Between work, family and play, it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep. While it’s easy to tell you’re tired after a night of tossing and turning, there are a few more subtle signs that indicate you’re not getting the beauty rest you need and deserve.

If you find that many or all of the following signs are true for you, consider taking steps to improve the quality of your sleep:

1. You can’t stop hitting the snooze alarm.

Hitting the snooze alarm often is usually a sign that you either haven’t had sufficient sleep or that the quality of your sleep is poor.

2. You sleep late on weekends.

If you find that you’re constantly sleeping later on weekends, this may be due to the sleep debt you built up during the week.

Unfortunately, this catch-up sleep can’t make up for your lack of sleep. Even worse, it may throw your circadian clock off, making it more difficult to fall asleep on Sunday night.

3. You’re irritable and moody.

It’s unfortunate that so many of us fail to realize how insufficient sleep affects our moods. Sleep is very important in our processing of emotions.

4. You get frequent coughs and colds.

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of sleep in relation to our immune system. In fact, in my book I examine sleep and its relationship to the immune system.

5. You can’t shed those pounds.

Insufficient sleep is a major cause of obesity. When the body does not get enough sleep, it tends to overproduce an appetite-stimulating hormone called ghrelin, and underproduce an appetite-suppressing hormone called leptin.

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Article Courtesy: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/