Sleep. Why We Need It & How To Improve It

Sleep. We all need it, but we don’t all get enough of it.

In 1942  a Gallup Poll found that 84% of Americans were getting 7 hours or more of sleep a night. Fast forward to 2013 and that same Gallup Poll found that only 59% of Americans are getting 7 hours of sleep or more, with 40% getting 6 hours or less.

Why aren't we sleeping?

1st- For many of us it's not a priority. In a study that looked at what our priorities are when it comes to the 5 categories listed below, we rated sleep 2nd to last.

1. Fitness/Nutrition
2. Work
3. Hobbies/Interest
4. Sleep
5. Social Life

If it's not a priority, do we really need to sleep more?

You've been told your whole life you need 8 hours of sleep, it's healthy to sleep more. However, if you're like me being told to do something isn't enough, I need to know the "why".

So why? Why do we need to sleep? 

Not enough sleep and poor sleep is associated with an increase in pain. 
Less sleep is associated with loneliness, social separation and withdrawal.
(If you want to dive deeper into that here is a really interesting paper on it: Link)  
One night of sleep deprivation increases the amount of plaques in the brain that lead to Alzheimer's. Link

Lack of sleep is also associated with...

• Obesity

• Heart Disease

• Diabetes

• High Blood Pressure

• Mood Disorders

• Decreased Immune Function

• Lower Sex Drive for men and women

All in all sleep should be a priority, not enough of it will negatively affect your life and the lives of those around you.

Let's now assume you're one of the individuals that didn't previously prioritize sleep and now you want to. Or you do prioritize sleep but struggle falling asleep and want some tips on how to fall asleep. 

Here are the tips.

Turn off the TV. Turn off Netflix. Get off your phone.
Simply put we spend a lot of time on our phone and right before bed we like to check our emails one last time, go for a scroll through Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media.
In order for us to get a restful sleep we need to be going to sleep relaxed (rest and digest mode) as opposed to stressed (fight or flight). Pre-Sleep is a time for relaxation and if we're trying to relax before going to bed and we see something that needs to get done that we can't do that night, its the opposite of relaxing. You're stressed and anxious thinking about a million other things and that isn't going to help your sleep. So get off your phone, turn off Netflix, turn off the TV 30 minutes before laying down to fall asleep.

Meditate.
I don't know about you but the hardest thing about trying to fall asleep for me is all the thoughts that run through my mind right as my head hits the pillow.
I'll turn down the lights an hour before bed, stay off my phone, make sure not to drink caffeine after noon. Everything will be going well and I'll think to myself, "I'm going to sleep good tonight." Then the head hits the pillow and nope, sleep evades me. That's when I break my no phone rule, put in headphones and open the Headspace App. It's a guided meditation app that has a free trial version that I find very calming and many of my patients do as well. Having a voice to focus on that is calming and instructive has been very helpful for me to relax and fall asleep especially when my mind is racing. 

Deep Breathing.
If you've read any of my other post you know I am a huge proponent of deep breathing.
Why? Due to the neurological connection between the lungs, the breathing center in the brain and the heart, deep breathing helps slow your heart rate and helps transition you into a rest and digest state.
I like to follow a 4 count breathing pattern.  This means 4 seconds of inhaling, 4 seconds holding the breathe in, 4 seconds exhaling and then 4 seconds holding the breathe out and then repeated. I will continue doing this until I fall asleep.

I hope you find this post helpful and until next time stay safe, stay healthy and sleep well.