“Men who sleep five hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than those who sleep seven hours or more.” This is according to Matt Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at UC Berkeley.
He goes on to say that men who sleep just 4 to 5 hours a night will have testosterone levels comparable to that of a man who’s 10 years older than him. In other words, the lack of sleep ages men 10 years. Women suffer a similar impairment.
Although we treat it as if it were, sleep is a non-negotiable biological requirement. If you want to be healthy, there’s no such thing as missing sleep. You can diet and exercise as best you can, but if you miss this crucial element, your health and well-being will suffer.
Sleep is so important we spend one-third of our lives sleeping (or trying to sleep), assuming a seven-hour standard. For a person living up to 79, that’s around 26 years of your life spent on the bed.
So what is it with sleep that we devote so much of our lives to it? Is it really that important?
Let’s find out.
Sleep and the Brain
Ever had the experience of pulling an all-nighter, cramming for a test or an important event, and ending up performing badly because of sleep deprivation?
Students should listen up. Your brain needs sleep BEFORE learning. Think of this as your body preparing for the task ahead. You may have experienced how awfully hard it is to absorb anything when one is dozing off during online classes.
And not just that. Studies also show that you also need to sleep AFTER learning. Think of this as hitting the “Save” button on things you’ve learned. If you want to really absorb what you’ve learned, you better get some Zzzzzzzz’s post that brain workout.
Sleeping gives your brain the chance to integrate new information. Memory and sleep are closely interconnected and one of the many things that happen when we sleep is “memory consolidation.” This is your brain’s way of converting to long-term memory recently acquired information. So you won’t forget. In short, you need to sleep after studying.
So pulling an all-nighter? Staying up for an exam? Not really a good idea.
In an experiment, they compared the brain activity of sleep-deprived and sleep-sufficient subjects. Through the MRI machines, researchers saw activity in the hippocampal region to suggest learning from sleep-sufficient subjects, while the sleep-deprived ones exhibited no signs of learning. It is as if that region of the brain had shut down from creating neural connections. This is the equivalent of a student not learning the lesson, or someone not remembering what happened.
So for your brain’s sake, get some sleep. (But hopefully, not during class.)
Sleep and the Body
Just because we are in dreamland doesn’t mean our bodies are at absolute rest.
The body goes through a lot during sleep. Several restorative processes engage to help maintain our health and well-being.
For example, this is the time when cell and tissue repair are at their busiest. After a person goes to the gym, for example, feeling all tired and sore, the next sleep he gets becomes very important. Not just in terms of rest, but in repairing those microtears in the muscles gained from exertions at the gym.
But gym goer or not, the average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep.
If you want to maintain a healthy heart, don’t skimp on sleep. Even an hour can mean life or death…literally. Professor Matt Walker, director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at UC Berkeley, noted an interesting observation. He said that in countries where they institute a Daylight Savings Time (where clocks are turned one hour forwards or backwards depending on the month of the year), something very interesting happens the day after DST is observed.
In the spring, around March, when clocks are moved forward and people lose 1 hour of sleep, there is a 24% increase in cases of heart attacks the very next day. On the other hand, in Autumn, around November, when people gain 1 hour of sleep, there is a 21% decrease in heart attacks the day after clocks are turned back.
In short, it just takes 1 hour of sleep (added or subtracted) to tremendously impact the state of our health.
Not just the heart, sleep also impacts our immune system, the mechanism by which we defend ourselves from viruses and infections. Studies have shown that even a little disturbance in our sleep pattern greatly affects our immune system.
One study looked at Natural Killer Cells (NKC). Natural Killer Cells are critically important for health because they keep tumours and microbial infections in check. Experimental subjects’ sleep was reduced to just 4 hours…for just one night. Then the level of natural killer cells in their blood was measured.
As expected, NKC levels were down. Guess by how much.
Not by 50% or 60%, but 70%!
Just one night of sleep reduction demolished the level of critical NKCs to just 30%. This is not even an all-nighter, like what some of the students or workers regularly pull, going back to school or the office without a second of shut-eye. This is partial sleep deprivation and it still had an enormous impact on a critical element of health.
All for one night of insufficient sleep.
Imagine what chronic sleep deprivation might do to the body. Sleep deficiency has been linked to a host of cancers and infections. This is in addition to diabetes and obesity.
So if sufficient sleep of 7-9 hours is that important? How do we ensure that get that every night?
A Good Night’s Rest
Here are things you can do to increase the quantity and quality of your Zzzzzzzs.
1) Consistency is your friend.
You will find it much easier to sleep when you go to bed at roughly the same time every night. This way, your body knows what to expect and prepares itself for slumber.
We have a circadian rhythm, a body clock that dictates physical and physiological processes. Sleeping consistently and having a daily routine bolsters this circadian rhythm and helps the body to operate efficiently.
Don’t forget to wake up at the same time each day too!
2) Expose yourself to sunlight during the day.
Our bodies are sensitive to light conditions. Studies have shown that exposure to bright light during the day doesn’t just give us more energy and elevate our mood by facilitating the release of the hormone serotonin. It leads to better sleep quality and quantity at night, and can even cut the time it takes to sleep by over 80%.
3) Keep it dark…like the night.
Now not everybody has the benefit of working during the day and sleeping at night. You may have the graveyard shift at work, or you may be a night-owl who performs best at night. Here’s a tip when it’s time for sleep: Keep the room as dark as you can.
Hang thick curtains and cover the sources of light. If not possible, make sure to wear an eye mask to prevent light from entering your eyes. (Light stimulates the eyes even when you close them.)
Having a dark environment will trigger the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
4) Watch your intake.
Avoid coffee and caffeinated products at least 6 hours before going to bed. Caffeine has the tendency to keep you tossing in bed.
But alcohol is no way to get to sleep, either. Booze might make you sleepy, but it will disrupt your sleep. Especially during the second half of your sleep when its effects have worn off. Alcohol ultimately makes your sleep fragmentary, causing you to wake up several times in the night. It upsets your circadian rhythm which is your best bet for a good night’s sleep.
5) Blue light is not your friend.
Unfortunately, smartphones and computers emit blue light, tricking your brain that it’s still daytime. So watching a boring video to fall asleep may only backfire on you.
Instead of tiring your eyes to sleep, you might go the auditory route and listen to some relaxing tones like a flowing brook, white noise or a soulful instrumental.
6) Control your environment
Make your room to be as conducive to sleeping as much as possible:
Keep the room cool.
Avoid places that produce sudden noise
Keep sheets clean and fresh.
Have a comfortable mattress and pillows.
Use aroma to help you relax. Scents like lavender, chamomile, or jasmine can help you sleep.
Follow these tips and you should have the needed rest to wake up refreshed and energized for the day.
Now, go to sleep.
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