A lot of people are actually suffering from chronic sleep deprivation each night, but they are not aware of the health consequences and therefore continue with such a state of affairs. The truth is we humans still need a healthy dose of sleep each night or else our bodies will soon start to break down slowly, and surely. At first it won’t be apparent, but after a a year, you can be sure the effects will be pronounced.
If you have been going to bed late for a while now, it is best to start going to bed earlier, if you can help it. But another problem often arises, and that is your circadian rhythm may be wonky if you have been abusing your sleep health all this while. The only way to correct this is to gradually train your body to sleep at normal times again and to take melatonin. Melatonin is considered the primary sleep hormone of the body, and its production suffers when you don’t sleep right.
If you’re just going to start out on melatonin, it is best to know the common melatonin dosage and not go over that, as your body can become “resistant” to high melatonin dosages after a while. Melatonin is very safe to use though, but remember if you want to readjust your sleep cycle, the best way is still to mimic your body’s natural rhythms as much as possible. Since the body does not produce more than a few hundred micrograms of melatonin, you should not be taking too much melatonin for too long.
Another tip in readjusting your sleeping cycle is to practice good sleep habits, or sleep hygiene. This includes not bringing your work home, avoiding caffeine at night, and learning to manage stress better. Managing stress is a lifelong challenge, but exercise can help a lot with easing the symptoms of stress. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime though, because exercise also makes sleeping harder, if done too much and too near to bedtime.
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