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- Sleep Vs Screen Time Anxiety; What Is Circadian Rhythm (Symptoms & Treatment)
7 minutes agoAuthor: Gaurav Tiwari
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Has it ever happened to you that no matter how much water you splash in your eyes, no matter how much tea or coffee you drink, it becomes difficult to keep your eyes open. The body is breaking down due to pain and fatigue. Wherever the office, school or college is, you somehow finish your work and go to bed and even after lying there, you are unable to sleep for hours.
In such a situation, you must be very angry and wondering what is happening? You are tired and have sleep in your eyes, but you are unable to sleep.
If you are unable to sleep even after being very tired, it means that your body’s circadian rhythm is disturbed. Circadian rhythm means our body’s natural clock, with the help of which our body decides when to sleep and wake up. This clock also reminds us which work to do at what time.
All this can happen due to sleeping too much during the day, any anxiety disorder, sleep disorder or other factors. Whatever the reason, if this condition persists for a long time, it is dangerous for health.
so today ‘health report‘ We will understand why we cannot sleep even when we are tired. Also, we will know that-
- Is there a difference between being tired, feeling sleepy, and feeling lack of energy?
- What effect do screen time and anxiety have on sleep?
Waking up and sleeping are as important as day and night
In every 24 hour cycle, the continuous cycle of day and night continues. Similarly, the cycle of sleeping and waking continues for every human and living being. A person will be able to work with full alertness and energy during the day only if he gets enough sleep at night. Dr. Matthew Walker explains it in very beautiful words in his book –
Circadian rhythm is the body’s self alarm clock
Circadian rhythm is like the internal timekeeper of humans. Our natural clock keeps a record of everything we do every day in a 24-hour period. This clock keeps indicating us to important tasks every day like a self-alarm.
The body’s master clock is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). It is located in the brain and controls melatonin production. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for sleep. When melatonin is released, we feel sleepy.
When there is sunlight during the day, the level of melatonin remains low. As the darkness increases after sunset, the production of melatonin in the body starts increasing. This continues continuously and its production starts decreasing after about 4 am. It is this hormone that makes us feel sleepy.
When the level of melatonin in our body starts increasing, after about 2 hours our body likes to sleep. If a person is still awake till late night after this, it means that his body clock is not working properly.
Staying up late at night disturbs the circadian rhythm
If a person’s sleeping and waking schedule is different from normal, but he is feeling healthy and fine, then there is no problem.
If someone is unable to sleep even after being very tired, then there is a problem. This means that his circadian rhythm is disturbed.
This may be a sign of delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS). This occurs when someone falls asleep 2 or more hours later than their usual bedtime (between 10 pm and 12 am). This causes problems in getting up on time in the morning. DSPS usually affects young people.
There is a difference between tiredness, sleepiness, and lack of energy
According to Dr. Praveen Gupta, fatigue, sleepiness and lack of energy are three different conditions.
- If someone has done a lot of work continuously then he may feel tired and need a break.
- Whereas feeling sleepy means that your body wants to rest now.
- On the other hand, if we don’t have energy, we are not able to work to our full potential. For this, we need to eat and drink something.
There are many reasons why you can’t sleep despite being tired
If a person is very tired and is unable to sleep even after sunset, then this could be a sign of delayed sleep phase syndrome. If this is not the case then there could be some other reason or many other factors behind it. See the graphic.
Now let us understand the points given in the graphic in detail.
Taking a nap can ruin your night’s sleep
- Napping isn’t inherently a bad thing. It has many health benefits. However, napping at the wrong time and sleeping too much can ruin someone’s night’s sleep.
- According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, long naps and afternoon naps can make it harder to sleep at night.
- If someone wants to take a nap, it is advisable to take it at the same time every day so that the body can anticipate it. Accordingly, one can set an alarm in his natural clock.
Anxiety disrupts sleep
- If there is a lot of disturbance in the mind, then sleep cannot come in such a state. Due to anxiety, the mind sometimes starts running at the speed of a horse, hence sleep is disturbed.
- Insomnia can be a common symptom of anxiety disorder.
- Anxiety also increases arousal and alertness, which can further delay sleep.
Depression can cause sleep problems
- According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2019, 90% of people suffering from depression have problem of not getting good sleep.
- This also causes problems like insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep disorder, breathing and restless leg syndrome. All these health conditions cause sleeplessness.
- Delay in sleep and depression are two things connected to each other. Both increase each other.
Caffeine affects sleep
- If someone is feeling sleepy during the day, people usually recommend drinking coffee. This is because it contains caffeine, which helps in keeping the brain active.
- If a person drinks energy drink or coffee every afternoon and is having trouble sleeping at night, then he should not drink coffee and energy drinks.
- The effects of coffee once consumed last for the next 24 hours. Coffee in the morning can also affect night sleep, but coffee consumed in the evening has a greater risk.
The phone screen is disturbing your sleep
- The blue light emitted from our phones, tablets, laptops and TV screens affects melatonin production. This can cause sleep problems.
- We are advised to turn off any device 2 hours before sleeping. If it is very important to use any device at night, then glasses with blue cut anti-glare coating lenses should be worn.
Sleep disorder can cause problems
- Apart from Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), many other sleep disorders can also cause sleep problems.
- This can also happen due to sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome. Both of these conditions can disrupt night sleep, leading to daytime sleepiness.
