Better Sleep? The Why, What, and How
Written by Marci Renée
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
My husband is an “early bird,” and I am a “night owl.” I guess that means I usually miss the worm, because the saying goes . . . “The early bird gets the worm!”
My husband goes to bed at 11 p.m. every night and sets his alarm for 7 a.m. every day. He gets his eight hours of sleep every night—consistently. He takes care of himself in that way.
On the other hand, I love to stay up late and work. The house is quiet, everyone is in bed. It’s one of my most productive times of the day—or so it seems. I end up heading to bed anywhere between 12-2 a.m., when I eventually start to doze off at my computer.
This late night schedule may have worked during the summer months. When the kids were sleeping in late, so could I. However, now that school has started up again, we all have to wake up at 7 a.m.—no exceptions—in order to get everyone out the door on time.
My 5-7 hours of sleep a night have quickly caught up with me. I am sleep deficient. I am not taking care of myself.
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Reasons for Sleep Deficiency
1. You don’t get enough sleep.
The amount of sleep needed changes over the course of one’s life and also varies from person to person.
See table for American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommendations, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
2. You sleep at the wrong time of day.
You are not in sync with your body’s natural clock that typically has a 24-hour repeating rhythm called the circadian rhythm. There are two processes that interact to control this rhythm.
The first is a pressure to sleep that builds with every hour that you're awake, reaching a peak in the evening. This is linked to the level of adenosine in the brain that rises throughout the day.
The second process is related to our internal body clock, which is in sync with certain environmental cues such as light and darkness. Light received through your eyes signals to your brain that it is daytime, causing your body to release cortisol—a hormone that tells your body it’s time to wake up. On the other hand, in darkness, your body releases a hormone called melatonin which tells your body that it’s time to sleep. When you force yourself to stay up past the time your body tells you to sleep, you may be out of rhythm with this natural sleep cycle.
3. You don’t sleep well, so you don’t get enough of the two basic types of needed sleep—rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM. Non-REM sleep is what we call “deep sleep.” You typically dream during REM sleep. These two types of sleep occur in a regular pattern of 3-5 cycles each night. Not sleeping well can occur for many reasons: sickness, anxiety, over-stimulation, work/study schedules, sleep disorders, etc.
4. You have a sleep disorder such as insomnia, sleep apnea, etc.
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I’m Not the Only One
It seems that I’m not the only one who is sleep deficient. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, this has become a common public health problem, with people of all ages reporting that they don’t get enough sleep.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. conducted a health survey that revealed 7-19% of adults don’t get enough sleep every day. Forty percent of the adults reported falling asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month, and an estimated 50-70 million reported chronic sleep disorder.
Some believe the myth that people can get by with inadequate sleep with no negative effects. However, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Sleep deficiency is linked to many chronic health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression.”
It is also associated with an increased risk of injury in adults, teens, and children—often related to accidents caused by driver sleepiness and human error.
10 Reasons Why Good Sleep is Important—Healthline
1. Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain.
“In one extensive review study, children and adults with short sleep duration were 89% and 55% more likely to become obese, respectively. The effect of sleep on weight gain is believed to be mediated by numerous factors, including hormones and motivation to exercise.”
2. Good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories.
“Sleep deprivation disrupts the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones and is believed to cause poor appetite regulation. This includes higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, and reduced levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite.”
3. Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity.
4. Good sleep can maximize athletic performance.
5. Poor sleepers have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.
6. Sleep affects glucose metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes risk.
“Experimental sleep restriction affects blood sugar and reduces insulin sensitivity. In a study in healthy young men, restricting sleep to four hours per night for six nights in a row caused symptoms of prediabetes. Poor sleep habits are also strongly linked to adverse effects on blood sugar in the general population.”
7. Poor sleep is linked to depression.
Ninety percent of people with depression report poor sleep habits, and there seems to be an increasing risk of suicide among those with poor sleep.
8. Sleep improves your immune function.
“Those who slept less than seven hours were almost three times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept eight hours or more.”
9. Poor sleep is linked to increased inflammation throughout the body.
10. Sleep affects emotions and social interactions.
Lack of sleep reduces your ability to interact socially and can affect your ability to process social cues and to process emotional information.
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Signs that you may be sleep deficient?
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, here are some questions that you can ask to evaluate yourself and those around you:
—Do I often doze off when sitting in front of the television, driving in a car, sitting quietly after lunch, sitting in traffic, etc.?
—Do I notice that I have a hard time making decisions, solving problems, remembering things?
—Does it take me longer to finish tasks? Do I have a hard time focusing and tend to make a lot of little mistakes?
—Do I find it hard to control my emotions and reactions? Is it hard for me to adjust to change?
Regarding children . . .
—Does my child seem overly excited and active? Do they have a hard time paying attention? Do they seem to often misbehave? Is their school performance suffering?
—Does my child seem angry and impulsive, with mood swings? Do they seem sad or depressed, with a lack of motivation?
How to Improve My Sleep Habits?
Healthline gives some strategies to help improve your sleep habits:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. For children, have a set bedtime routine.
Try to keep the same sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends. Limit the difference to no more than an hour.
Use the hour before bed for quiet time. Avoid strenuous exercise and bright artificial light, such as from a TV or computer screen.
Avoid heavy and/or large meals within a couple hours of bedtime. (Having a light snack is okay.) Also, avoid alcoholic drinks before bed.
Avoid caffeine (including caffeinated soda, coffee, tea, and chocolate). The effects of caffeine can last as long as 8 hours, so a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard for you to fall asleep at night.
Spend time outside every day and be physically active.
Keep your bedroom quiet, cool, and dark (a dim night light is fine).
Take a hot bath or use relaxation techniques before bed.
Asilah Beach Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
I don’t know about you, but I have to make some changes. I have to start caring better for myself—starting in the area of sleep. In my busy life (and I’m sure in yours, too!), it seems that sleep is often the first thing that I squeeze out of my schedule. However, by doing that, I’m actually hurting myself—physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, and even my level of work productivity.
Tonight, I’m setting two alarms—one to tell me to go to bed at 11 p.m. and one to tell me to wake up at 7 a.m. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to surprise my husband. I’m going to catch the worm!
