Do you know that you spend about one-third of your life sleeping? Sleep is nature's way of allowing your body to recharge its batteries ready to face another tough day ahead. It is while you are asleep that your mind and body repair the damage that has been done to them during the day. When you are deprived of sleep the physical and mental effects quickly become apparent. A lack of sleep will lead to physical exhaustion and a range of psychological effects, such as increased irritability and inability to concentrate.

Research has shown that when it comes to sleep, quality rather than quantity appears to be the key issue. Stress is one of the main causes of sleep disturbance. You must have noticed that during difficult times you tend to either loose your sleep or wake up at the slightest disturbance. Disrupted and disturbed sleep patterns can be a symptom as well as a cause of stress. Most people have lost sleep because of worrying. Failure to get a good night's sleep will leave you tired in the morning, bad tempered, slow to respond and unable to concentrate. All these are classic symptoms of stress.

The amount of sleep that we need varies from person to another and from one day to the next. You may find that how you feel after a certain amount of sleep depends more on your attitude than on how long you have slept. You may experience sleep-related problems sometime or the other. These could include: difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in remaining asleep, frequent, restless waking up, waking up too early, having nightmares, sleep-walking or even sleeping too much. These problems are not in themselves, an illness. More commonly, they are a sign of something else -- usually stress, anxiety or depression. Usually, temporary sleep disturbances can be caused by stressful situations at work, difficulties in personal relationships, or changes such as a new job, marriage, or moving to a new house.