both men and women say work has a significant impact on their stress level, and one in four has called in sick or taken a ?mental health day? as a result of work stress.
- Workplace stress causes approximately one million U.S. employees to miss work each day.
There are many reasons why a person would suffer from lack of sleep, aside from stress. There are certain techniques that people can do to increase their ability to sleep, fall asleep, or stay asleep. These techniques are part of a general umbrella term called “sleep hygiene.”
There are several sleep hygiene tips that can be useful. This article will cover just a few in the hopes that they benefit the reader to be able to get to sleep. They combine a mix of physical and mental relaxation, along with possible methods of increasing sleep through heat.
The first method of going to sleep easily is to reduce all noise and light pollution. Noise pollution comes from music (loud, engaging music) and the screen of electronic devices, such as the television or the cell phone. These can keep a mind active and prevent a person from getting to sleep.
The second method of going to sleep easily is to use several relaxation tools to ease the mind into going to sleep. One of these methods is drinking a cup of hot, decaffeinated tea, which reduces the mind’s activity and prepares it for sleep. Another method is to listen to 432 HZ music, which can be found on YouTube. It is the most relaxing music.
The third method is to prepare the body to go to sleep. This can be done through hot showers or baths, which curb agitation and allow the body to relax. This can also be done through using a heated neck pillow before going to sleep or during sleep if it has a shut off switch. A heated neck pillow relaxes the tense muscles of the neck.
Devices like the heated neck pillow, the neck heat pad, the neck heat wrap, or the quality neck heat pad all target the muscles that become the most stressed during the day. They also help any person that strains over a computer all day. A heated neck pillow can be good for relaxing.
There are many other terms associated with this. They include muscle tension, the shoulder heat wrap, staying healthy, the microwaveable hot pad, the microwaveable neck heat wrap, and more. There are others as well.