Yesterday you poured orange juice on your cereal instead of milk. Last week you were late to a big meeting because you hit the snooze button too many times.

You have a million things to do and zero energy.

Have you ever stopped to think about what’s causing your problems? It’s a lack of deep sleep.

1. Brain fog: Okay, back to the whole orange-juice-on-your-cereal thing. Your prefrontal cortex controls your short-term memory and attention span. If you don’t get quality sleep, you will make these silly mistakes.

2. Zero desire: If you find yourself telling your partner you’re not in the mood for sex, sleep quality could be to blame. Let’s face it, you don’t have the energy for physical activity. Poor sleep can also zap the hormones that create a healthy libido.

3. Dozing off: As stated above, a power nap is encouraged. If you can’t keep your eyes open at the office or during dinner with a friend, lack of deep sleep could be why.

4. Trouble waking up: When you’re cycling through NREM and REM properly, you should wake up refreshed. If you wake up feeling sleepy there’s a problem.

5. Weight gain: Leptin is a hormone that tells your body you’re full. When you don’t get enough sleep, leptin levels drop. This keeps you feeling hungry and reaching for the Doritos.

6. Avoiding exercise: Most days you’re so tired you can barely stand it. Running on a treadmill is the last thing on Earth you want to do. If you find yourself skipping the gym because you don’t have the energy, you might not be getting enough deep sleep.

7. You’re craving junk food: For the most part, you’re health-conscious. But lately, you’ve been craving sugary and fatty foods. When you’re drained, you may reach for a soda or French fries to get that boost of energy you’re so desperate for.

8. You have a short fuse. When you don’t get enough deep sleep, you’re more at risk of depression. If you want to stay in bed all day or can’t stop yelling at your partner, lack of quality sleep could be the cause.

If you checked “yes” ☑️ to any of the above signs, you likely aren’t sleeping deeply enough.

Learn what a healthy sleep cycle looks like and discover ways to improve your sleep quality.

The older you get, the less deep sleep you get. There’s nothing you can do to stop this natural decline. But you can control other factors that affect sleep quality such as:

• Exercise
• Stress levels
• Alcohol intake
• Room temperature
• Light
• Noise

You should also avoid all-nighters, which can mess with natural patterns of sleep.

A short 15- to 20-minute mid-afternoon power nap can give you a jolt of energy so you can take on the rest of your day.