Getting a goodnite sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately for some of us, this restful break may be hard to achieve. Sleep loss has an adverse effect on our immune function, intellectual abilities and physical functions. Sleep deprived people are not as alert or as agile as they should be and this in turn can lead to accidents or negligence. Many people who do not get enough sleep suffer adverse mood swings. These are some of the effects of sleep loss on the health of a person who does not get their daily doses of winks:

Hormonal changes due to lack of sleep can affect our mood and even growth. Cortisol, which is a stress hormone, is normally very low in the evening, because it prepares us for a relaxed sleep. But in a state of sleeplessness, cortisol levels in the evening are elevated and this is read as a stressor.

Hunger and appetite will increase due to profound hormonal changes. We may overeat well in excess of the caloric demands thus raising the risk factor for weight gain and obesity.

Sugar Metabolism can be altered drastically when a person has too little sleep. One week of sleep deprivation, such as four hours per night, will be sufficient to send a healthy, lean, fit volunteer into a pre-diabetic state.

The answer to a good night sleep may waries from different individuals. The amount of sleep is not defined by certain number of hours because different people need different amounts of sleep. The thing that categorises adequate sleep is when a person is able to remain awake and to function well during the day.

Some sleep problems are due to poor sleep environment and it's a problem that most of us would experience at some time of our lives. Insomnia can manifest itself in variety of ways :

Transient Insomnia affects more older people than younger people and primarily among women probably due to certain medical or psychiatric conditions. Usually Transcient Insomnia lasts less than two or three weeks.

Chronic Insomnia is more persistent and may be the result of several factors eg. chronic medical illness as in pain, things that impair our ability to move at night or difficulty in breathing. Psychiatric conditions eg. clinical depression, serious disorders including panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder can lead to long-term insomnia.

Sleep Disorders can cause poor sleep and these disorders may range from restless legs syndrome (a creepy crawling sensation in the legs only relieved by movement) to a bed partner's sleep apnea (a breathing disorder with loud snoring and brief periods when breathing stops).

The Melatonin Factor

Melatonin is a natural hormone made by our body's pineal gland helps people to fall asleep faster.The pineal gland is a pea-sized gland located just above the middle of the brain which at night produces melatonin to help our body regulate our sleep-wake cycles. Exposure to light stimulates a nerve pathway from the retina in the eye to an area in the brain called the hypothalamus. There, a special centre called the Supra-Chiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) initiates signal to other parts of the brain that control hormones, body temperature and other functions which in turn play a role in making us feel sleepy or wide awake.

Supra-Chiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) Clock works like a clock, setting off a regulated pattern of activities that affect the entire body. At the first light each day, it begins performing functions like raising body temperature and releasing stimulating hormones like cortisol. SCN also delays the release of other hormones like melatonin, which is associated with sleep until many hours later when darkness arrives. As a result, melatonin levels in the blood rise sharply and you begin to feel less alert when the sun goes down and darkness sets in. Nonetheless, bright light inhibits the release of melatonin. Even if the pineal gland is switched 'on' by the clock, it will NOT produce melatonin unless the person is in a dimly lit environment.

Hangover and drowsiness the next day are some of the side effects of taking melatonin which is heavily marketed as a sleeping pill, particularly for older people.Good clinical trials have never been done on melatonin treatment for insomnia, so no one knows the long-term effect might be. Besides it's difficult to determine how much of melatonin is 'enough' for a patient dealing with insomnia!

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We must always bear in mind the unwanted side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs in overcoming insomnia. Therefore, the solution to insomnia may well lie in what we eat, what we drink and our sleeping hygiene. Sleep hygiene is about the development of good sleeping habits and the breaking of bad habits. Below are 10 sleep hygiene checklist that may help us in overcoming insomnia.

1. Go to bed as early as possible and get enough rest. Between 11pm-1am, our systems particualrly the adrenals do their recharging and recovering and the gallbladder dumps toxin. If you are awake, the toxins will backup into the entire system and this can cause further disruption to our health.
2. Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. Whe lights hit the eyes, it disrupts the circadian rhythym of the pineal gland and the production of melatonin which induces sleep.
3. Avoid anything with caffeine after 5 pm. Studies have shown that in some people, caffeine which was not metabolised efficiently can leave it's effects long after consuming it. These explain why some people fall asleep after consuming a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon.
4. Avoid alcohol before going to sleep. Alchohol has an immediate hypnotic effect and it makes people feel sleepy. However this effect wears off within a few hours and a person is often awakened in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep.
5. Avoid snacks before bed time. Grains and sugar will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. The reverse effects will happen later when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up, unable to fall back to sleep.
6. Eat a plate of fruits as snack before bed. This provides L-tryptophan needed to produce melatonin. The glucose in the fruits can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
7. Avoid making your bedroom an activity room. Read somewhere else then go to bed, do not balance your check-book while sitting on your bed. Keep your bedroom totally for sleeping, do not unnecessarily install a bedroom phone and have all your conversation while on your bed getting ready to sleep.
8. Take a warm bath, a hot shower or a sauna before bed. This will raise body temperature in the late evening but fall at bedtime to facilitate sleep.
9. Get your daily exercise. Exercising at least 30 mins everyday can help you fall asleep easier. Try not to exercise too close to bedtime as this may keep you awake. ideally exercise in the morning, afternoon or early evening, at least three hours before bedtime.
10. Keep your bedroom environment, sleep-related rather than stimuli-related. Turn off TV half an hour or do something relaxing before sleeping time. Avoid staying up late on the internet, in chat-rooms or rushing through your work at night. All these will produce negative impact on the normal routine of going to bed and may induce psychological stress and anxietyas well!