By Laura Ng

We spent one third of our life sleeping -- an activity that's seemingly useless. But we need sleep as much as we need oxygen and food. Sleep is important to us. It increases one's work efficiency, extends one's lifespan, cures illnesses. One should not deprive him/herself of sleep.

But during our lives, we will experience some sleepless nights which are considered normal. But for some people, poor quality sleep is a recurring or even a lifelong problem.

When your sleep quality is affected, the end results could well be feelings of fatigue during the day, irritability, poor memory, loss of productivity and loss of interest in family and social life.

Thus, focusing on improving your sleep quality is very important to your health. The quality of sleep is associated with number of sleeping hours. Doctors normally recommend that adults should need 7 to 10 hours of sleep daily and children would require more hours. But it varies among individuals. What matters is, for the duration you sleep, are you achieving the right quality of sleep?

Insomnia, or the inability to sleep well, is a common problem which could affect anyone at one time or another. A person with insomnia may have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, wake up frequently during the night, or wake up earlier than desired the next morning.

There are two kinds of insomnia, acute insomnia and chronic insomnia.

Acute insomnia, which can last from one night up to several weeks, may be caused by:

1. A single stressful event

2. A period of emotional stress

3. Illness

4. Temporary pain or discomfort

5. Disturbances in the sleeping environment such as noise, light or sleeping in a different bed

6. A change in the normal sleep pattern, caused by jet lag or working in a late shift

This kind of insomnia usually doesn't last long once the root cause(s) is resolved. But be extra careful as insufficient sleep could cloud your judgment, leading to accidents while driving or at work.

Chronic insomnia is more serious as it can last for months or even years. The likely causes are:

1. Existing mental health situations eg. depression, anxiety or stress.

2. Poor sleep habits, such as watching television programs in bed or going to bed at different times.

3. Excessive consumption of caffeine or nicotine laden items like coffee, tea or cigarettes.

4. Excessive drinking

5. Lack of regular exercise

6. Existing medical health problems such as breathing or heart problems, hormonal or digestive disorder, or chronic pain

7. Side effects of certain drugs

8. A different sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.

Before we go on, a little more explanation is required here for sleep apnea. It is a condition whereby a person regularly stops breathing, or has slowed breathing during sleep for 10 seconds or longer. Depending on the frequency the breathing stops (apnea) or slows (hypopnea), we classify the condition as mild, moderate or severe.

A person suffering from sleep apnea may snore loudly, and have restless sleep with difficulty breathing. As a result, he may wake up with a headache and tiredness which last the whole day. But, you can cure sleep apnea by adjusting your sleeping habits. Sometimes, doctors may suggest use of devices to help easier breathing during sleep or even surgery.

Insomnia can be cured as long as the victim develops a regular sleeping habit.

Here are some remedies to help you ease or eliminate your sleeping disorder:

1. Reserve your bedroom for sleeping and sex only i.e. avoid eating, working, computers, TV, video or loud music in the bedroom

2. Create a clean and comfy environment for sleeping

About The Author: Laura Ng encourages you to discover more natural insomnia remedies so that you can sleep like the dead and get more quality sleep every night.