Getting good quality, uninterrupted rest is essential for your body’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Sleep deprivation affects your health in countless ways—it can contribute to hormonal imbalances, weaken your immune system, slow down your metabolism, elevate blood pressure and increase stress levels. To sleep better each night, it’s important to identify what causes you trouble falling asleep or staying asleep and then start eliminating them one by one.

To sleep faster, you should work towards maintaining a consistent sleep schedule—if possible, going to bed and waking up at roughly around the same time every day. Keep in mind that even a little bit of light exposure before heading to bed can disrupt your natural circadian rhythm and make it harder for you to fall asleep at night. So turn off all electronics at least an hour before bedtime, avoid caffeine after lunchtime, turn off overhead lights from 10 pm onwards and stick with soft lowlights until going to sleep.

If you do not get enough sleep, it can have negative effects on your health in several ways. First, fatigue affects your coordination, reaction time, vigilance, and concentration, according to NIH's Medline Plus. You may also be less able to control pain or handle stressful situations. A lack of sleep can even affect your memory and lead to mood swings or depression. Those who suffer from chronic insomnia are at a greater risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and other heart problems.

Inadequate amounts of sleep are associated with low energy levels, weight gain, and increased risk for numerous physical and mental conditions, such as diabetes and depression.

The National Sleep Foundation says adults aged 18-64 should get at least seven hours of sleep per night. People 65 and older may need more. Yet, more than 30% of adults suffer from some form of sleep deprivation. On average, people are sleeping fewer than six hours each night! For many, it’s because they wake up too early (and hate going back to bed), while others have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. For almost everyone with insomnia—that nagging feeling that you aren’t getting enough rest—the result is fatigue and low energy levels throughout your day. In fact, research shows that even mild insomnia can lead to an increased risk for high blood pressure and diabetes.

No, sleeping less than 6 hours is not enough. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. According to them: Sleep is vital for human health. Insufficient sleep is associated with adverse health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Even mild sleep loss impairs brain functioning; in fact, being awake for 17-19 hours impairs cognitive performance. Sleep duration can also be an important indicator of overall health status.

Having trouble sleeping is a serious issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Make sure you give yourself enough time in bed every day, especially during regular sleeping hours. Don’t stay up later than usual or take short naps in place of an entire night of sleep—they can actually disrupt your body clock. Let’s get one thing out of the way: we are all going to suffer from sleep loss or insomnia at some point in our lives. To deal with it, there are two things you need to know: how to fall asleep faster and how to overcome sleeplessness/insomnia. Here are some ways to improve your situation when it comes to getting a good night’s rest.

Sleep After Eating: Do not eat 3 hours before bedtime as studies show that food intake increases brain activity by 11 percent which can keep you awake for hours.

Watch Your Caffeine Intake: Avoid caffeinated beverages after lunch so they won’t be present in your system while sleeping.

Exercise Regularly: When paired with a healthy diet, exercise has been shown to lead to improved sleep,

Limit Alcohol Consumption: Although alcohol may help you fall asleep quicker it reduces REM sleep and interferes with quality deep sleep thus leaving you feeling unrested in the morning.

Sleep remedies natural or prescription medication for insomnia is designed to promote relaxation and help you fall asleep faster. They can be helpful, but it’s important to keep in mind that they won’t solve your problem. These sleep aids will only treat your symptoms and not address any underlying issues or lifestyle factors that could be causing your insomnia. If you don’t make changes, you will continue to have trouble sleeping even with these medications.

Sleep is not only an important part of our mental health but also of our physical well-being. Sleep plays a key role in regulating bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and temperature. If you’re sleeping poorly or deprived of adequate rest, these mechanisms may be thrown off balance. For example, people who are chronically sleep-deprived can end up with diabetes at an earlier age than those who are well-rested. Sleep problems should never be ignored! Sleep-deprived individuals have been shown to have poorer memory recall; trouble focusing and concentrating; increased irritability; impaired immune function; greater weight gain; depression, etc. It’s safe to say that a good night’s sleep is paramount for feeling your best—so it might be time for you to get some shut-eye!