Video: Sleep Experts Share Tips for Restful Nights

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- March 2nd through the 8th is National Sleep Awareness Week. Saturday we will roll our clocks ahead an hour, losing an hour of sleep. But loss of sleep is something we all experience. From juggling work, children, and life very few of us get the recommended eight hours of sleep.

Sleep is one of our greatest needs, but many of us don’t get enough.

Dr. Harry Holliday has lots of patients coming to him saying, “I can’t go to sleep, or I’m sleeping too much, or I’m waking up through the night and have restless sleep.”

And not getting enough has huge side effects.

“It effects you tremendously, you have trouble remembering things, you have trouble functioning, you feel tired all day and these are things that hinder productivity,” says Dr. Debbie Hughes.

It is estimated that nearly one third of Americans suffer from not getting an adequate amount of sleep. But it is not only our lack of sleep, but also the type of sleep we are experiencing that can cause trouble the next day.

Dr. Hughes goes on to say, “many people don’t get to that relax sleep, rem sleep so many wake up in the morning very tired, even though they slept 6-7 hours. Still waking up wondering why do I feel so tired.”

Although you may think you’re getting enough shut-eye, sleep is much more then absence of being awake.

“We go through this cycle of light sleep, deep sleep, dreaming sleep all through the night and go through this rapid eye moment sleep where our brain is very active, almost as active as it is during the day,” explains Dr. Holliday.

Getting enough REM sleep will allow for your body & brain revive itself. How you prepare for bedtime plays a key role in the quality of your sleep.

Dr. Holliday also suggest,”the number one thing is good sleep hygine and by that I mean you have a regular time you go to bed, a regular time you get up each morning and that consistency helps you body clock stay maintained.”