This article describes why sleep is an important part of a healthy life.
Seven to eight hours a day should be devoted to sleep and the lack of it affects our mood, diet, attention span, and our mortality. There are many areas in our lives where we can take short-cuts to add time and convenience to our lives but cutting sleep should not be one of them. Chronic sleep deprivation creates a sleep deficit that must be paid back or we could succumb to stress and disease. To have a better understanding of why we need quality sleep, see the description of the basic sleep stages and cycles that occur until we wake.
Sleep Cycles
Non-REM sleep includes light and deep sleep. Light sleep can account for half of our average sleep. Our brain, organs, and muscles rebuild themselves at this stage. Our immune system, our blood, and our skeleton also go through a repair and rejuvenation process.
Deep sleep is most prevalent in the first four hours of sleep. This is important because during deep sleep our brain clears out metabolic waste, and our memory abilities are improved. Without deep sleep, the risk of early dementia can increase. This is also the stage where we secrete the most growth hormones.
REM sleep happens after the initial non-REM stages and by early morning, our REM becomes more prevalent until we wake. REM is important for pain management and for adapting to new situations. Our brain activity increases and dreams can be vivid in this stage. Emotional regulation of stress improves when we achieve proper REM sleep.
Millions of people report poor sleep with either an inability to fall asleep quickly or waking up multiple times at night. This can create a sleep deficit which can hinder repairs and have an effect on our circadian rhythms. Those rhythms control our hormone release throughout the day and night. The timing and reabsorption of stress hormones is important because stress levels needs to fall at night. Relaxation hormones like serotonin and melatonin need to rise so we can relax and fall asleep again.
If we cut enough sleep out of our schedules, it will also result in the reduction of glucose to the brain. That can affect decision making, physical coordination and even driving. It should be mentioned that a chronic sleep debit also makes us more prone to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety.
Habits that Negatively Affect our Sleep
- Consuming alcohol several hours before bed. Alcohol keeps us in the light sleep cycle and this reduces growth hormone production, slowing down our bodies healing. Alcohol also triggers the release of the stress hormone dynorphin which is associated with negative emotional states and prohibits us from getting REM sleep.
- Not getting enough sunlight. Sunlight helps our circadian rhythms operate on a schedule. Stress hormone levels can stay higher at night when we don’t get enough sunlight. Serotonin and melatonin levels won’t rise enough which can make it difficult to fall asleep again.
- Not getting enough exercise. Having a faithful exercise routine breaks down stress hormones and raises our serotonin levels throughout the day. Feelings of relaxation after exercise are increased and cardiovascular strengthening helps your body regulate temperature at night.
- Sleeping with our smartphones on and in our beds. Our phones can be very distracting when we are trying to relax for sleep, and the (blue) light from our phones is known to disrupt sleep. It’s also important to disconnect at night from the electromagnetic energy that our phones produce.
Habits to Improve Sleep
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Pay attention to how many hours of sleep you need, and what time of day you need to go to bed. Not everyone needs eight hours of sleep but we do need to fall sleep and stay asleep at the same time most days. Often, we need a winding down routine so we get tired naturally at the same time each day. Meditating or reading can be very helpful to induce sleep.
- Find a few sleeping positions that help you sleep. Many sleeping positions, like how you sleep on a couch or sleeping with your arm extended, can restrict blood flow to the neck and shoulders. This can cause fatigue that will wake you up. To fix this, experiment and try different sleeping positions and pillows of different firmnesses. Don’t sleep with your neck bent and head angled upward. Sleeping on your back or side with your arms down generally gives you better sleep once you learn the new positions.
- Keep your bedroom cool at night. Even though our body temperature fluctuates as we sleep, if you get too warm and sweat you may wake up. We tend to stay sleep better in colder rooms. It’s much easier to layer your blankets to your comfort level than it is to keep getting up to change the thermostat.
- Invest in massage therapy. You can book regular massages in the evening and they can induce a great night of sleep. People from cultures all over the world use massage to improve sleep quality. You will sleep better the next day after a good massage. That is because a massage increases serotonin production. Doctors today routinely prescribe massage therapy for insomnia.
Conclusion
Sleep is not an inconvenience in our busy lives. It relieves stress, repairs tissues, and is a natural state that balances our hormones and keeps us healthy. When chronic sleep deprivation causes a sleep deficit, injuries and disease can follow. Basic life coping skills also diminish quickly when we are sleep deprived. There are easy steps you can take to help improve your sleep. It just takes a little time and practice.
Content contributed by Julanne Tutty. LMT – Salem, MA – Contact Info