Are Minnesotans Suffering From Lack of Sleep This Summer?

I was talking last week with a friend that I had not talked to in a while, we were just doing the normal catching up thing; You know, how’s the family? How’s work? Summer vacation plans. This fella said that it seemed like he was more tired than normal, but he wasn’t feeling bad. He had no other symptoms and was trying to figure out what it could be. 

That got me thinking, as most days I feel like I’m the governor of the State of Tired, can the change to the summer season affect how you sleep? 

When I began to look around online, I came across an article from Naturepedic that talked about this very thing. I know for me, having to wake up each day at 3am, I have to go to bed and it's still daylight outside. Some evenings it’s hard to get my mind to focus on the fact that it’s time to go to bed.  

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If you’re having trouble sleeping lately, one of these reasons could be the cause. 

You’re Hot! (No, I’m not hitting on you) 

Your body temperature runs hotter longer during the warmer weather months, which can make it harder to get to sleep, or to stay asleep if you’re not cool enough when you go to sleep. 

Consistency Is The Key 

Trying to maintain a consistent schedule is more challenging during the summer months. We have more daylight now as we talked about before, and some people find themselves a bit more spontaneous, which in turn can cause inconsistency in your schedule. Your eating schedule can also be affected when you're spending more time outside in the evening which can impact your sleep as well. 

Cheers! 

Grilling, Cookouts and non-planned community gatherings can often come with consuming more alcohol. You may be like some folks who think that having a few drinks makes them sleepy. But in reality, alcohol can interrupt the deepest forms of our sleep patterns, which can cause us to feel like we’re dragging through each day.  

Dehydration 

If you’re working out in the heat, all the sweating can cause you to dehydrate which causes the natural melatonin levels in your body to be out of whack. Drinking water while you’re mowing the grass, or working on your job is not only good for you to avoid heat stroke, but it will also help you get the proper amount of rest you need. 

If you find you’re not resting as well, try these tips and see if you can begin to replenish the sleep time you’ve been missing out on.