Many of us experience the occasional night of sleeplessness; it is when the occasional night becomes a pattern of several nights in a row that you are faced with a sleeping problem.

Repeated loss of sleep affects all areas of your life: The physical, the mental, and the emotional. Sleep deprivation can affect your overall daily performance and can even have an effect on your personality.

If your sleeplessness continues for a long period of time it can cause problems in your relationships, reduce your productivity, and it may lead to other health problems.

These three things are often major culprits in keeping you awake.

1. Uncomfortable temperature-Make sure the temperature in your room is comfortable. The ideal temperature for sleeping is between 65 and 70 degrees, of course you will have to experiment to find the temperature that is most comfortable for you.

2. Noise-Many people are sensitive to noise and will either wake up or be unable to fall asleep because of noise. A white noise machine is an excellent device used to mask annoying noise and allow you to sleep.

3. Light-As with noise many people are bothered by too much light. Make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible. Lined window coverings or room darkening blinds may be necessary on your windows. A sleep mask is another alternative.

It is a good idea to keep track of your sleeping habits using a sleep log to record bedtime, wake time and any details regarding your sleep patterns. Doing this, will let you see if certain things are contributing to your sleeplessness. You can then work to eliminate or change the things that are causing problems. Many times prescription sleep aids are taken when natural remedies are all that is needed.