Lifelong Health: Sleeping Well Blankets Many Healthful Benefits
Getting a good night's sleep is an important part of your health, but new information shows that restful slumber offers more benefits than you might think.
People who sleep eight or more hours per night will live longer and have a lower risk of death than those who tend to sleep less.
New research even shows that sleep is an important part of weight loss. In the Annals of Internal Medicine, a recent report showed that people who sleep eight hours a night are more likely to lose weight when dieting than those who sleep six hours or less. Moreover, the well-rested individuals lose much more fat and less muscle. This is yet another study in a litany of projects demonstrating the incredible healing power of a good night's sleep.
Sleep has many restorative effects on the body. It leads to complete healing of muscle that is subtly damaged during the wear and tear process of an active day.
Critical for normal metabolism, sleep also conserves energy and benefits the ability to retain what was learned the previous day. Healthy sleep is an essential element of the circadian rhythm, in which the levels of many hormones fluctuate to help the body to be awake during the day and asleep at night.
Once asleep, quality is as important as quantity. Normal sleep is divided into non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep. As sleep begins, NREM becomes progressively deeper and arousal becomes more difficult. This is referred to as N3 sleep type and predominates during the first third of the night. Adequate REM sleep accounts for about 20 percent to 25 percent of total sleep, the majority of which occurs in the last third of the night. As we grow older, the time taken to fall asleep increases, there are more arousals during the night, and the time in deep N3 and in REM sleep decreases. Illnesses such as an overactive bladder, prostate problems or chronic pain that are more common with aging often contribute to poor sleep quality.
Frequently insomnia is due to poor health habits such as high stress, too much caffeine or excessive alcohol use. Sleep can be adversely affected by depression, many medications, illness and a number of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Sadly, poor sleep can beget more sleepless nights because the more you worry about going to or staying asleep, the more difficult the problem becomes.
Many sleep aids actually interfere with the type of sleep you get, which leads to more fatigue the following day. Unfortunately, many patients are unaware of this problem and seek prescriptions whenever problems arise.
Rather than turning to medications immediately, it is important to learn how to develop healthy sleep habits. Begin with a vigorous exercise program in the morning. And when returning from work, go for a leisurely stroll, preferably with a companion or a pet. This helps prevent drowsiness in the early evening and raises the body temperature slightly. Two to three hours later, your body temperature gradually decreases, which signals that it is time for bed. Eating a snack about an hour before bed helps promote sleep by the release of digestive hormones associated with drowsiness.
If you have difficulty with sleep, the bedroom and bed should generally be restricted to sleep only. No radio, television, music or long discussions. Do not have a strict time to go to sleep and only go to bed when sleepy. Never actively try to go to sleep, as this can cause anxiety, frustration and aggravate insomnia. In addition, try to avoid alarm clocks, as this can lead to more nighttime arousals.
If you are unable to sleep, get out of bed and go elsewhere in the house to watch television or read. Only return to bed when drowsy. Experts in the field recommend that you wake up at the same time in the morning irrespective of how late you went to bed.
Developing good sleep habits and tackling the root causes of poor sleep is the best way to overcome insomnia. Should poor sleep persist, consider a study in a sleep laboratory to help identify the cause. Remember, healthy sleep is a key to a longer and better life.
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Dr. David Lipschitz is the author of the books, "Breaking the Rules of Aging" and "Dr. David's First Health Book of More Not Less." To find out more about Dr. David Lipschitz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. More information is available at www.DrDavidHealth.com.
People who sleep eight or more hours per night will live longer and have a lower risk of death than those who tend to sleep less.
New research even shows that sleep is an important part of weight loss. In the Annals of Internal Medicine, a recent report showed that people who sleep eight hours a night are more likely to lose weight when dieting than those who sleep six hours or less. Moreover, the well-rested individuals lose much more fat and less muscle. This is yet another study in a litany of projects demonstrating the incredible healing power of a good night's sleep.
Sleep has many restorative effects on the body. It leads to complete healing of muscle that is subtly damaged during the wear and tear process of an active day.
Critical for normal metabolism, sleep also conserves energy and benefits the ability to retain what was learned the previous day. Healthy sleep is an essential element of the circadian rhythm, in which the levels of many hormones fluctuate to help the body to be awake during the day and asleep at night.
Once asleep, quality is as important as quantity. Normal sleep is divided into non-rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep. As sleep begins, NREM becomes progressively deeper and arousal becomes more difficult. This is referred to as N3 sleep type and predominates during the first third of the night. Adequate REM sleep accounts for about 20 percent to 25 percent of total sleep, the majority of which occurs in the last third of the night. As we grow older, the time taken to fall asleep increases, there are more arousals during the night, and the time in deep N3 and in REM sleep decreases. Illnesses such as an overactive bladder, prostate problems or chronic pain that are more common with aging often contribute to poor sleep quality.
Frequently insomnia is due to poor health habits such as high stress, too much caffeine or excessive alcohol use. Sleep can be adversely affected by depression, many medications, illness and a number of sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Sadly, poor sleep can beget more sleepless nights because the more you worry about going to or staying asleep, the more difficult the problem becomes.
Many sleep aids actually interfere with the type of sleep you get, which leads to more fatigue the following day. Unfortunately, many patients are unaware of this problem and seek prescriptions whenever problems arise.
Rather than turning to medications immediately, it is important to learn how to develop healthy sleep habits. Begin with a vigorous exercise program in the morning. And when returning from work, go for a leisurely stroll, preferably with a companion or a pet. This helps prevent drowsiness in the early evening and raises the body temperature slightly. Two to three hours later, your body temperature gradually decreases, which signals that it is time for bed. Eating a snack about an hour before bed helps promote sleep by the release of digestive hormones associated with drowsiness.
If you have difficulty with sleep, the bedroom and bed should generally be restricted to sleep only. No radio, television, music or long discussions. Do not have a strict time to go to sleep and only go to bed when sleepy. Never actively try to go to sleep, as this can cause anxiety, frustration and aggravate insomnia. In addition, try to avoid alarm clocks, as this can lead to more nighttime arousals.
If you are unable to sleep, get out of bed and go elsewhere in the house to watch television or read. Only return to bed when drowsy. Experts in the field recommend that you wake up at the same time in the morning irrespective of how late you went to bed.
Developing good sleep habits and tackling the root causes of poor sleep is the best way to overcome insomnia. Should poor sleep persist, consider a study in a sleep laboratory to help identify the cause. Remember, healthy sleep is a key to a longer and better life.
========
Dr. David Lipschitz is the author of the books, "Breaking the Rules of Aging" and "Dr. David's First Health Book of More Not Less." To find out more about Dr. David Lipschitz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. More information is available at www.DrDavidHealth.com.
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