I remember never wanting to go to sleep as a child. I thought that it wasn’t fair that I was forced to take a nap during the day, and then made to go to bed around 8pm every night. I was SURE that all the really good stuff happened at night. Otherwise, why would the adults stay up so late?
Little did I know that sleep would become such a treasured and rare commodity as I became older. The other day, I was in the presence of some children when they were asked if they liked taking naps. In unison, all of the children yelled a very vehement “NO!” I couldn’t help but chuckle along with the other adults in the room. “I wish I was forced to take naps now,” one of the ladies said, responding to the children, as they continued to shake their heads back and forth.
Our bodies need rest. That may be the understatement of the year. Yet, many of us are failing to give our bodies the proper amount of rest that we need. As a matter of fact, surveys by the National Sleep Foundation showed that 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more and 40 percent of adults are so tired during the day that it interferes with their daily activities. Why is this occurring?
For the answer, we’ll have to take a look back at our past as human beings. Before the invention of electricity, which brought us the lightbulb, people were, more or less, constrained to work mainly when the sun was up, save for the bon fires, and later, candlelight. There’s no denying that the lightbulb was a great invention. It allows us to bring light into dark places so that we’re able to have longer times of productivity, continuing well past the natural light hours of the sun. However, artificial light has caused some major disruptions in our bodies’ natural circadian rhythm.
Our bodies and brains are designed to be fully operational during daylight hours, and rest during the night hours. However, with technological advances, including the way you’re probably reading this article, our brains are activated a lot longer than they were designed to be. Therefore, with our evening hours spent in front of the computer, lounging on the couch watching television, or even on our smartphones, our brains have a harder time shutting down so that they can go through the natural rest patterns to rejuvenate our physical and cognitive functions. This is because these electronic devices, while having brought a great many conveniences, along with entertainment and education, emit light that falls into the blue wavelength of electro-magnetic spectrum, which disrupts melatonin production in the body.
When you sleep, the brain has the opportunity to prepare itself for the next day. Some people think of sleeping as “shutting down,” but this is actually the time that your brain is able to work for you. Cognitively, sleep improves your learning ability, helps you retain information, gives you the ability to be more alert, make decisions, and be more creative. A friend once told me that when she could not figure out why certain mathematical formulas weren’t working in her spreadsheets, she could easily solve them in her sleep. She felt that during her waking hours, she was often “overthinking” the equations, but in her sleep, her brain was not distracted and therefore, had the ability to resolve the issues that her waking mind weren’t able to handle.
While you’re awake, you’re exerting a lot of physical demands on your body. Sleep is when your body is able to repair damaged cells and tissues in your body, including those in your heart and blood vessels. This is done through the release of the growth hormone in deep sleep, which promotes normal growth in children and teens, and also boosts muscle mass.
Have you ever noticed that the less sleep you get, the hungrier you are during the day? Studies have shown that there is a direct link to lack of sleep and your ability to feel satiated after a meal. Sleep helps you maintain a balance of ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry, and leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full. When you’re not getting the proper amount of sleep that your body requires, the amount of ghrelin goes up, while your leptin levels go down. Therefore, you may notice that you feel hungrier when you’re not sleeping enough. This imbalance can potentially lead to obesity. Research has shown that sleep-deprived people have a tendency to opt for more carbohydrate dense foods.
Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, which controls your blood glucose level. As described in a previous article, Sugar: A Big and Avoidable Inflammatory Culprit, when your pancreas is overworked, producing too much insulin, your body will become insulin resistant, which then leads to diabetes. In a recent study, healthy individuals were studied over a 6-day period, testing their blood glucose levels after not getting adequate sleep during this timeframe–around 4 hours per night. After the testing period, blood glucose levels were tested, showing that these healthy test subjects now had glucose levels that could clinically classify them as having an impairment to glucose tolerance, or being pre-diabetic.
Those who have a tendency of not getting enough sleep signficantly impair their ability to function during the day. When your sleep debt is very high, you may experience periods of micro-sleep during the day. Micro-sleep is usually lasts about 5-10 seconds, but may result in lapses of judgement, and even hallucinations as your body is jumping right into REM sleep. Have you ever nodded off in a meeting, at your desk, or worse yet, while driving? According to researchers, micro-sleep is uncontrollable because it’s your body’s way of letting you know that it’s getting some sleep whether you like it or not. Micro-sleep is quite dangerous as sleep-deprived people don’t always realize just how tired they really are and find themselves behind the wheel. The National Highway Safety Administration states that falling asleep while driving is responsible for at least 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths each year in the United States.
Lack of sleep not only affects drivers, but think about those who may hold your fate in their hands. If you’re about to go into surgery, wouldn’t you want to know that your doctor is well rested? If you’re going into the courtroom, wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if your attorney had a good night’s sleep to support your case? Recently, some of you may have seen me on a Facebook Live at Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland. I was operating on only 2 hours of sleep, and found that it a bit more challenging to give an effective interview.
