Connections to Health - Sleep Deprivation

THE ISHTA HOLISTIC HEALTH CENTRE

CONNECTIONS to HEALTH

Feeling sleepy?

Most people have a fatigue debt which is directly attributable to not having enough sleep. Not having enough sleep, or sleep deprivation, is endemic in our culture. Sleep deprivation is a common condition that afflicts almost a quarter of the adult population. Symptoms can interfere with memory, energy levels, mental abilities, and emotional mood. A study conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Centre in 1999 indicates that the condition drastically affects the body's ability to metabolize glucose, leading to symptoms that mimic early-stage diabetes.
Other Symptoms

Exhaustion, fatigue and lack of physical energy are common sleep deprivation symptoms. Exhaustion and fatigue affect our emotional moods, causing pessimism, sadness, stress and anger. The National Sleep Foundation has suggested that social problems such as road rage may be caused, in part, by a national epidemic of sleepiness.
The brain's frontal cortex relies on sleep to function effectively. Insufficient rest adversely affects the frontal cortex's ability to control speech, access memory, and solve problems. The effect on physical energy is also startling: otherwise healthy people quickly show symptoms of age and early diabetes as glucose metabolism falls by up to forty percent. These physical reactions disappear when the test subject is allowed to rest properly. Driving and other activities can become dangerous without sufficient rest.
Causes

By far the most common cause is people not going to bed early enough. Emotional stress or excitement may also interfere with sleeping patterns, as can some medical conditions and medication. Food additives and caffeine can also make falling asleep difficult.
Are We Getting Enough Rest?

The trend in industrialised nations over the last hundred years suggests that people are increasingly sleep deprived. In 1910, the average person slept 9.0 hours a night. By 1975, the total had fallen to 7.5 hours. By 2002, the average adult only slept 6.9 hours a night, leading to fatigue, exhaustion and other symptoms. Shift workers suffer more than other people: many shift workers average only five hours a night.
How Much Do You Need?

Different people require different amounts of rest. While the majority of adults should spend between eight to nine hours asleep, a small number of people function perfectly well on only three to four hours of rest. The time a person spends asleep also changes with age:

Zero to 24 months: Thirteen to seventeen hours.
Two year olds: Nine to thirteen hours.
Ten year olds: Ten to eleven hours.
Sixteen to 65 years: Six to nine hours.
Over 65 years: Six to eight hours.

The consequences of sleep deprivation include physical effects, mental impairment, and mental health complications. Inadequate rest impairs our ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system, and to moderate our emotions. Total sleep deprivation is fatal: laboratory rats denied the chance to rest die within two to three weeks.
Mental Functioning

Without adequate rest, the brain's ability to function quickly deteriorates. The brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but operates less effectively: concentration levels drop and memory becomes impaired. Speech becomes slurred and fragmented, and mental reaction time slows.
The brain's ability to problem solve is greatly impaired: decision-making abilities are compromised, and the brain falls into rigid thought patterns that make it difficult to generate new problem-solving ideas. Insufficient rest can also cause people to have hallucinations.
Mental Health: Stress, Anxiety, and Mood

Without sufficient rest, emotional mood deteriorates. People become irritable and short-tempered, both with themselves and others. Loss of emotional control is possible, leading to emotional outbursts and even violence.
Stress and anxiety levels both rise as a result of sleepiness, which often begins a vicious circle. Insomnia and fatigue leads to stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety are leading causes of insomnia. Left unchecked, this cycle can result in full-blown anxiety disorders and depression.
Physical Responses

Insomnia makes it difficult to focus the eyes properly, or to perform fine motor functions as effectively as when well rested. Muscle strength and endurance drops, in part due to lowered glucose metabolism. Appetite tends to increase with insufficient rest, leading to weight gain for some people.
The Immune System and Sleeping Habits

Adequate rest and a properly functioning immune system are closely related. Sleep deprivation appears to compromise the immune system by altering the blood levels of specialized immune cells and important proteins, called cytokines, resulting in a greater than normal chance of infections.
Sleep Loss Equals Weight Gain

Is it possible that the obesity epidemic is caused by sleep loss? Recent evidence indicates that sleep deprivation is a cause of weight gain.
A recent survey indicated that people who got less than four hours of sleep a night were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who got the recommended seven to nine hours of rest. People averaging five hours of sleep had a 50 percent greater risk, and those with six hours of sleep had 23 percent more. What's the reason for these findings?
Sleep Loss and Appetite Hormones

