Sleep Awareness Week is reminder of how sleep impacts your health

Many are feeling the effects of this weekend’s time change and are adjusting to an hour less of sleep.
Monday marks the start of the national Sleep Awareness Week and it's important to understand how losing even one hour of sleep can impact your health.

Losing one hour may not seem like much, but many people aren't getting enough sleep to begin with.

A Stanford University study suggests the Monday after the time shift is linked to an increase in tragic car accidents.

Medical professionals say an inconsistent sleep schedule and not getting enough sleep can also cause health complications.

“Not having the proper rest on your body wears and tears, breaks it down, cardiovascular disease, everything just gets a little bit more exasperated,” said Christine Walsh of the TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre. “So, we really want to just encourage everybody to protect their sleep to stay healthy.”

Walsh says people often struggle with multiple health issues and do not realize the root cause is sleep complications like sleep apnea. She says people often believe they struggle to fall asleep because of anxiety, but that insomnia is really the body’s “drive to stay awake.”
That’s because when patients suffer from sleep apnea, their body struggles to breathe at night and therefore tries to remain awake.

If you struggle with chronic fatigue or have other questions concerning sleep, you can visit the TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre in Granger on March 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. for a free education event.