How’d You Sleep Last Night?

If you find yourself yawning throughout the day, it may be because you aren’t getting enough sleep. Or enough high quality sleep. The problem? It may simply be the amount of light you’re exposed to.

Drowsiness at Work

Many shift workers have difficulty sleeping well because their work schedules conflict with their bodies’ natural sleep-wake cycle clues.
Melatonin, which is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, affects both our desire to sleep and the quality of our sleep. Darkness enhances melatonin production, while light inhibits it.

Therefore, shift workers typically experience drowsiness when at work and suffer from insomnia when they try to sleep during daylight hours.

Night Lights

Because bright lights can disturb the normal production of melatonin, and interfere with your ability to get a good night’s sleep, make sure your bedroom is completely dark. Create a darker environment by using light–blocking shades, lined curtains or even an eye mask to block out all light.
And don’t overlook night lights and those bright clock radio lights! Even an area of light the size of a quarter falling onto your skin can affect the production of melatonin.

The Elderly Suffer Too

One of the major health complaints for the over-65 population is difficulty sleeping.
This may be due to the fact that many elderly people do not spend sufficient time outdoors and therefore, lack an adequate amount of bright light exposure.

Getting outside more, or increasing the level of light in their homes during the day and early evening hours may actually alleviate the major cause of their sleep distress!

Ramsey County Chiropractor