The Importance of Good Sleep

“What makes sleep so essential for our wellbeing comes down to three main things: to save our energy, to help our cells recover, and to help us process and understand our environment.”

– Daniel Gartenberg

 

Sleeping seems like the most unproductive thing that we do.

We spend almost of a third of our lives motionless when we could be getting stuff done.

But, if you could see what your brain is doing while you sleep, you will soon realize that sleep is possibly the most productive thing you did all day.

It turns out that sleep is not only vital for many functions of the brain, but also for the effective and efficient functioning of most of our body systems.

 

All our body systems require long periods of sleep to restore and rejuvenate, to grow muscle, repair tissue, and synthesise hormones.

One of the vital roles of sleep is to help us solidify and consolidate memories, a process which involves the transfer of pieces of information from more tentative, short-term memory to stronger, long-term memory.

Research shows that after sleep, people tend to retain information and perform better on memory, attention and problem-solving tasks.

New research suggests that sleep at any age, especially from midlife onwards, is important for brain health.

 

During sleep and especially during deep sleep, the brain’s cleaning system (AKA the Glymphatic system) is operating to remove waste products, which if accumulated, can lead to cognitive decline and dementia in the aging brain.

Sleep problems, especially those associated with snoring and irregular breathing, are a major risk factor for developing dementia.

Lack of sleep can lead to impaired cognitive performance, mood changes (i.e., distress, anxiety and depression), accidents, elevated blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, dementia, cancer and decreased immunity (susceptibility to infections).

So if you’re fond of saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, well, that may be happening a lot faster than you anticipated.

 

 

How Much Sleep Do We Need?

 

Adults usually need 7-9 hours of sleep per night, but young adults and children may require more (8-11 hours).

Research shows that a person can’t just accumulate sleep deprivation and then log many hours of sleep to make up for it.

The best sleep habits are consistent, healthy routines that allow us, regardless of our age, to meet our sleep needs every night and keep on top of life’s challenges every day.

But sleep duration is not all, as sleep quality is just as important, and relates to the stages of sleep.

 

“Sleep is not a bank; you can’t store it up.”

 

Sleep quality or the stages of sleep

 

Based on the electrical activity in the brain (using an electroencephalogram, or EEG, which records electrical brain waves or currents), we can identify four distinct sleep stages.

The first two stages involve drowsiness, when someone just begins to fall asleep, and light sleep.

Stage 3 sleep is also known as slow-wave sleep or deep sleep, and it is the most restorative stage of sleep, considered to be especially important to overall restfulness.

The fourth stage is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which involves the eyeballs moving rapidly, and the body muscles are completely relaxed and limp. This is the time of sleep when our most vivid dreams are likely to occur.

These stages progress cyclically from 1 through REM then begin again with stage 1.

A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes, with each stage lasting between 5 to 15 minutes.

The first sleep cycles each night have relatively short REM sleeps and long periods of a deep sleep, but later in the night, REM periods lengthen and deep sleep time decreases.

 

Sleeping less with age

 

Changes to our sleep patterns are a part of the normal aging process.

As people age, they tend to have a harder time falling asleep and more trouble staying asleep than when they were younger.

Older people wake up an average of 2 or 3 times each night and earlier in the morning.

Total sleep time stays the same or is slightly decreased (6.5 to 7 hours per night), but less time is spent in deep, regenerating stage 3 sleep.

This may explain why many older adults also report being less satisfied with sleep and more tired during the day.

 

Sleep problems: Insomnia, SDB, and OSA?

 

Insomnia is defined as insufficient sleep duration or quality, resulting from disturbance of sleep onset or sleep maintenance.

Insomnia varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs. It can be short-term (acute insomnia) or can last for several months (chronic insomnia). It can also come and go, with periods when a person has no sleep problems.

Acute insomnia can last from one night to a few weeks and is only considered chronic when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for three months or longer.

People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty falling asleep (takes longer than 30 min to fall asleep)
• Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep (staying awake for at least 30 min after falling asleep)
• Waking up too early in the morning
• A high degree of suffering
• Feeling tired upon waking
• Impairment in daily activities (difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, decreased performance in work or at school)

In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than a third of adults fail to get the recommended seven hours of sleep every day.

After 65 years of age, the incidence of insomnia may rise to 50%!

 

Snoring

 

Snoring is the primary cause of sleep disruption for many older adults, it is commonly associated with overweight and obesity, and it often becomes worse with age.