Been a bit moody lately? This can also be the result of sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep can lead to increased aggression, depression, and mood swings. These types of behavior can also greatly affect your relationships as there is a tendency to become more short-tempered and even temporarily lose your ability to reason. Doctors have also suggested that lack of sleep can lead to self-harm or suicide.
Overall, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to many diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. With the above explanations, you can understand why these diseases could manifest. But why are so many of us not getting adequate sleep?
The body goes through a series of approximately 5 90-minute sleep cycles, alternating between Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) and Rapid Eye Movement. NREM comprises 75-80% of your total sleep. This is the stage of sleep where your body repairs physical damage and releases the hormones essential for growth and development. REM comprises 20-25% of total sleep. This is the stage where dreaming occurs and is when your mind is processing and consolidating emotions, memories and stress and when your brain is stimulated for learning and skill development. When our sleep is interrupted during the night, our body misses out on vital processes that can affect our physical and cognitive functioning in the day(s) to come.
In order to take full advantage of your NREM sleep, it’s best to go to sleep between the hours of 8pm and 12am as your body’s natural rhythm does not change according to the time you choose to get in the bed. Those who tend to go to sleep after 12am will find themselves moving much quicker into REM sleep as the daybreak approaches. Although the idea of being able to jump quickly into deep sleep may sound appealing, you’ve essentially skipped your body’s time to heal and repair physically, which then leads to grogginess in the morning. Again, as our body’s natural circadian rhythms are set from sun up to sun down. We do not determine when our bodies shift between NREM and REM sleep. The natural shifts between NREM and REM occur at certain times of the night, regardless of when you choose to go to bed.
But not everyone is meant to go to bed at 8pm. Some people are naturally “night owls.” So, when’s the best time for you? Some suggest going to bed when you’re sleepy, not just tired. However, you still want to make sure that you’re getting the right amount of sleep that your body requires. For most people, this is a period of 7-8 hours, although some are able to function with only 6 hours. If you’re not tied to an alarm clock, go to bed when you’re sleepy and allow your body to wake up naturally. This will help you determine your bedtime and the right amount of sleep that you need to feel refreshed.
What if you’re having trouble sleeping? The most common cause of sleep interruption is stress. This can come in the form of the daily demands that we may have on our jobs, relationship issues, family issues, or traumatic experiences. Perhaps, even the country’s current political climate may serve as a stressor for some. Other sources of sleep disturbances may come in the form of consuming caffeine or alcohol within a few hours of bedtime, using electronic devices before turning in, body aches, medications, or even a snoring partner.
How can you ensure that you’ll get the right amount of sleep that you need?
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. With a regular sleep schedule, your body will begin to learn when to wind down and when to arise so that you’re able to get the amount of sleep that you need and function at your best during the day. When you go to bed and wake up at different times, this throws off your body’s sleep cycle, thereby making it more difficult for you to get enough sleep. This includes going to bed late and excessive sleeping-in late on the weekends. If you normally wake up at 6:30am, you shouldn’t be waking up at 10:30am on Saturday and Sunday. This will completely throw off your sleep schedule.
- Avoid caffeine 4 – 6 hours before bedtime. Caffeine is a stimulant. If this is still in your system, your body will not be able to wind down.
- Avoid alcohol. Even though alcohol may initially make you feel tired, it will cause your body to wake up after only a few hours. Drinking alcohol releases adenosine in your body, which hastens the onset of sleep; however, this chemical subsides just as quickly as it was released, causing the body to wake up. Alcohol may also block REM sleep.
- Exercise regularly. We all know that exercise can reduce stress, one of the biggest sleep interrupters. It can also promote daytime alertness, which improves your body’s ability to relax in the evening. However, it is a good idea not to exercise too close towards your bedtime as exercising raises your body’s metabolic rate, which actually should be slowing down in order to sleep.
- Maintain a comfortably cool temperature in your bedroom. Extreme temperature of hot or cold can disrupt your sleep.
- Start winding down an hour before bed. Detach yourself from electronic devices as the blue light emitted is telling your brain that it’s time to wake up. Use that time for meditation, taking a relaxing bath, or reading. Relaxing lets your body know that it’s time for sleep.
Sleep shouldn’t be the first thing that we sacrifice when we feel that we have a lot on our plates. If you allow your brain and body to relax, you may find that you’re able to complete your tasks much more quickly as your brain has had the opportunity to process and problem-solve during your overnight hours. Far too often, we feel that if we try to stay up longer, we can get things done, but truthfully, we’re only sabotaging ourselves.
We often say how much we’d love to feel like kids again. We can start relating to our younger selves by getting in the bed earlier and ensuring that we’re getting the right amount of sleep to repair our bodies and our minds.
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Article Sources:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why
http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/diagnosis-and-treatment/healthy-sleep/what-happens-during-sleep.html#
http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx
http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/502825
http://time.com/3183183/best-time-to-sleep/
http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/sleep/5-steps-to-a-perfect-nights-sleep/
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/how-alcohol-affects-sleep
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleep-newzzz/201309/better-sleep-found-exercising-regular-basis-0
