Sleep Habits: How You Might Be Unintentionally Sabotaging Your Sleep

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If you're experiencing excessive sleepiness, poor sleep habits are often the cause. It's important to review your routines, schedules, and the environment you're sleeping in so you can spot potential problems and make adjustments.



Another reason for excessive sleepiness is a change in schedule, which could be caused by work or school responsibilities. In particular, shift workers, who keep nontraditional hours and often switch schedules, are at high risk for excessive sleepiness. This is because it's difficult to sleep 7-9 hours when those hours are not in line with traditional nightfall, but it's also because when your schedule changes, it takes your body a long time to adjust. Sometimes by the time the adjustment happens, your schedule has shifted yet again. Taking care of your sleep by making sure your bedroom is quiet and dark during your sleep time, exposing yourself to light when you wake up if possible, and trying to keep as regular and consistent a sleep pattern as possible will help. If you've tried to take care of your sleep habits and still find yourself drowsy during the day, it's important to talk to your doctor and ask for a referral to a sleep specialist.