week 9 focus: sleep

From birth, we spend a third of our lives asleep! Sleep is something we all do because we simply can’t operate without it. A National Sleep Foundation (NSF) Sleep in America poll found that 74% of American adults are experiencing a sleeping problem a few nights a week or more, 39% get less than 7 hours of sleep each weeknight and more than one in three (37%) are so sleepy during the day that it interferes with daily activities. Animal studies have even shown that sleep is necessary for survival. The normal life span of rats is 2-3 years. However, rats deprived of sleep live for only about 3 weeks. Charles Czeisler of Harvard has noted that going without sleep for 24 hours or getting only 5 hours of sleep a night for a week is the equivalent of a blood alcohol level of .01 percent! The bottom line is this: If you don’t get enough sleep at night, you don’t function at full capacity during the day.

Sleep is a complicated phenomenon that scientists don’t fully understand. It affects our physical and mental health and is essential for the normal functioning of all the systems of our body, including the immune system. It is a dynamic process in which our brains are active. During sleep, there are 2 distinct states that alternate in cycles and reflect differing levels of neuronal activity. Each state is characterized by a different type of brain wave activity. These phases consist of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). NREM is subdivided into 4 more groups: stage 1 (light sleep, 5-10% of total sleep time), stage 2 (40-50% of total sleep time), and stages 3 and 4 (deep sleep, together represent up to 20% total sleep time). REM sleep represents 20-25% of the total sleep time. The stages of NREM and REM sleep cycle over and over again during a night’s sleep. A complete sleep cycle, from beginning to end, usually takes about 1 ½ hours. This cycle repeats up to 4-5 times per 8 hour sleep.

The average amount of sleep experts generally recommend is between 7-9 hours per night for adults, teenagers require 8-10 hours, and children need 10-12. The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:
1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
2. 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.
3. 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, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. 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.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Here are a few tips from the NSF for healthier sleeping habits:
1. Establish a consistent schedule for the time you go to bed and wake up.
2. Learn how much sleep you need to awake feeling refreshed, and be sure to get it.
3. As soon as you get out of bed, get into some daylight. Light helps our bodies know when it’s time to wake up.
4. Schedule some “down time” before you go to bed, so you can be relaxed enough to fall asleep.
5. Don’t fall asleep with the TV on. The flickering light will interfere with your restful sleep. Better yet, don’t delay bedtime to watch TV or surf the internet.
6. Always avoid all-nighters. A good night’s sleep will be of more use to you than last minute cramming will.
7. Never drive when you are sleepy.

So this week, let's "cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that [we] may not be weary; arise early, that [our] bodies and [our] minds may be invigorated." (Doc. & Cov. 88:124)

Sweet Dreams!