Getting to Sleep Guide
Helpful tips from Adventist Health Portland
Quality sleep is as essential to life as food and water. It’s as important to good health as eating well and getting regular exercise. For anyone who strives for whole-person health — integrating the mind, body and spirit — quality sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.
Sleeping well can help you:
- Lose weight
- Eat better
- Fight depression
Without enough quality sleep, you are more likely to experience chronic diseases such as:
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Obesity
Up to half of people with heart disease, for example, have sleep apnea, a disorder that causes them to stop breathing or take shallow breaths during sleep.
Yet, for all of sleep’s research-backed benefits, 30 percent of Americans simply don’t get enough of it, according to surveys by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For too many of us, our fast-paced world — as well as our own physical challenges — are keeping real rest out of reach.
The Getting to Sleep Guide can help. In this comprehensive guide from the sleep experts at Adventist Health, you’ll learn why sleep is so important and what happens inside our bodies when we don’t get the sleep we need.
We’ll walk you through common sleep disruptions — like daylight saving time — and more serious sleep disorders including insomnia and sleep apnea. Many of these can be managed or resolved through lifestyle changes or medical treatment.
Most importantly, we’ll give you practical tools and tips for getting better sleep.