Snoring may be associated with an irregular breathing pattern, commonly known as “Sleep Disordered Breathing” (SDB).

In its more severe form, SDB is characterized by periods of not breathing at all, for as long as 10-60 seconds and it is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA.

During periods of breathing stoppage (apneas) the amount of oxygen in the blood drops, causing brief arousal (awakening) and breathing resumes (sometimes with a loud gasping).

OSA causes multiple sleep disruptions throughout the night and results in excessive daytime sleepiness and impaired daytime function.

If untreated, it significantly increases your risk for chronic headaches, memory loss, cognitive decline, dementia, depression, and cardiovascular diseases.

 

Causes of sleep problems

 

Acute insomnia is brief and often happens because of life circumstances (for example, when you can’t fall asleep the night before an exam, or after receiving stressful or bad news).

It may also arise due to an acute illness or physical discomfort (i.e., pain).

Many people may have experienced this passing sleep disruption, and it tends to resolve without any treatment.

 

Chronic insomnia (i.e., disrupted sleep that occurs at least three nights per week and lasts at least three months) can have many causes, including unhealthy sleep habits, shift work, family and job stresses, anxiety disorders, depression, and environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures.

People with chronic insomnia may benefit from some form of treatment to help them get back to healthy sleep patterns.

Chronic insomnia can be a manifestation of another medical or psychiatric issue, which needs to be ruled out or addressed.

 

Diagnosis and treatment of sleep problems

 

Sleep problems are usually diagnosed by obtaining a good history of sleeping habits and lifestyle.

It is important to determine if it is acute or chronic and if chronic, to explore whether there are coexisting medical or psychiatric issues.

In some cases and especially for SDB’s and OSA’s, a study in a sleep laboratory (where EEG, eye movements, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation are measured) is advisable.

Nowadays, there are some new ways (wearable devices which monitor your heart rate, body movements and even your oxygen saturation) to get insights on your sleep habits, stages and wakefulness periods throughout the night.

However, caution should be applied when interpreting results from these devices, as they are prone to large inaccuracies.

It is worthwhile to speak to your doctor about insomnia symptoms and about any effects these symptoms may have.

Your doctor can help assess how serious a problem it is and what to do about it.

Treatment for chronic insomnia includes first treating any underlying conditions or health problems that are causing insomnia.

Both behavioral therapies and prescription medications singly or in combination are considered effective means to treat insomnia, but the former are recommended as the first-line treatment.

Behavioral approaches (i.e., meditation and relaxation exercises) help you to change behaviors that may worsen insomnia and to learn new behaviors to promote sleep.

If insomnia continues, your health care provider may suggest short term treatment of sleeping pills, however chronic use of some sleeping pills has been associated with sleepiness during daytime, memory problems and decline in other cognitive functions.

 

Good Sleep hygiene

 

Here are some tips for good sleep habits and beating insomnia (adapted from WebMD):

• Try to go to sleep at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to take naps during the day, because naps may make you less sleepy at night.
• Before bedtime or falling asleep, avoid exposure to screens of television sets, smart-phones or reading devices (“e-books”) that give off (blue) light. This can make it harder to fall asleep.
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol can cause waking in the night and interferes with sleep quality.
• Get regular exercise. Try not to exercise close to bedtime, because it may stimulate you and make it hard to fall asleep. Experts suggest not exercising for at least three to four hours before the time you go to sleep.
• Don’t eat a heavy meal late in the day. A light snack before bedtime, however, may help you sleep.
• Make your bedroom comfortable. Be sure that it is dark, quiet, and not too warm or too cold. If light is a problem, try a sleeping mask. If noise is a problem, try earplugs, a fan, or a “white noise” machine to cover up the sounds.
• Follow a routine to help you relax before sleep. Read a book, listen to music, or take a bath.
• If you can’t fall asleep and don’t feel drowsy, get up and read or do something that is not overly stimulating until you feel sleepy.
• If you find yourself lying awake worrying about things, try making a to-do list before you go to bed. This may help you to not focus on those worries overnight.

 

We hope these tips provide you with some insights and assistance to living your most brain healthy life.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, and want to see more of our articles relating to nutrition and brain-healthy foods, check out the links to some of our other articles and videos below:

• Change The Story Of Your Inner Critic
• How To Move Past Thoughts Of Negativity
• How Your Mindset Can Impact Your Everyday Life
• How To Better Handle Stress and Anxiety

 

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