Sleeping disorders affect nearly 30% of the adult population and 20% to 30% of children from all ages (0-18 years).
Insomnia is defined with one or more of the following symptoms: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep with several night wake-up, early morning awakening and, in some cases, non-restorative or poor quality of sleep.
Insomnia may present decreased sleep efficiency or decreased total hours of sleep with an increase in sleep latency (ie, the time between going to bed and falling asleep). Because sleep requirements vary from person to person, the quality of sleep is more important than the total number of hours slept.
Continuing sleeplessness can have a negative impact on health, resulting in an increasing risk of depression and high blood pressure. It can also lower the quality of life (fatigue, emotional weakness, lack of energy, bad moods, etc...).
Insomnia contributes consequently to increasing healthcare costs and has become then a public health concern.
There is an increase in people reporting insomnia which is a result of increased stress from work pressure, family management and mobile usage. Raising stress develops sleep disturbances that lead to fatigue and decrease the ability to cope with daily stress. A vicious circle settles.
Cortisol is one of the stress hormones that also acts in the sleep function. Its secretion is cyclic, reaching a peak in the morning to reduce gradually during the day. For an anxious person, cortisol stays at high level and induces sleep disturbances.
Prepare a good night sleep
Nothing helps you recover more than a good night’s sleep. But are your nights too short? Does anxiety overcome you and spoil your sleep? Tiredness makes you irritable the next morning. You need to find effective, natural remedies to help you drift off and improve the quality of your sleep.
Sleeping is a vital need: the recommended average night’s sleep is estimated at seven hours. Sleep is extremely precious and beneficial to body and mind. Too much tension accumulated during the day and too much built up energy make it harder to get a good night’s sleep. And when sleep is not restful, getting up next morning can be difficult. Learning to better manage your stress enables you to sleep more soundly again.
A good night’s sleep at least
Sleep and nutrition are closely linked. It is recommended to avoid eating large amounts and to eat dinner at least two to three hours before going to bed. To make it easier to sleep and relieve tension, develop a brief evening ritual (if possible always at the same time) such as drinking herbal tea, taking a hot bath or reading. This should be a time for relaxation. Also aim for maximum comfort, including comfortable bedding, a cozy quilt and a cool bedroom (18°C) that is silent and, ideally, dark.
A growing sleep aids market
Western and Asian consumers are seeking more and more natural sleeping aids to face sleep disturbances. The market of traditional sleep aids reached $1.3bin in 2018 with a positive growth by 4% compared to 2017, with 51% of the market in Europe. It is expected to hit $1.5bn by 2022. New product developments have seen a huge rise with an increase of 47% from 2016. Sleep aids should be one of the fastest growing categories in dietary supplement in the coming years.
