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Sleep:
Are you getting enough?
The
Function of Sleep
Risky Consequences from Sleeplessness
Is Lifestyle the Culprit?
Who is Most Affected?
Crib Sheet
True or false?
- The elderly
don't need as much sleep as younger people.
- Bleary-eyed
drivers can stay awake better by cranking up the car stereo and
rolling down the windows.
- Nighttime
shift workers eventually readjust to their late hours.
- Boredom makes
you tired.
They're all
false. But if you got them wrong, you're not alone. A recent telephone
survey of 1,027 people conducted by the National
Sleep Foundation found that 85 percent failed a simple 12-question
quiz on sleep. Not only did they "flunk the exam," but
two-thirds of those polled also reported sleeping difficulties.
Most people
need eight hours of sound sleep to function at their best, but Americans
are averaging only about seven hours of sleep a night. One in three
gets only six hours a night.
The
Function of Sleep
Why IS sleep so critical to our well-being? If resting in bed were
all it took to recharge body and mind for the coming day, insomniacs
could take in their favorite late night television and start the
next day fresh. But surprisingly, it's not how much sleep you get
that's important—it's the level of sleep you achieve that
truly restores you, body and mind.
Sleep can be
divided into two crucial phases:
- Non-rapid
eye movement sleep (NREM) sleep takes up 80 percent of the average
dreamer's night. The earliest phase of NREM sleep begins with
general relaxation of muscles. This relaxed state eventually culminates
in the deepest sleep level when protein synthesis, growth hormones,
immune function and the mind are given a boost. Delta waves—the
slowest and largest waves—signal the onset of this most
rejuvenating sleep level, which constitutes 50 percent of the
an adult's sleep time.
- Rapid eye
movement sleep (REM) sleep takes up about 25 percent of an average
sleeper's night, and is the period that proves most restorative
to the mind. Dreams that occur during REM sleep provide, in a
sense, a sorting through of free-floating information. Prolonged
REM deprivation has been linked to excessively anxious or emotional
behavior that dissipates once more regular sleeping habits are
achieved. REM sleep is the most important period for mental revitalization.
Risky
Consequences from Sleeplessness
According to the National Sleep Foundation, an estimated $100 billion
is lost yearly in productivity, sick leave, medical expenses, and
property and environmental damage because of sleep deprivation and
untreated sleep disorders. It's more than a simple matter of dragging
yourself through the day. On-the-job dozing can dearly cost the
sleep-deprived worker and those around him. For example, the environmentally
disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska reportedly involved
the sleepiness of the tanker's third-mate.
The problem
also hits much closer to home. Driver fatigue has been identified
as the greatest accident risk factor affecting motor carriers. Furthermore,
the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than
100,000 crashes per year are caused by drivers nodding off behind
the wheel and that thousands die as the result of such accidents.
The National
Sleep Foundation's poll even found that 23 percent of those questioned
had dozed off while driving some time in the past year. It would
seem that people know not to drive drunk but not to refrain from
driving tired. Rolled-down windows, the car's blaring stereo, and
a strong cup of Joe is not going to restore all the alertness necessary
for safe driving. If your eyes are closing on you, the only surefire
way to save your life as well as others' is to pull over to the
side of the road and give in to sleep.
Is Lifestyle
the Culprit?
How is it that there is an epidemic of sleepiness so severe in the
United States that it kills people regularly? In the first decade
of this century—prior to the widespread usage of electricity—Americans
basically bedded down at nightfall. Since then, they have lived
increasingly longer days. They also lead driven lifestyles, attempting
to balance successful career and home lives. The exhausting modern
schedule leaves little time for the "luxury" of sleep.
Today's lifestyle
is so busy that people often don't have the time to recognize the
symptoms of fatigue unless they're at a task that bores them. This
has given rise to the notion that boredom brings on sleepiness.
In truth, boredom only brings sleepiness to your attention.
Who
is Most Affected?
Late shift workers. Not only do Americans
give up a good night's rest in an attempt to keep up with the hectic
pace of the electronic age, many, including late shift health care,
military and public safety workers, nuclear power plant operators,
medical residents, and long-haul truck drivers, are building daily
schedules against the body's natural circadian rhythm. That rhythm
dictates that the longest period of sleepiness occurs during the
hours of 1–6 a.m. Thus, people who work the late shift lose
out on the time that the body is programmed for the deepest and
most beneficial sleep.
Older adults.
The elderly, too, cope with a special set of difficulties that keeps
them from getting the sleep they need. Aging brings on a host of
health-related problems that interrupt sleep, such as pain from
arthritis, medications with
side effects that disturb rest, or depression
brought on by the discomforts of the aging process. More than any
other population, the elderly rely on medications that keep them
up at night. Moreover, a more sedentary lifestyle doesn't allow
for the expenditure of energy that results in restful sleep. Last,
a slowing of what is known as delta wave activity in the brain doesn't
allow for the same degree of deep sleep per night as enjoyed in
youth.
But none of
this means in any way that the elderly don't need as much rest as
everyone else. The combination of conditions that change the sleep
habits of the elderly only indicates that they need to alter their
sleep habits so that they get enough shut-eye.
Crib
Sheet
In general, people are so used to going without enough sleep that
they don't recognize that their sleeping habits make sound slumber
unlikely. Following these simple tips will help you settle down
for a good night's rest. To improve the quality of your sleep as
well as to get more restful sleep:
- Avoid caffeine,
nicotine, alcohol or exercise at least four hours before bedtime.
Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, and alcohol, though a depressant
that makes falling asleep easier initially, interferes with deep
sleep later on during the night. Exercise also acts as a stimulant,
but a workout earlier in the day can improve nighttime rest.
- Leave worrying
outside the bed. If you stay awake worrying about things you have
to tackle the next day, write out a list of "to-dos"
to take the pressure off. Then put the list aside to deal with
the next day.
- Keep other
activities out of the bedroom. Don't confuse your bedroom with
your family room. Keep your television viewing and Net surfing
out of your sleeping quarters. You need to associate your bedroom
with sleep and not activities that will keep your mind engaged.
- Don't try
to "force" yourself to sleep. You'll just lie awake
staring at the clock. After 20 minutes of wakefulness, go to another
room to read or watch TV. Return to your bedroom only when you've
become tired enough to sleep.
- Temperature
counts. Keep your bedroom set up for a restful night's sleep with
a comfortable mattress and proper temperature setting. A too-hot
or too-cold room can keep you awake.
- Reduce noise
levels. Apartment-dwellers with noisy neighbors or those on heavily
trafficked streets can block out noise with a fan or sound-simulating
machine that mimic nature sounds (such as the ocean or rain).
- Avoid stimulation
before sleeping. Try not to engage in anything that will give
you a second wind just before bed, such as viewing an action-packed
movie or sitting in a brightly lit room. Instead, try listening
to soothing music or reading.
- Slow down.
Don't hurriedly get ready for bed at the last minute. Do your
washing up and teeth-brushing a while in advance. Try to stick
with an early-to-bed, early-to-rise pattern. That way, you won't
go to bed too late during the work week and need an alarm clock
each morning to wake you out of a sound sleep.
If you're troubled
with chronic difficulties falling asleep—or staying asleep—see
a doctor. You may discover, for example, that what seems like simple
snoring is actually sleep
apnea, a treatable condition that repeatedly rouses an estimated
18 million Americans from their dreams during the night.
Other sleep
disorders, such as restless
legs syndrome (involuntary jerking of the legs just when drifting
off) and narcolepsy (sleepiness
varying in intensity from weakness when laughing to feeling as though
you could sleep endlessly without feeling sated) should also be
discussed with your physician.
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