It also may defy common practice.
A sleepy child is soon asleep.
When the desire for sleep comes, no matter the timing, it is quickly indulged.
Tara Moore / Getty Images
As people get older, sleep becomes complicated by behaviors.
You may choose to stay awake, even fight sleepiness, to pursue pastimes.
You may stop listening to your body’s natural cues.
Sleepiness or drowsiness is a cue to get ready to sleep.
You should naturally prepare yourself by settling down into bed.
You make yourself comfortable and, if everything goes to plan, you are soon asleep.
If you crawl into bed feeling fatigued, but not sleepy, this may not result in sleep.
Instead, you may be setting yourself up for insomnia.
Insomniacs cannot routinely take naps, for instance.
If they lie down to rest in the afternoon, they will lie there awake.
Sleep is desperately wanted, but opportunities to sleep are corrupted by wakefulness.
By spending several hours awake in the night, it may seem natural to extend the time in bed.
In an effort to get more sleep, the time spent in bed is lengthened.
However, something inadvertent has happenedthis person may now be going to bed when they are less sleepy.
Nocturnal creatures, on the other hand, should be sleeping in the day and awake at night.
As a result, this insomniac may go to bed feeling less sleepy.
As a result, there is a diminished ability to sleep.
By going to bed before sleepiness or drowsiness has developed, the ability to sleep is likewise lost.
Similarly, lying awake for prolonged periods in the morning can be detrimental.
Even short periods of sleep will diminish the sleep drive and could affect the circadian rhythm.
You will find that you fall asleep more easily and sleep better through the night.
Mayo Clinic.Insomnia: How do I stay asleep?
Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.The drive to sleep and our internal clock.
Sleep Foundation.Insomnia: symptoms, causes, and treatments.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Your guide to healthy sleep.
Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School.Insomnia: restoring restful sleep.
