At one time or another, most of us have experienced what it’s like to have trouble falling asleep, to lie awake in the middle of the night, or feel sleepy and fatigued during the day. However, when sleep problems are a regular occurrence—when they get in the way of your daily routine and hamper your ability to function—you cannot simply ignore them.

A healthy sleep consists of 5 cycles (in 2007 they have been regrouped into just 4), which are repeated several times during the night. The last cycle is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, when most dreams occur, the first four are NREM sleep (see illustration).

If the sleep duration (assuming monophasic sleep) does not have the prescribed length (teens: 9 hours, adults: 7-8 hours), the body doesn’t regenerate itself properly, making you feel tired and groggy.

Studies have also shown that people that don’t get enough sleep are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease. Animal studies show that sleep is necessary for survival. For example, while rats normally live for two to three years, those deprived of REM sleep survive only about 5 weeks on average, and rats deprived of all sleep stages live only about 3 weeks. Sleep-deprived rats also develop abnormally low body temperatures and sores on their tail and paws. The sores may develop because the rats’ immune systems become impaired by sleep deprivation.

You don’t have to live with sleeping problems. It is possible to sleep well on a regular basis. Read on to learn about the signs and symptoms of common sleep disorders and what you can do to help yourself.

Mr Bean trying to sleep