WORLD Sleep Day is today, March 15 and what better time to stretch, yawn, wiggle your toes and reflect on your sleep and your ‘sleep hygiene’ - how you prepare and organise your plan to get good sleep.
Adults spend a third of each day sleeping, on average, which suggests that it is not a very complicated undertaking and that it does not warrant much concern. However, if your sleep routine is disturbed, it can have a negative impact on your health, mood and daily function.
Sleep deprivation is the term associated with an ongoing loss of sleep, or poor sleep. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart attack), cerebrovascular disease (e.g. stroke), obesity, diabetes, cancer, depression and more.
Sleep is a normal body process and the benefits of good sleep are inestimable, I think we all know the great feeling when you’ve had a night of good restorative sleep. But why do we need to sleep?
To rest: To gain relief from our daily active state To heal: Our body and immune system need to heal each day. Sleep deprivation affects our metabolism therefore, sleep may help us save energy for when we need it most.
To learn: Sleep may help our brains to get better organised by filing away important memories and discarding unwanted information.
To dream: Dreaming is a by-product of REM (Rapid Eye Movement).
We measure sleep by checking duration (how long you are sleeping), regularity (are you getting good sleep frequently), timing (time of day or night) and quality (is sleep broken and is it restful). The easiest measurement to record is duration, or how long did you sleep.
Inadequate sleep can have a detrimental effect to our health and can increase the risk of many diseases.
Less than five hours sleep per day has been associated with cardiovascular issues, diabetes and obesity. Poor sleep quality can also be linked to poor mental health, including depression and anxiety.
Effects of sleep deprivation include irritability, cognitive impairment, memory lapses or loss; impaired moral judgement, severe yawning, hallucinations, symptoms similar to ADHD, impaired immune system, risk of Type 2 diabetes, increased risk of heart disease, tremors, aches, decreased reaction times, growth suppression, risk of obesity and decreased temperature.
So, how much sleep do we need?
Everybody is different; 20% of people are night owls, 10% are morning larks and the other 70% are somewhere in between. This table provides an outline of sleep requirements throughout the lifecycle:
Cortisol is an essential body hormone that is associated with ‘fight or flight’. Cortisol is produced in the adrenal glands and the pituitary gland regulates its production. It is one of the hormones that helps regulate your body to stress.
In normal daily life, it peaks and troughs in a cyclical pattern known as the circadian rhythm. Cortisol levels peak at noon and are at their lowest around midnight. Good sense would indicate that synchronising your sleep patterns with this natural rhythm will support better sleep, so going to bed early at 9 or 10pm takes advantage of the natural dip in hormone levels.
The benefits of regular exercise are far-reaching, reducing the risks and effects of many diseases - both physical and mental. Adults are recommended to undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week. Moderate exercise is movement where you feel warm, your heart rate and breathing rate rise, but you can still talk - a good example is fast walking or dancing. Exercise has been shown to improve sleep quality too, which is important to know as you establish your plan for improving your sleep.
Sleep should be simple and all this might all seem like common sense but there is nothing more debilitating than being sleep deprived, or suffering with insomnia for a prolonged period of time.
Very small changes can make a huge difference to your sleep hygiene and ultimately – a restful night. If, however, you upgrade your sleep hygiene and find that you are still having difficulties, don’t hesitate to consult your GP.
Nobody should feel that sleeplessness is something they simply have to endure!
SLEEP TIPS FOR BEFORE YOU GO
TO BED
DO:
DON’T
(Special thanks to Dr Seán McKenna PhD, MBA, BSc(Physio) Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist MSK Triage HSE)
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15.03.2024
WORLD Sleep Day is today, March 15 and what better time to stretch, yawn, wiggle your toes and reflect on your sleep and your ‘sleep hygiene’ - how you prepare and organise your plan to get good sleep.
Adults spend a third of each day sleeping, on average, which suggests that it is not a very complicated undertaking and that it does not warrant much concern. However, if your sleep routine is disturbed, it can have a negative impact on your health, mood and daily function.
Sleep deprivation is the term associated with an ongoing loss of sleep, or poor sleep. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart attack), cerebrovascular disease (e.g. stroke), obesity, diabetes, cancer, depression and more.
Sleep is a normal body process and the benefits of good sleep are inestimable, I think we all know the great feeling when you’ve had a night of good restorative sleep. But why do we need to sleep?
To rest: To gain relief from our daily active state To heal: Our body and immune system need to heal each day. Sleep deprivation affects our metabolism therefore, sleep may help us save........
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