Apparently, the secret lies in leptin. A well-studied blood protein, leptin is a hormone that increases energy expenditure and regulates hunger. High levels of leptin will give you a feeling of "fullness" while low levels result in a feeling of "hunger". Experts say that sleep loss lowers leptin levels, which causes an increase in hunger. This can result in weight gain if the person reacts to the hunger by consuming food (i.e. midnight snacks), often at night when the body's metabolism has slowed.
Sleep loss also raises levels of the hormone grehlin, another substance that triggers hunger. In one study, people who slept only four hours a night for two nights had an 18% reduction in leptin, and a 28% increase in grehlin. In a recent study this caused an increase in appetite by over 20% in people who were sleep deprived by four hours a night for only two days!
Sleep loss is also associated with a loss of executive function. It is suggested that the inability to think clearly affects how much you eat, and what types of foods you choose to eat, both of which can affect weight gain.
Weight Loss with Less Sleep Loss?

Will getting more sleep help you shed those unwanted pounds? The evidence suggests that getting more sleep can at least help you control your appetite. Many factors control the hormones leptin and grehlin, not just the amount of sleep you get. It may not be a miracle solution, but it may help to some degree with appetite control. Impaired glucose handling can also lead to more fat deposition in the body so more sleep could stop you getting fat, or fatter.
The epidemic of sleep loss in this country is hard on the health of many, and so is the epidemic of weight gain. The average person sleeps only a little over six hours per night. Even if it doesn't solve the obesity problem, getting enough rest will certainly help your body and mind.
The Circadian Rhythm

Most people require eight to nine hours of sleep in order to function effectively. Some people, however, may need as little as five hours, while still others need at least ten hours of rest a night. How much a person requires is dependant on their circadian rhythm, or internal clock.
The circadian rhythm is the schedule of physical and mental changes that occur over the course of a day. By and large, the circadian rhythm responds to light: we are active by day and drowsy at night. As daylight fades, our bodies start producing melatonin, which makes us drowsy and want to rest. Differences in circadian rhythm and melatonin production account for differences in individual sleeping patterns.
Stages of Sleep

Over the course of a normal night's rest, we cycle through five stages. Stage One is very light sleep, from which we can be easily awakened. By Stage Two, both our eye movements and brain waves have slowed. Stages Three and Four are known as deep sleep. Slow brain waves known as delta waves appear in Stage Three, and dominate brain activity throughout Stage Four.
After Stage Four, the stages are reversed and the cycle begins again. At the end of the second cycle REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep is added. The limbs are temporarily paralyzed, heart rate increases, and blood pressure rises. Rapid eye movement can be seen under the closed lids. This is when we dream. Once REM sleep ends, we go back through the stages to Stage One, and another cycle that includes REM sleep begins.
The entire cycle of stages takes between 90 to 110 minutes. Over the course of the night, stages Three and Four shorten, and rapid eye movement periods lengthen. Before we waken, the cycle is almost entirely composed of stages One, Two and REM sleep.
Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to a group of suggestions that, if followed, increase your chances for a good night's rest. To practice good sleep hygiene you should do the following:

Rest according to a Schedule: Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays. By doing so, your circadian rhythm will not be disturbed.
Exercise: Regular exercise improves sleeping habits. Exercise between twenty to thirty minutes a day for the best results, but take care not to exercise within five hours of bedtime.
Don't Lie Awake: If you cannot fall asleep, don't lie in bed awake. Worrying about falling asleep actually keeps many people awake. Get up and do something else until you feel sleepy.
Limit Alcohol, Nicotine and Caffeine: Nicotine and caffeine are both stimulants, and should be avoided up to six hours before bedtime. Alcohol is a sedative, and may appear to promote sleep, but in fact, once the sedative effect wears off, sleeping patterns become erratic.
Eat and Drink Long Before Bedtime: A heavy meal before bed can cause indigestion, which can keep you up. Drinking fluids before bed can interrupt your rest by causing you to get up to urinate. Try to avoid both food and fluids for at least two hours before bedtime.
Relax: Spending some down time before bed can relax you enough that falling asleep comes easier. Meditation, relaxation techniques and breathing techniques may all work. Relaxation could be as simple as a warm bath, or quiet reading (not in the bedroom, though).

Keep the Bedroom for Two Things: Watching television, paying the bills, reading a book, surfing the internet, and listening to music in the bedroom are not recommended. By doing so, you create the expectation in your mind that the bedroom is for activities other than resting. Your bedroom should only be used for sleeping and sex. The latter, of course, can also aid restful sleep.
Other Causes

There are, of course, other causes of sleep deprivation other than not going to bed early enough. Most of the other causes can be helped by the people working at the Ishta Centre. Contact us for help in deciding the best course of action if you sleep deprivation is not through choice.

While researching the facts for this article on-line I stayed up very late on two consecutive nights, resulting in a deep tiredness. The irony of this wasn't lost on me!