Sleep Matters

Having a good night’s sleep is important to our quality of life in many ways:

Lack of sleep affects our mood.
Lack of sleep affects our health.
Lack of sleep affects our productivity.

I can only speak for myself. When I don’t get enough sleep and I don’t feel adequately rested, my mood can swing from pensive to giggly. It definitely alters my productivity. I see a marked difference in my concentration if I have had a good night’s sleep.

For me, the most important item on the list above is how lack of sleep affects our health. According to Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe, “sleep loss impairs immune function & immune challenge alters sleep”, so it’s a vicious cycle. According to Dr. Mallery-Blythe, sleep deprivation delays wound & burn healing, decreases white blood cell count, and impairs working memory – which, in turn, impairs decision making, reasoning, episodic memory, and lowers seizure thresholds.

There are many symptoms associated with sleep deprivation, such as: aching muscles, confusion, memory lapses (or loss), depression, hallucinations, hand tremors, headaches, malaise, sensitivity to cold, bloodshot eyes, puffiness around the eyes, increased blood pressure, increased stress hormones, increased risk of diabetes, increased fibromyalgia, irritability, obesity, child temper tantrums, yawning, and some symptoms that are similar to ADHD & Psychosis. And, By the way, complete sleep deprivation leads to death, she says.

Recent research at UCLA indicates that there may be a connection between improved lifestyle habits, including improved sleep hygiene, and improved outcomes for Alzheimer’s patients.

The amount of sleep that each person requires varies. There are folks that swear that they don’t need more than 5 hours of sleep per night. Others, like me, need a minimum of 8 hours of good quality sleep in order to feel healthy.

Here are some tips that will hopefully help you determine what areas you can improve so that you can consistently obtain good quality rest:

Consistently maintain regular bedtime and wake-up hours (even on weekends and holidays).
Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
Keep your bedroom dark. Even the slightest glow from an alarm clock can disrupt your ability to sleep.
If you don’t go to sleep within 20 minutes, get out of bed. Return to bed only if you’re sleepy.
Avoid caffeine consumption (tea, cola, coffee, chocolate) within 4 hours to 8 hours of bedtime.
Exercise regularly, but avoid intense physical activity 3 hours before bedtime.
Keep a regular schedule – regular times for meals, etc…
Avoid daytime naps. If you must take a nap, do so before 3 pm.
Avoid eating a meal 2 hours before bedtime (a light snack can help avoid hunger pangs and aid sleep).
Avoid stressful or noisy distractions while trying to sleep (noisy clocks, bright lights, uncomfortable clothes or bedding).
Avoid alcohol consumption & nicotine 2 hours before bedtime, which can disturb sleep quality.
Create a relaxing bedtime routine (book, music, bath, relaxation technique).
If you have difficulty relaxing at bedtime, essential oils, like lavender or chamomile in a diffuser (or in a bath) might help to soothe you enough to relax. You might also want to utilize some herbal relaxation aids such as valerian, passionflower, hops, or lemon balm may be helpful.
Get enough sleep so that you feel well-rested nearly every day.
Use the bed for sex and sleep only (no TV, laptop computer, reading, etc.)

The bedroom should be calming, quiet, dark, and a little bit cool and make sure your bed is warm & comfortable. I urge you to consider avoidance of any electronics in the bedroom – including TVs and cell phones.

There are many possible reasons for our lack of sleep. if we habitually have a problem getting enough rest, it is imperative that we analyze what is causing us to lose sleep at night. It might take a bit of detective work on our part. For example, I have been doing a lot of research on EMF’s, since I have noticed a dramatic change in my sleep quantity & quality since a new smart meter was installed at our home. Coincidentally, the meter is on the brick wall that lies along the headboard of our bed. (I’ll be writing a separate blog post on my research & findings. I’ve also been doing some research on Inclined Bed Therapy. I am fascinated by this topic & plan to write an article about this as well.)

Last, but not least, my colleague, Rosangel Perez, and I recorded a blog talk radio show called Tips For Better Sleep, which inspired this blog post. You can listen to our recorded show here.

References:

Huffington Post Article: 37 Science Backed Tips For Better Sleep Tonight
Sleep Hygiene Tips, University of Maryland, 2005

Huffington Post Article: 9 Surprising Reasons You Can’t Fall Asleep

Dr. Erica Mallery-Blythe: British Society of Ecological Medicine (BSEM-March 2014)

Cafecito Break – The Voice of The Awakening Woman,November 17, 2014

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided for informational or educational purposes only and is not intended to be, or serve as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Always seek your doctor’s advice.

It’s About Life

February 23, 2011

It’s About Life

This post is dedicated to a wonderful young man named Kashief Cross, who was taken from this world much too soon. Kashief and his friend Eric died as a result of a tragic accident which occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 13th. The cause of the accident has not been determined. Kashief, you were an inspiration to those of us who knew you and were blessed to have you in our lives. You are dearly loved.

We all do it. We get so busy with living that we forget to stop when we get tired to allow our bodies time to rest. We try to fill every moment with activity. In my case, my husband tells me that I always cram too much into my day. Maybe so. I do seem to want to do everything at once!!!! It’s often difficult to put an activity off till later.

Please. Let’s make a commitment to ourselves. Let’s make a commitment to our loved ones. When we are tired we need to stop and rest.

Did you know that:

sleep deprivation increases the risk for diabetes and heart attacks
there is an increase in obesity due to lack of sleep
lack of sleep increases the risk for breast cancer and hypertension

Our children are inheriting our bad habits. Teenagers, who need between 9-9.5 hours of sleep per night, often have a difficult time getting enough rest. Sometimes our kids are so busy with sports and other extra-curricular activities and they still wake up at the crack of dawn.Teenagers and young adults also often have difficulty falling asleep at night. They experience changes in their sleep patterns as a result of the changes which are occurring in their growing bodies.

My experience has shown that when teenagers get adequate sleep, their behavior improves dramatically. They are less anxious and moody and they perform better at school and sports. Every parent worries about their kid’s driving performance. How many young people do you know that have been killed or severely injured in a car accident which could have been avoided?

According to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), “The vast majority of these crashes are attributable to a combination of driver inexperience, coupled with one or more of the five major risks facing teen drivers (driving at night, distractions such as cell phones and other young passengers, speeding, not using seat belts, and drinking and driving).” Approximately 20% of road deaths are believed to be caused by sleep deprivation and approximately half of these deaths are of kids between 16 and 25.

In Texas, there is a wonderful program available for teens called Teens in the Driver Seat. Since the program’s inception, “the teen driver fatal crash rate has dropped faster and more steadily in Texas than in any other state.” If you have a teenager at home, please encourage him/her to participate in this program. It’s a wonderful peer-to-peer program that is 100% managed by the teens themselves. I will make myself available to help any teenager who wants to get this program started by helping them connect with the wonderful folks at TTI.

It’s about Life. Please stop and think. If you’re tired, REST.

Sources for this story:

http://www.naturalnews.com/024490_sleep_teenagers_deprivation.html

http://tti.tamu.edu/group/cts/groups/teens-in-the-driver-seat/