Now that’s a good chicken-or-egg question: Does bad sleep beget bad health, or does bad health beget bad sleep? Or does it work both ways? The answers are yes, yes and yes. All three scenarios play out when it comes to sleeping problems and daytime health and vitality issues.
Health problems can indeed lead to poor sleep patterns. Health problems related to breathing and functioning of the nasal passage are probably the most common chronic causes of poor sleep. But allergies, stress and fatigue, infections, colds and flu and more can all result in poor nights of sleep.
In turn, poor sleep caused by life-style choices regarding food, drink and late-night activities — or even one’s generalized sleep hygiene, or bedtime routines — can in turn result in health and vitality issues that carry over into people’s daily lives.
Even worse things happen when one’s health and sleep problems coalesce into a vicious cycle. Here are some examples: Working too hard and staying up too late leading to interrupted poor sleep, which in turn only worsens daytime fatigue, lack of concentration and physical alertness. Also, not taking care of allergies or illnesses leading to poor sleep at night, which in turn makes one’s health even more challenged the next day.
Sometimes it’s hard for people to identify which came first — chicken or egg, or sleep problems or health issues. In truth, it may not matter because in either case professional help may be needed.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to help determine if you need help. Do you:
- feel irritable or sleepy during the day?
- have difficulty staying awake when sitting still, watching television or reading?
- fall asleep or feel very tired while driving?
- have difficulty concentrating?
- often get told by others that you look tired?
- react slowly?
- have trouble controlling your emotions?
- feel like you have to take a nap almost every day?
- require caffeinated beverages to keep yourself going?
The Snoring Center is one of many premiere specialized health centers in the nation dedicated to helping you with your sleeping and daytime functioning issues. Call us today or seek out your nearest professional if you feel your health is being jeopardized by your sleep, or vice versa — your sleep is being jeopardized by physical problems associated with breathing (or snoring).
