Getting plenty of sleep can sometimes be difficult, especially during the busy holiday season. Hillsboro Area Hospital Respiratory Therapist Amanda Payne says getting good sleep requires having a routine.
"We tell people to practice the same thing everyday whether it's (that) you take a shower before bed or you read a book or you take a shower and then you watch a movie - but just something that gets your brain into that mode of, here's what I'm doing, this is my routine and, okay, now it's time for me to rest."

Payne says when you don't get enough sleep for your body, you can accumulate what's called, sleep debt.
"Say your body needs eight hours and you only got six, so you've created two hours of sleep debt. You can pay that off by sleeping extra or taking a nap, but if you've been in sleep debt for a long time, you can't really pay it off in one weekend - you can't sleep for 24 hours and pay off all your sleep debt. It does help (though) to get extra sleep. You won't really notice that you've had extra sleep or the benefits of that extra sleep for a full day. So if you get good sleep tonight, you won't really notice it tomorrow as much as you will the next day."

Some of the more serious sleep problems can be treated at someplace like a sleep clinic. Payne says people come to the sleep clinic because they may be experiencing restlessness or extreme tiredness during the day after not being able to sleep.

"A lot of times, all we really have to do is evaluate and examine what's happening to them at night and what kind of practices they are following and we can find out that they really just need to change their sleep hygiene - So, changing their environment, not sleeping with your TV in your room because that constantly keeps your brain engaged in that television show instead of allowing your brain to rest."

Payne says in most sleep studies, they monitor a patient's brain waves, eye and muscle movements, heart rhythm and rate and their oxygen level. For more information on sleep studies, contact the Hillsboro Area Hospital Sleep Clinic at 532-4176.Thomack 12/2/15