| Sleep
and Diet : Eating to Sleep Well
from -Reader's
Digest.com
Do you dream of a good night's sleep? Try our tips tonight and
learn how your diet may affect your sleep patterns.
The Importance of Sleep
The quality of sleep has an enormous impact on daily life, since
poor or disordered sleep can affect your work, concentration,
and ability to interact with others. During sleep, both physical
and mental restoration take place, allowing you to feel fresh
and alert in the morning.
Sleep needs vary from one person to another; the optimal average
is 7 to 9 hours. You can judge whether or not you're getting the
right amount by how you feel the next day -- too much or too little
sleep leaves a person feeling tired and irritable. Because growth
hormones are released during sleep, babies, children, and adolescents
require more sleep than adults do.
Sleep researchers discount the common myth
that older people require less sleep; instead, the amount of sleep
that an adult needs remains fairly constant. With advancing age,
however, the nature of sleep changes and the incidence of sleep
disorders rises. The degree of time spent in the deeper stages
of sleep often lessens with age, and an older person is likely
to awaken more frequently during the night.
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