More and more scientific studies are showing correlations between poor quality sleeping and insufficient sleep with a variety of diseases. Good sleep can not only improve your performance in the classroom or workplace, but can also improve your performance on the playing field or at the gym.

Even if your bedtime changes nightly, or you wake up at wildly different times each morning, there’s probably one sleeping direction or position that’s your favorite.

Why would we sleep only at nights?

The hormone melatonin plays a role in your natural sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland, natural levels of melatonin in the blood are highest at night. Melatonin is made in the body from tryptophan and serotonin. So if your melatonin is low, then it is also important to consider whether your serotonin is low as well. Serotonin can be measured in a urine panel

Sleep is an active period in which a lot of important processing, restoration, and strengthening occurs. Studies show that the gap between getting just enough sleep and getting too little sleep may affect your health, your mood, your weight, and even your sex life.

Snoring is not harmful. However, it can be a sign of sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that is associated with significant medical problems such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Most experts agree that if you do not fall back to sleep within 15 to 20 minutes, you should get out of bed. You should go to another room, and engage in a relaxing activity like listening to music or reading. Avoid bright lights, including those from computers, phone, and televisions. Don’t watch the clock. Return to bed only when you feel tired. You can also know some sleeping tips for better night.

Four main stages of sleep

First stage: Non-rapid eye movement or light sleep your body temperature, heart rate, breathing ate, and energy use all decrease across the board. Your muscles are still active and you can still produce reactions to environmental stimuli. Essentially, you are falling asleep.

Second stage: Drifting toward deep sleep. You’re harder to awaken, and conscious awareness of your environment goes away. This stage accounts for about half of your sleep time.

Third stage: Deep sleep or “slow-wave” sleep. Environmental stimuli are no longer likely to produce any reactions. Thought to be the most restful stage of sleep, and accounts for about a quarter of your sleep time. This stage leads into the fourth stage and is sometimes considered a part of the fourth stage as well.

Fourth stage: Also known as the “dream state.” Your muscles become paralyzed and your breathing and heart rate become unregulated. The true function of REM sleep is unknown, but missing it can impair your ability to learn complex tasks. This stage accounts for about a quarter of your sleep time as well.

About 40 million people in the United States suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year and an additional 20 million people experience occasional sleep problems.

There are more than 70 different sleep disorders, which are generally classified into one of three categories insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy.

In most cases, sleep disorders can easily manage by us once they are properly diagnosed. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. It occurs more often in women and in the elderly.

Weight gain Due to Lack of Sleep

Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones ghrelin and leptin that make you feel hungry or full. When you don’t get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. Makes feel hungrier than well-rested. The complicated biochemical pathways influenced by poor quality sleep. The impact of weight gain another simpler truth is clear, if you are awake too late, you’ll eat more.

Opting good mattresses

Good sleep a combination different factors comfort, stress level, room temperature. But to get it right, you’ve got to start with the basics and your mattress is the first building block for happy sleep. Using foam mattress makes you to have a pleasant sleep every day. Arya Nick Shamie, MD, associate professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, the mattress needs to support body in neutral position, one in your spine have a nice curvature and buttocks, heels, shoulders, and head supported in proper alignment

The amount of sleep that a person needs to function in a normal manner depends on several factors, including age. Infants sleep most of the day about 16 hours teenagers usually need about 9 hours a day. Adults need an average of 7 to 8 hours a day.

Although older adults require about as much sleep as younger adults, they usually sleep for shorter periods and spend less time in deep stages of sleep. About 50 percent of adults over the age of 65 have some type of sleep disorder. Although it is not clear that normal part of aging or a result of other factors, medications commonly used by older people.

Using narcotic substance like Alcohol and marijuana for sleep

Having a little alcohol or marijuana here and there probably isn’t going to cause you any major health problems. But both substances affect your sleep, and sleep is a major component of your physical and mental health.

Alcohol can also cause REM sleep fragmentation, which disrupts your standard sleep cycle by extending or shortening the REM sleep stage. Marijuana can shorten the time and causes sleep fragmentation too it takes to fall asleep. It means the more you consume, the less likely you are to dream.

Gadgets at night

Exposing yourself to the glow of a screen before bed will keep you awake. Your body is  to wake up when light is bright and go to sleep when it gets dark. If you shine a bright light in your face before bed you’re telling your body it’s time to perk up and be alert.

If you absolutely must use a computer or mobile device later in the day. At least turn the screen brightness way down to semi-counter the effect of the light.