Stress could result to disturbed sleeping pattern

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:26 pm

If you are experiencing a disturbed sleeping pattern, you are likely to become over-stressed!

Some common causes of sleep problems are

* stress — school- or job-related stress, family or relationship stress, worry about a serious medical condition, death of loved one, etc.
* shift work — the night shift pits the sleep cycle against the body's natural rhythm
* jet lag — the body is responding to another time zone
* noise — a snoring partner, barking dog, loud neighbors, soaring airplanes, etc.
* environmental discomfort — too hot, too cold, too light, bed's too hard, etc.
source:http://www.wellsource.com/demo/qc/mstress/sleep.htm

A small change in working hours — say two to four hours earlier or later — makes little difference to sleep. A change of four to eight hours, however, means that sleeping patterns may be interrupted because the normal routine has changed and bedtime becomes earlier or later. The body's biological clock needs to readjust to the new sleep/wake cycle, which can take two to three days. The result is that for the first few days of a new shift you may feel as though you are falling asleep on the job, and yet you're unable to sleep once home in bed.

Rotating shifts, where one week is worked at night and the next in the day, is more of a problem than permanent night shift. People who do rotating shift work are constantly having to readjust their biological clock, with consequent disturbance of their sleep/wake cycle. Not surprisingly, many develop a marked fatigue problem.

source:http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=82039