Day 25: Why Having a Good Night's Sleep = Good Health

My husband is from Northern Ireland. His sardonic British humour comes out in lots of ways. For instance, if he wants a turn watching his favourite TV show and I am on the couch, he is likely to tell me "better go get your sleep or you will get wrinkles". Or, "I see some new wrinkles, better head to bed".

Yes, I am a classic Sleeping Beauty.

 I do my best to go to bed at the same time every night. I try to be asleep by 10:30 p.m. 

In some ways, it might be every married person's dream to have a few hours on his or her own every night thanks to spouse who needs his or her sleep.  To have the couch and TV all to themselves.  Especially for a man. No chatter.  A quiet house with solitude. The channel on what he wants to watch.

I am pro-sleep. 

The people I know who stay up till midnight and then boast to everyone that they can survive with five hours of sleep a night usually look haggard despite what they say.

 Look at politicians.  Obama and his wife apparently wake up at four am to work out.  They both have full days at the White House and then they have functions to attend at night.  Most politicians look really wiped out and age quickly over the years. Yes, there is all the added stress "on the job". Could their hectic round' the clock schedules have something to do with it?

My grandparents all lived into their late eighties and early nineties.  They were "early to bed/early to rise" folks.

Does this mean the night owls are more susceptible to disease?  We all know of people who seem to be able to live off "the minimum number of hours of sleep". 

Frankly, it seems like a badge of honour for some who talk about their all nighters to finish up a late work project, fold laundry or to catch up personal time.

A recent study found that  people who had less than six hours of sleep at night had 50% higher rates of colon cancer.  It's correlational data but the theory is that higher levels of cortisol in the body wreck havoc throughout the body including stimulating  precancerous conditions such as polyps. 

Dr. Oz recommends that most people need to get at least seven or eight hours of sleep a night in order to stay healthy and keep weight off. Why? 

The less sleep you have, the more likely your cortisol stress hormones will rise which in turn make you hungrier, you eat more and gain belly fat.

Restorative sleep helps you stay wrinkle-free, boosts your immunity and helps regulate your hormones.

The big no-nos when it comes to sleep: Don't have a TV in your bedroom. Keep your bedroom for sleep and other adult night-time activities that involve turning on your internal converter. Watching TV before bed, keeping bright lights on, working on the computer....are all activities which mess up the melatonin production and levels in your body which regulate sleep cycles.  Dr. Oz even suggests dimming the lights on LED alarm clocks and other devices because those lights stimulate your body to be in an awake state.

If you need an alarm to wake up or find yourself dozing on the couch, stop making excuses.  You are sleep deprived according to research.  In fact, the longer you go without adequate sleep, the more likely your memory and reaction time is. Which influences your productivity, energy levels and safety issues when driving or operating other machinery.  Special agents who want to be successful interrogators know that sleep deprivation works.

What contributes to healthy sleep cycles? Going to bed and waking up the same time every day throughout the week. Keeping your bedroom dark and cool so your body temperature drops so you can fall asleep easier.  Avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed. Dimming the lights a few hours before bedtime. Not binging during dinner. Having a small snack e.g., cheese and crackers or bowl of cereal, before bed if you wake up hungry at night.

To sleep, perchance to sleep.  The science of sleep is covered by a gamut of health books across North America. 

Over 40% of couples sleep in separate bedrooms because one partner snores or tosses all night. Sleep apnea left untreated can lead to heart disease and diabetes.  Women entering menopause experience hot and cold flashes leaving them with disrupted sleep. New parents can't tell the difference between day nor night when the newborn arrives.  Physiologically, teens are brain-wired for a time to stay up late and sleep in till noon.  Some researchers suggest highschool should have a ten a.m. start and a dinner time finish to accomodate teens in puberty.  Throughout our life times our pattern of sleep changes, but the need for sleep does not diminish.

Last week Dr. Oz suggested that people set an alarm that goes off at the same time every night to remind people to go to bed at the same time. Having regularity, a bed-time routine and unwinding the mind and body all contribute to restful sleep.

Whether or not you are counting sheep at night or sleeping soundly, it's important not to neglect the last letter of the alphabet zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz deserves the utmost attention.

Sleep is a preventative measure that is as important as the other abcs of good health: aerobic exercise, breathing deeply, vitamin C..........it's equally vital for you and me!