“Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain. Many people walk through their lives in an underslept state, not realizing it.”
Sleep is CRUCIAL. Animals, including humans, die of sleep deprivation sooner than they will of starvation.
Without proper sleep, many chronic diseases worsen significantly, including dementia which is on a dramatic rise in all developed countries.
Just like any other part of the body, the brain builds up debris. It is washed away by the lymphatics of the brain but this cleansing system is only active when we sleep. With a proper night of sleep, the brain actually shrinks by as much as 65% to allow this process to function more efficiently.
Amyloid is the most concerning type of debris which builds up in the brain and excessive amounts impair nerve function leading to dementia. Even 1 night of poor sleep not only causes the cells responsible for this cleaning process to stop clearing the amyloid away, but it switches their function into a destructive one, breaking down healthy tissues.
In addition to cognitive changes and dementia, many other health issues are affected by poor sleep. The day after Winter Daylight Savings Time, when you lose only 1 hour of sleep, there is a 24% rise in heart attacks. The reverse happens when we gain an hour. Similar increases and decreases are also seen in the number of road accidents and even in the suicide rate.
Only 4 hours of sleep deprivation results in a 70% decrease in production of natural killer cells, immune cells responsible for looking for and destroying cancer and other unhealthy cells which are generated in the body on a daily basis.
One study showed that sleeping 6 hours or less negatively affected over 700 genes. Those associated with chronic inflammation, stress, cardiovascular disease and cancer were activated while genes associated with immune system protection and metabolic stability were turned off.
Various compounds such as hormones are secreted mostly at night when we sleep. When sleep is disrupted, they can’t function normally. For example, at least 3 hormones responsible for apatite management malfunction with poor sleep, contributing significantly to weight gain. We also produce 95% of our growth hormone during sleep, mostly between 10pm and midnight.
There are 4 equally important stages of sleep and we move from one stage to another with each cycle lasting about 90 minutes. As the night progresses, the amount of time spent in different stages changes. Many different restorative functions occur during specific stages of sleep. For example, it’s during REM, or rapid eye movement sleep that we transfer short term memories and knowledge accumulated during the day into more permanent memories. That stage increases during the night so if you don’t sleep long enough, your short term memory quickly becomes impaired.
Almost 20% of Americans take something to help with sleep but drugs are not the answer. They almost all put you to sleep, but the quality of your sleep is just as bad, if not worse. Almost all of them disrupt the normal progressive patterns of sleep. One of the few exceptions to this is the mineral Magnesium, which is important for good sleep but is deficient in almost half of Americans because of the lack of enough fruits and vegetables in their diet.
So what are the top behaviors which impact on sleep quality?:
REGULARITY AND CONSISTENCY. Waking up at the same time every day is the most important habit to develop to improve sleep quality. It’s more important than going to sleep at the same time.
DIM THE LIGHTS. We evolved going to bed when the sun went down and getting up when the sun rose. The concept of “night owls” is a myth and is a byproduct of artificial light exposure. As the light diminishes, the levels of the sleepiness hormone melatonin increases. Light exposure, whether natural or artificial, slows that rise and impairs how quickly you are able to get to sleep and worsens sleep quality. Dim the lights and stop looking at ANY screen at least an hour before bed. Staring at a TV, iPad or iPhone for an hour before bed decreases production of melatonin by 50% and delays its peak production by 3 hours.
More importantly, devices overstimulate the brain which is the opposite of what our brains should be doing in preparation for sleep.
GET AMPLE MORNING LIGHT. As important as it is to turn down the lights at night, it is equally important to reset our internal clocks by getting some sunshine as soon as possible after we get up.
STRESS REDUCTION TECHNIQUES like prayer and meditation slow down the brain and help induce sleep.
LIMIT CAFFEINE. Caffeine is a stimulant and is eliminated very slowly from the body. Although it may not prevent some of you from falling asleep, it definitely fragments and causes poor sleep quality. Try not to consume any after lunchtime. Even decaffeinated beverages can still have a significant amount of caffeine depending on how they are decaffeinated.
LIMIT ALCOHOL. Even one drink will impact sleep quality. Although initially alcohol is a sedative, its breakdown products are stimulants. It also causes sleep fragmentation and suppresses REM dream stages of sleep. Alcohol also makes you pee more, which disrupts sleep and it leads to brain dehydration, contributing to headaches and fatigue.
EXERCISE. It’s great for you and does help you sleep, just don’t do it within a few hours of sleep. The adrenaline which is produced during heavy exercise is a stimulant.
Keep the bedroom as DARK as possible. Using an eye mask can be helpful if your blinds are not light blocking.
KEEP THE TEMPERATURE COOL. Although some people love the feeling of warm blankets, they work better if the room itself is cool, ideally around 68 degrees. Elevated body core temperature impairs sleep. One way to cool your core is by taking a bath or warm shower before bed.
SLEEP ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. Melatonin actually slows digestion and digestion reduces melatonin production. It’s a loop. Eating late also causes reflux which affects sleep quality. Don’t consume anything at least 2 hours before bed.
If despite all your efforts, you can’t sleep for more than 20′, it’s better to get up and do some reading or something light. The brain is an incredibly associative organ and you don’t want the brain to think that the bed is a place to lay awake ruminating about things and not sleeping. The same goes for having a TV in the bedroom.
The bottom line is that sleep is very important for your overall health and getting into patterns which produce natural sleep of appropriate duration should be the goal.
There is a lot more information about sleep and ways to improve it on my website doctorchuma.com
Have a great weekend and happy Father’s Day.