I had a weird night’s sleep last night. Being a daily blogger now, this kind of thing makes me want to write about how important sleep is to our general health and fitness. Thank goodness I receive the IDEA Fitness Journal and can read articles about sleep!
First, we know we feel better when we get enough sleep. But are you aware of all the physiological things that happen when we don’t get enough sleep?
Sleep serves three main functions for our bodies:
- It serves as energy restoration period from daytime activities (recharge!)
- It affords bodily protection at night when sensory capacities are down-regulated and
- It affords the brain needed time to consolidate important experiences and memories for learning
So how much does the average person need to sleep to reap the benefits? Most adult men and women need 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Infants need 14-15 hours, toddlers need 12-14 hours, preschoolers 11-13 and school-age kids 10-11 hours. (My cats need 20+ but that’s a different story.)
However, if you don’t get adequate sleep you will fall into the “chronic sleep restriction” category and susceptible to impaired metabolic and neuroendocrine function, glucose regulation, and waking behavior.
Ick.
With an elevated sympathetic nervous system resulting from a chronic lack of adequate sleep, evening cortisol production increases. This has shown to increase food intake and the accumulation of abdominal fat.
Double ick.
More critical than cortisol, however, is the interference with glucose metabolism that chronic sleep restriction causes, establishing a high association between sleep debt and [type two] diabetes.
Quadruple ick.
You’ve probably noticed in your own life that when you get tired you begin looking for external help: many people begin to consume more high-energy foods and drinks when they suffer from chronic sleep. Additionally, the fatigue one feels inhibits physical activity and increased sedentary behavior—just what you DON’T need when you are dealing with increased cortisol production and impaired glucose metabolism!
Fortunately, there are many options for us to create good sleep opportunities for ourselves and our family members. The University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter (2008) offers the following suggestions:
- Cut down on caffeine consumption in the late afternoon and evening.
- Do not smoke or use any other products with nicotine before bed, as nicotine keeps many people awake. [Don’t even get me started on this one!!]
- Create a “noise-free” sleeping environment.
- Create a sleep-friendly bedroom by doing the following: use comfortable linens and pillows, put up darker shades, replace a worn-out mattress and keep the bedroom cool during sleep hours.
- Drink fewer fluids after dinner, to minimize trips to the restroom.
- Attempt to deal with stressful issues during the day and put them away at night (seek professional consultation as necessary).
- Set a regular time to go to bed and a consistent time to wake up. Keep to this schedule.
- Avoid brining work projects and personal paperwork to bed.
- Avoid bringing food to bed.
- Limit naps to a maximum of 30 minutes and try to take naps earlier in the day.
Good luck, sleepy heads!
