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Rethinking some of your nighttime habits can help you avoid specific health problems.
It’s common knowledge that physical activity and diet are the keys to a healthy life. However, the quality of sleep is not emphasized as much; here are some everyday sleep-related habits that could be a sign that something is wrong with your health.
Nightmares and dementia risk
A recent study shows that middle-aged people who have frequent bad dreams decline cognitive abilities faster and have a higher risk of dementia as they get older. Approximately 5% of adults have nightmares at least once a week. According to researchers at the University of Birmingham, these findings could help develop new methods for screening for dementia. Dr. Abidemi Otaiku of the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Human Brain Health said:
Although more work is needed to confirm these associations, we believe that bad dreams could be a valuable tool to identify individuals at high risk of dementia and develop strategies to slow the onset of the disease.
Snoring and cardiovascular disease.
Snoring is often a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, which increases the risk for diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular problems, according to an article on Michigan Health. For people with obstructive sleep apnea, breathing stops for 10 to 20 seconds during sleep; this can occur from a few times to hundreds of times per night.
Frequent urination at night
The older you get, the more often you wake up at night to urinate. According to Healthline, other common causes of nocturia include chronic urinary tract infections, excessive drinking before bed, bacterial infections in the bladder, and medications that promote urination.
In some cases, nighttime urination is a symptom of an underlying condition. Diseases and conditions associated with frequent urination include chronic kidney failure, congestive heart failure, diabetes and an enlarged prostate.
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