Are you feeling sleepy?

Stacey Collins   
I expect that even the deepest of sleepers have been affected by sleep problems at some point in their life and it usually happens the night before that really important work meeting, driving test or college exam. In fact, one third of the British population and 40 million men and women in America have some sort of sleep disorder.

According to the Society for Women’s Health Research, insomnia affects women more so than men. Women are 1.4 times more likely to report insomnia than men and, in general, suffer from more sleep problems than the opposite sex. That may be a useful fact to drop into conversation next time your other half is asking you why you're being so grouchy.

With the weight of a baby pushing down on your body it may not seem a surprise that pregnancy has been reported as one of the main factors for a woman's lack of sleep. The hormonal changes women go through when pregnant has also been recorded as being a leading reason for the changes in sleepiness. Menopause is another factor - 35 to 40 percent of menopausal women state they suffer from sleep problems.

It is important that our bodies get rest as a lack of sleep can lead to a number of health problems including obesity, heart disease and stroke. In order to combat the lack of drowsiness, a number of strategies have been offered to those facing sleep problems.

These include exercise, avoiding caffeine before bed and ensuring a regular bed time.

I may have to have a trial run right now and test my ability to sleep to see if I am in the one third of the population that suffers from sleep problems. Any excuse ay?!