Have you slept regularly last week? Can you recall the last time you woke up completely refreshed yourself and did not have to get back on your feet with coffee? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you are in good company. Two-thirds of adults living in developed countries do not sleep the recommended eight hours a day.
I doubt the consequences will surprise you. Regular sleep lasting less than six or seven hours a day destroys the immune system and more than doubles the risk of cancer. Insufficient sleep is the most important lifestyle factor affecting the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Insufficient sleep – even a moderate shortening of its length for just a week – disturbs sugar levels so much that a person may be diagnosed with the initial stage of diabetes. A short sleep increases the risk of coronary artery sticking and narrowing, which eventually leads to coronary artery disease, stroke and congestive heart failure.
Sleep disturbance also contributes to all major psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies.
Have you noticed that fatigue increases hunger? This is not a coincidence. Sleep deficiency increases the level of the hormone responsible for appetite, and at the same time reduces the level of the hormone that accompanies it, which in normal circumstances indicates that we have eaten.
Despite a full stomach, an sleepless man still wants to eat. It’s a reliable way to increase weight in adults and children. What’s worse, if you tried to follow a diet and did not sleep long enough, your efforts will be wasted, because most of the weight loss will come from lean body mass, not fat.
All you have to do is add up the listed consequences, and it is easier to believe in the relationship confirmed by research: the shorter the sleep, the shorter the life. The old saying “I will sleep after death” turns out not to be happy. This approach results in not only shorter lives, but also inferior quality. Sleep deprivation resembles a rubber band: it can be stretched to a point, and then it breaks. Unfortunately, human beings as the only species intentionally deprive themselves of sleep without deriving real profit from it.
All elements of our health – physical and financial – not to mention the innumerable bonds that make up the social fabric, are eroded by neglecting adequate doses of sleep, a problem that has taken on such serious proportions that the World Health Organization has announced an epidemic of sleep deficiency in industrialized countries.
It is where the average sleep time has drastically decreased over the past century, for example in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea and a number of Western European countries, it is no accident that the largest increase in these mental illnesses and disorders is also observed.
The drastic reduction of sleep duration in industrialized societies has a disastrous effect on our health, life expectancy, safety, productivity and education of children. The ever-spreading epidemic of sleep deprivation is the biggest public health challenge that residents of developed countries will have to face in the 21st century.
If we do not want to suspect a sleep shortage and premature deaths resulting from it or deterioration of health, there will have to be a radical change in the individual, cultural, professional and social understanding of the importance of sleep. It’s high time we regained the right to sleep all night without risking the lazy label.
Twelve ways to get a good night’s sleep:
- Sleep at regular times. Every day, go to bed and get up at the same time. As creatures who like repetition, people adapt poorly to changes in sleep hours. Sleeping on weekends will not make up for all the week’s sleep deficiencies, and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday. Set the alarm clock for the time when you should go to bed. Many people use the alarm clock to get up at the right time in the morning, but do not do it in the evening. If you were to remember only one of all twelve pieces of advice, choose this one.
- Physical exercises are of course recommendable, but they should not be started too late. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days, but at most two to three hours before bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, coke, some teas and chocolate contain stimulating caffeine, and its effect sometimes disappears after eight hours. A cup of coffee drunk late in the afternoon can make it difficult to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, which is why many smokers have very light sleep. They often wake up early in the morning because of nicotine deficiency in the body.
- Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, cole, some teas and chocolate contain stimulating caffeine, and its effect sometimes disappears after eight hours. A cup of coffee drunk late in the afternoon can make it difficult to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, which is why many smokers have very light sleep. They often wake up early in the morning because of nicotine deficiency in the body.
- Avoid eating large meals and drinking large amounts of drink late in the evening. You may have a snack, but a large meal may cause stomach upset that will disturb your sleep. Drinking too many drinks will increase the risk that you wake up to go to the bathroom.
- If possible, avoid taking medication that delays sleep or disturbs sleep. Such undesirable effects have some of the often prescribed by doctors for heart disease, pressure and asthma, as well as many widely available (including herbal) medicines for coughs, colds and allergies. If you have trouble sleeping, ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of the medications you are taking are causing insomnia and whether you could take them at other times of the day or early in the evening.
- Avoid naps after 3pm. Naps help catch up in sleep, but if you cut them off in the late afternoon, you may have trouble falling asleep at night.
- Relax before going to bed. Do not fill the whole day with classes – devote some time to relax. Part of the ritual of going to bed should be doing some pleasant activity, such as reading or listening to music.
- Take a hot bath before bedtime. A drop in body temperature that occurs after leaving the bath tub can help bring drowsiness, and the bath itself makes it easier to relax.
- The bedroom should be dark, cool and devoid of gadgets. Remove from it everything that can make it difficult to fall asleep: sound sources, bright lights, uncomfortable bed and high temperature. You will sleep better in a cooler room. A TV, telephone or computer in the bedroom can make it difficult to fall asleep and deprive you of some of the sleep you need. A comfortable mattress and pillow can make you sleep easier. People suffering from insomnia sometimes look at the clock every now and then. Turn him back to bed so that you do not bother thinking about falling for an hour.
- Keep an eye on the right times for sun exposure. Sunlight plays a key role in regulating the daily sleep cycle. Try to stay in natural daylight for at least 30 minutes during the day. If possible, wake up after sunrise or use very bright lighting in the morning. Specialists recommend that people who have trouble falling asleep go out into the sun for an hour in the morning and reduce the lighting in the home before going to bed.
- When sleep does not come, do not lie forever in bed. If you haven’t been able to fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed, or if you are overwhelmed by fear or anxiety, stand up and start doing some relaxing activity until you feel drowsy again. Anxiety about being unable to sleep may make it difficult to fall asleep.
Good luck and till next time!
D.