The importance of quality sleep cannot be overstated. It has been known for years that there is a relationship between good health and sleep health. In Winchester, VA, help is available from the team at Winchester Neurological Consultants who can diagnose and treat sleep disorders.
What Is Quality Sleep?
Most people concentrate more on the quantity of sleep as opposed to the quality of sleep. It is easier to tell how much sleep you are getting rather than how good the sleep you get is. Quality sleep is made up of several different components.
- Latency is how long it takes you to fall asleep. 30 minutes or less is ideal.
- Waking is a measurement of how many times you are awake during the night. To have good quality sleep you need to wake up only once or not at all.
- Wakefulness is how long you spend awake after you fall asleep originally. Less than 20 minutes is optimal.
- Sleep efficiency is the amount of time that you are in bed that you spend sleeping. You should aim for 85%.
If you are not meeting these sleep goals, you will likely feel tired and not be performing at your optimal level. It can also have an adverse effect on your health.
How Your Health Can Suffer From Low-Quality Sleep
When you are not getting good quality sleep you run the risk of both physical and mental health issues being aggravated. When your quality of sleep is low, you may run a higher risk of suffering from hypertension, diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, and depression. Asleep study can determine if you are suffering from a sleep disorder, that can affect your sleep health in Winchester, VA.
How To Improve Your Quality of Sleep
Having an ideal environment for sleep is the first step. Make your bedroom completely dark using blackout blinds, and keep a cool temperature in the bedroom. 60-67 is ideal and don't watch TV or play on your phone in your bedroom. Losing weight, cutting back on alcohol, increasing exercise, and doing yoga or meditation can all help. If all of these still leave you exhausted, it's time to make an appointment with a neurologist to get help.
If you have concerns about your sleep health in Winchester, VA, the neurologists at Winchester Neurological Consultants have the experience to help you determine if you are sleep-deprived and what can be done to improve the quality of your sleep and your life. Give our office a call today to make an appointment at (540) 667-1828.