What’s Keeping You Up At Night?

Did you know that getting less than seven hours of sleep a night has been associated with lower overall brain activity? It’s true! And this can negatively affect a whole range of issues such as weight, mood, memory, decision making, and more.

In 1900, Americans averaged nine hours of sleep. According to a recent poll, Americans now average only six hours and forty minutes.

The problem with this is that sleep deprivation causes lower activity in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, affecting attention, judgment, impulse control, memory, and learning. Considering all of this, it is no surprise that sleep-deprived individuals struggle to maintain a healthy mood, memory, or body.

Furthermore, in fascinating new research, scientists discovered that the brain has a special “waste management system” that works while you sleep to get rid of toxins. Without healthy sleep, the cleaning crew does not have enough time to do their job and trash build-ups, causing brain fog and memory problems.

So what’s keeping YOU up at night?

There seems to be an endless number of reasons why millions of us are missing out on a good night’s sleep. Here are some of the most common factors:

  • A warm room
  • Light in the bedroom
  • Noise
  • Gadgets by the bed
  • Going to bed worried or angry
  • Negative thoughts: ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) tend to run through our mind when it’s not focused on anything else.
  • Being sedentary: While it is well-known that those who exercise will sleep better, new research indicates that being sedentary actually interferes with good sleep.
  • Medications: Many disturb sleep, including asthma medications, antihistamines, cough medicines, anticonvulsants, and stimulants.
  • Caffeine: Too much coffee, tea, chocolate, or even some herbal preparations—especially when consumed later in the day or at night—can disrupt sleep.
  • Alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana: Although these compounds initially induce sleepiness for some people, they have the reverse effect as they wear off, which is why you may wake up several hours after you go to sleep.
  • Snoring: It can wake you, your sleep mate, or everyone in the house if it is really loud.
  • Sleep apnea: With this condition, you stop breathing for short periods of time throughout the night, which robs you of restful sleep and leaves you feeling sluggish, inattentive, and forgetful throughout the day.
  • Stressful events: The death of a loved one, divorce, a major deadline at work, or an upcoming test can cause temporary sleep loss.

Having high-quality sleep is essential to wellness, although for some it can be elusive. If you avoid sleep robbers and practice good sleep hygiene, but still have problems falling asleep, a natural supplement that supports sleep may give you the relief you need.

BrainMD has several natural supplement formulas that contain ingredients shown in clinical studies to help relax your body, calm your mind, and facilitate sustained and deep sleep. We recommend GABA Calming Support to calm a wound up and worried mind, Restful Sleep to help you fall asleep and stay asleep, and Serotonin Mood Support for running ANTs.

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