Sweet Dreams – The Importance of Sleep
Sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. Not only does the quantity of your sleep matter, but the quality of your sleep is important as well.
What research has found is that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout the night. Our brains stay active
throughout sleep with different things happening during each stage. For example, there are stages that help us learn or make memories and others that help us feel rested and energetic the next day. Studies show that people who are taught mentally challenging tasks actually do better after a good night’s sleep. Sleep is needed for creative problem solving.
40 Winks – How much is Enough?
Sleep needs vary from one person to the next, and can change as we age. Most individuals need 7-8 hours per night. Newborns sleep approximately 16-18 hours a day, with preschool children sleeping between 10-12 hours a day. As people age, they often get less sleep or they tend to spend less time in the deep, restful stages of sleep.
Reasons to Get Enough Sleep – Sleep Preserves and Restores the Body
Learning and Memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
Metabolism and Weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, road accidents, and poor judgment.
Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
Cardiovascular Health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
The Harvard Women’s Health Watch
In the Workplace – Why it Matters
Lack of sleep can be an expected consequence in the workplace. However, studies have shown that healthier and more productive employees need good sleep habits. Presenteeism, interpersonal difficulties, and absenteeism are all affected by fatigue and lack of sleep. The result is employees who are less focused, more irritable, may have poor judgment skills, and call in sick more often.
Tips for Better Sleep
- Stick to a schedule – even on the weekends
- Exercise, but not too late in the day
- Avoid caffeine and nicotine – it can take approximately 8 hours to wear off
- Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed – alcohol keeps you in the lighter stages of sleep
- No naps after 3 pm – not lasting longer than an hour long
- Relax before bed – take time to unwind, read a book, listen to music, take a hot bath
- Good sleeping environment – turn of the TV, lights, computers. A cooler room is better for sleep
- Don’t lie in bed awake – if you are still awake after more than 20 minutes, get up and do some relaxing activity until you are sleepy
- If you continue to have trouble with your sleep, consult with your physician
Remember: Sleep is Too Important to Shortchange!
Resources:
Harvard Health Publications
American Psychological Association
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health National Center for Sleep Disorders Research
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The Wellness Council of America
