There is an unsettling truth behind the reason why you cannot sleep well at night, and every morning you wake up feeling deprived of sleep. There are numerous causes, whether be genetic, or lifestyle, regardless has an impact on the way you’re living and understandably getting in the way of focusing on what really matters.
In fact, almost 50% of Americans suffer from sleep deprivation see (figure 1.0). This is an astoundingly high number of people who are not getting a good night’s sleep.
Figure 1.0
Luckily for us, there are solutions out there to help you overcome sleep deprivation. Here at Dreamlight, we understand fully the implication sleep deprivation can have on your life. This is why we built Dreamlight, to help educate you, and offer solutions to your sleeping problems.
Lets dive-in so that you won’t have another bad night’s sleep.
What are the causes of sleep deprivation?
As mentioned above, there are numerous factors that cause sleep deprivation. In fact, 50-70 million US adults have a sleep disorder. The most common causes of sleep deprivation are lifestyle choices.
What lifestyle choices causes sleep deprivation?
Your lifestyle is an extremely important factor when considering the origin of your sleep deprivation. If you’re not going to sleep at a ‘reasonable time’ and are staying up late watching the TV or your phone, then this could be one of the causes as to why you do not sleep well. Getting yourself into a proper sleeping routine will significantly improve your sleep.
On the other hand, you have more direct-to-health lifestyle choices which affect your sleep at night. The common direct-to-health lifestyle choices are smoking and drinking (see figure 2.0). You can see from our smoker vs non-smokers graph, that smokers have an 8% higher chance of sleep deprivation compared to non-smokers. If you want to overcome your sleep deprivation, then you must make changes in these two areas, otherwise, it may lead to serious health problems in the future.
Figure 2.0
Obesity. According to the CDC 39.8% of Americans are considered overweight. Which equates to roughly 90+ million Americans. Furthermore, 33% of overweight people sleep less than 7 hours a night. So, eating healthier and exercising regularly can greatly improve your overall sleep.
After making lifestyle choices, you may still be found struggling with sleep deprivation. For many reasons, this could be an internal mechanism inside your mind which tells your mind not to switch off at night.
On the market today, there is an astounding amount of sleep resources which will help ease your mind before going to sleep. One of which is sleep mask technology. When I say sleep mask technology, I mean we have come a long way from a conventional piece of fabric placed over our face, but instead evolved into a fusion between sleeping masks and technology.
What is a sleep mask?
Of course, we all know what a sleep mask is. It is a mask you wear around your head to block-out the light so that you can simulate a pitch-black environment ready for sleep.
Different types of sleep masks
There are different types of sleep masks out on the market today, some of which are plain and simple, others have unique features that enhance your user experience. I have created a shortlist describing different types of sleep masks.
Wrap around sleep masks
A wrap-around sleep mask is a mask that has two ends that you wrap around your face. These masks are quite easy to use, as you don’t need to stretch anything over your head. The only issue is a wrap-around sleep mask would usually use velcro. Velcro can get caught up in your hair quite easily and even disturb your sleep through the night.
Elastic sleep masks
An elasticated sleep mask is basically an eye mask attached by an elasticated string that you stretch and place over your head. These types of sleep masks can overcome the velcro problem. But, you lose control over how tight or loose, you want the mask to feel around your face.
Enhanced sleep masks
Enhanced sleep masks are masks that have added features. This has become a growing trend over the past few years, whereby sellers have begun adding electronics to their sleep masks. These added features usually consist of heating around the eyelids, perhaps sleep music, and other features that will aid you in getting to sleep faster.
Meditation sleep masks
Meditation sleep masks are even newer to the market. A mediation sleep mask, such as our Dreamlight Zen sleep mask, consists of a combination of features such as pulsating lights, sleep audio, built-in mediation guides, Bluetooth connectivity. A mediation sleep mask is positively the smartest sleep mask on the market.
Will a sleep mask help me overcome sleeping problems?
The short answer is yes. A sleep mask can definitely help you overcome your sleeping problems. Here’s why:
1. A sleep mask helps block-out almost all light.
Almost every sleep mask out on the market is designed to block out all light when in-use. This is a key feature of sleeping masks. The human body is designed to differentiate between daytime and nighttime. When you’re surrounded in complete darkness your body will automatically begin adjusting itself to sleep-mode.
2. Blocks out sounds.
Not all sleep masks can achieve this. However, a select few of sleeping masks can block out surrounding sound. This is a crucial element to being able to sleep better at night. As we are very sensitive to sounds and can give us a hard time trying to fall asleep with certain irritating sounds around us.
3. Comfortable
A sleep mask, depending on what material is used, can be very comfortable. Especially around the eyes and back of the head. The body must feel entirely comfortable in order to drift off to sleep faster. From feet to head, and a sleep mask can most certainly take care of the head’s comfort.
What other techniques will help me overcome my sleep deprivation?
We have outlined many of the causes, and a few solutions to improving your overall sleep, and overcoming sleep deprivation. However, we have a few bones techniques you can try too:
Listening to sleep music
Sleep music has great affects on calming your mind and helping you drift off to sleep faster. There are many sleep music playlists out there which are perfect to ease your mind into a dream-state. We have made a list of our favorite sleep music:
Of course, sleep deprivation can be a real pain, and cause many of us huge amounts of stress and discomfort when we don’t get a good night’s sleep. However, we have the power to change this and begin feeling better.
All we need to do is take a look at our lifestyle choices, perhaps invest in a sleep mask, and use sleep music to drift off to sleep faster.
Believe me once initiating all these three things you’ll begin noticing a tremendous difference in the way you sleep. We all need a good night’s rest, so it’s time you get yours.
Resources used:
Sleep Deprivation Average in USA Chart:
