Nov 30th 2020

How the Holidays Affect Your Sleep

How the Holidays Affect Your Sleep

With everything that has been happening for the past months, everyone is more than excited to welcome the holiday season. However, with all of the preparation and shopping necessary to make the most out of this festive season, stress and sleepless nights are not that far ahead. Here’s how the holidays can affect your sleep!

Let’s start with some stats!

• 44% of parents typically wait until after 11:00 P.M. to put gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve.
• 53% of American parents tend to lose sleep due to having too much “holiday stress.”
• 70% of parents will only get less than six hours of sleep during the holidays.
• 66% of parents are usually already up by 7:00 A.M. on Christmas morning.
• For non-parents, 51% will sleep until 8:00 A.M. during the holidays and 17% will sleep past 10:00 A.M. on Christmas morning.

Since the holidays affect everyone’s sleep so much, American parents often ask for sleep-related holiday gifts. Here are some of the top sleep-related holiday gifts that are in demand during these months.

• Bedding (37%)
• Pillow (38%)
• Mattress (27%)
• Diffuser (23%)
• White Noise Machine (20%)

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine states that millions of Americans have sleep apnea with over 80% to 90% of undiagnosed cases. Here are some of the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea:

• Loud snoring
• Gasping for air or struggling to breathe during sleep
• Excessive daytime fatigue
• Dry mouth or throat the following morning

How does noise affect our sleep?

Sleeping in a noisy environment is never a good idea. Remember, our brain continues to register sound even when we are asleep. This greatly affects not only our heart rate but also our blood pressure. As a result, it can trigger nighttime walking and lowers your overall quality sleep experience.

Sound levels that are from 40 to 70 decibels will most likely keep us awake. Furthermore, fireworks and firecracker noise are at a range of 125 to 155 decibels.

Final Thoughts

In the end, sleep is important for everyone. You must try to minimize the negative effects of loud noises. Try practicing healthy sleep habits and invest in quality equipment that will help you achieve this. For sleep apnea patients, CPAP therapy is one of the most effective treatments available.