The Importance of Sleep

The Importance of Sleep

How much sleep time have we sacrificed to finish a project, to meet a deadline, to work overtime, or just to have fun? “I will sleep more in the weekend to make up for the hours I lost this week” is a common thing we say. Actually, we can’t. Our body can’t restore in a couple of days the amount of sleep we lost in a week.

Why is sleep so important?

We spend approximately 1/3 of our day (1/3 of our life) sleeping; it has to be important right? “Sleep is critical to health, along with a healthy diet and regular exercise,” said Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson. Why’s that? Sleep has a vital effect on brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. While we sleep, our brain forms new pathways to help us learn and remember information. Sleep also plays an important role in our physical health. It affects many systems in our body, such as our immune system, our metabolism and how the body reacts to insulin. It helps us maintain a balance of the hormones that make us feel hungry and full and it affects almost every tissue, from our heart and lungs to our brain.

What are the sleep stages?
There are two types of sleep:
REM sleep
Non-REM sleep

We cycle through the types of REM and non-REM sleep several times during a typical night. A complete sleep cycle takes on average 90 to 110 minutes.

Stage 1
Stage 1 non-REM sleep is a transitional stage. It transits from being wake to getting into sleep. What happens is, your brain waves begin to slow down.

Stage 2
Stage 2 non-REM sleep is the stage before you enter deep sleep and it takes about 45-50% of your repeated sleep cycle.

Stage 3
Stage 3 non-REM sleep is the stage of your deep sleep. Your muscles are relaxed and your heartbeat and breathing are at their lowest levels.

REM sleep
The brain is more active during REM sleep than any other stage sleep. Most of your dreaming occurs during REM sleep.

“Although more than 1/3 of the population is not getting enough sleep, the focus needs to be on achieving the recommended minimum hours of nightly sleep,” said Dr. Watson. Sleep deficiency is a common public health problem in the United States. About 7–19% of adults in the US reported not getting enough rest or sleep every day based on a health survey for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month.

Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a condition that occurs if we don’t get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep has been linked to a high probability of weight gain. It also disturbs the balance of the hormones our body produces during sleep, who are responsible for our appetite, energy metabolism, and glucose processing. Adults who systematically sleep less than 5 hours per night have an increased risk of developing diabetes. Chronic sleep issues have been correlated with anxiety and depression.

Strategies for getting enough sleep

1) Keep a regular sleep-wake cycle. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This will help you set your body’s internal clock and the quality of your sleep. If you sleep enough, you will wake up without an alarm clock and the “key” for that is consistency.

2) Prepare for your sleep.
Avoid caffeine at least 5 hours before bed. Caffeine is stimulant and it can interfere with your sleep.
Avoid big meals at night especially refined carbs and sugar because they trigger wakefulness.
Control your exposure to light. Studies have shown that the use of blue-emitting devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) at bedtime has negative effects due to light stimulation. Instead, you can read a book, listen to relaxing music, or meditate.
Set a colder temperature in your room (about 18C, 65F), which will also help you have quality sleep.

3) Exercise during the day. Exercising during a day increases the amount of time we spend in the deep restorative stages of sleep. Even light exercise, such as 20 minutes of walking can improve the quality of your sleep.
So, by getting enough sleep we increase our focus, our mind is clear and our decision-making skills are sharper than when we lack sleep. We store and remember more information and we become more accurate with better motor and cognitive performance than when we are sleep deprived.

References
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences/sleep-and-disease-risk
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6944959/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1739867/
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6203594/
https://aasm.org/seven-or-more-hours-of-sleep-per-night-a-health-necessity-for-adults/