What Everyone Must Know About SLEEP

Sleep is an integral part of our lives. We need it to stay healthy and productive. Lack of sleep is linked with heart disease, cancer, emotional well-being, obesity, and memory problems. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to feel rested and function at their best. However, in developed nations like UK, USA, and Japan, avg reported sleep time is 6 hr. 49 min, 6 hr. 31 min, and 6 hr. 22 min; that is approximately cutting down sleep by around 15–20%. The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation We sleep in a cycle of around 90 mins, from Rapid eye movement (REM) to Non­ Rapid eye movement (non-REM). The ratio of REM to non-REM changes throughout the night. Each stage has a function and important physiological effect. A lack of sleep can disrupt this natural cycle and cause us to feel drowsy and unfocused the next day, The two most prevalent diseases in the modern developed world are Cancer and Alzheimer’s. A lack of sleep may lead to a build­ up of proteins like beta-amyloid, leading to the development of Alzheimer’s Similarly, the proportion of immune cells (natural killer cells) reduces by 70% when we sleep for just 4 hours. These cells are vital for our immune system to be able to fight infections and prevent us from developing diseases such as cancer. A sleep-deprived person is analogous to a drunk person willing to ride a car; he thinks that he is perfectly fit to drive, but despite this, his brain functions are not as sharp as they would be. To be more specific, a consistent reduction in 20% of deep sleep shortens our age by 20–25 years. Not only this, sleep is also closely linked to mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders.

How to get a good night’s sleep

Our daily habits in the modern world are such that they come in the way of healthy sleep timings and quality. Here are a few changes we can make in our daily lives to get better sleep:

Cut caffeine and alcohol consumption

Caffeine has a half and quarter-life of six and twelve hours respectively. This means that a quarter of caffeine, consumed at the noon, swirls in the brain at midnight. Hence, best to avoid caffeine too late in the day. Try to replace caffeine by walking, getting daylight, or drinking hot water.

Caffeine works by successfully battling with adenosine for the privilege of latching on to adenosine welcome sites-or receptors in the brain. Once caffeine occupies these receptors, however, it does not stimulate them like adenosine, making you sleepy. Rather, caffeine blocks and effectively inactivates the receptors, acting as a masking agent. It’s the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears to shut out a sound. By hijacking and occupying these receptors, caffeine blocks the sleepiness signal normally communicated to the brain by adenosine. The upshot: caffeine tricks you into feeling alert and awake, despite the high levels of adenosine that would otherwise seduce you into sleep. Excerpt from the book Why We Sleep.

Similarly, alcohol is a sedative and sedation is not sleep, in sedation, our brain activity is switched off whereas this is not true while sleeping. Alcohol also fragments our sleep and reduces REM sleep (related to emotional well-being and creativity).

Cut technology consumption before bed

Watching television or using a laptop before going to bed can affect the quality of your sleep negatively. Stimulating the brain with artificial light can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep at night. This can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep at night. Studies show that the use of an iPad for an hour before sleep suppresses melatonin release by 50%, which means the rise of melatonin is delayed by up to 3 hours. Not only this, but it also affects our REM sleep. Also, an individual feels less rested and sleepier throughout the following day.

Therefore, we must dim the lights after evening and stop using screens at least an hour before going to sleep.

Clear your mind before going to bed

Everyone interacts with a lot of information every day, so we have a tendency to think about them constantly. This activates a branch of the nervous system called fight or flight that hinders our sleep. The constant chattering of ideas is the enemy of sleep and two things that are really helpful to reduce stress are meditation and journaling.

Five key pieces of advice for everyone

The author of the book Why We Sleep has mentioned the following key advice repeatedly on different occasions:

• Regulate sleep. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same.

• Dim down the lights in your house at least 1 hour before sleep.

• Keep the ambient temperature low, around 18 to 18.5 C.

• Don’t stay awake in bed; brains should only associate bed with sleep. If you get awake in the middle of the night, move out of bed read a few pages of book and return to bed once you feel sleepy.

• Avoid caffeine at least twelve to sixteen hours before sleep.

Summary

Sleep is the best cure for most of our problems, so why do we compromise on our sleep? Average sleep time has been reduced significantly in the last few decades. Proper sleep can help us to be healthier and manage stress, which can add longevity to our lives. By reducing our dependence on caffeine and taking small steps to actively choose to make sleep a priority in our lives, we can reap the benefits of proper sleep.