With the completion of the sleep log assignment, I have been able to pinpoint patterns in my behaviors right before falling asleep, which has influenced my sleep pattern and mental state upon waking up. I was also able to create my own behavioral modification program, as a way to change my own negative behaviors, thus improving my sleep environment.
It is recommended that you should eat your last meal or snack three hours before you intend on falling asleep. The busy environment of college life has caused me to arrive home later than I would expect, which has forced me to eat some late dinners at around 9:00-10:00 pm. Also, I have grown accustomed to eating meals at home while laying in my bed, rather than sitting in a chair. Late-night eating, …show more content…
I have experienced this for about a year before the sleep log assignment and I never associated this to sleep deprivation. I thought that this may have been due to nutritional imbalances, such as a deficiency of vitamin D. However, this muscle contraction is actually referred to as myokymia. The common causes of eyelid twitches includes the intake of too much caffeine, overworking, excess stress, and sleep deprivation (Matsuo et.al 2015). Spending too much time staring at a computer screen can also cause the onset of involuntary eye muscle movements. Most of these causes can be applied to my late night activities. With the exception of Saturday and Thursday nights, I got an average of 5-6 hours of sleep during the two week period, which is below the 7-9 recommended hours of sleep for people in my age group. I also fell asleep while youtube videos were being played on my laptop. I am exposed to the lights of my laptop while in the dark night time environments, which has played a role in my daytime vision, along with my ability to fall alseep. This, along with the stresses caused by coursework, likely caused my myokymia. I noticed the eye twitches were not present during the days where I got at least 7.5-8