According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep health is a relatively new field of research exploring how we sleep and the factors that impact it. It is an important area of research and study because adequate sleep is a critical determinant of health and well-being. Moreover, sleep is a basic requirement for infant, child, and adolescent health and development.
Maintaining good sleep health has many positive benefits. Getting enough sleep can actually help you ward off diseases, and help you to:
As you sleep, your body refuels and repairs itself. Adequate sleep helps reduce heart rate and blood pressure, slows breathing to a normal pace, and releases growth hormones to rebuild muscles and joints.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following hours of sleep per age group:
Normal sleep or a good night’s sleep is when you fall asleep quite easily, do not wake up during the night, do not wake up too early, and feel refreshed in the morning.
During several hours of normal sleep, your brain cycles through five stages of sleep every 90 to 110 minutes. These sleep cycles include the 4 stages of non-REM sleep (light to deep sleep) and REM sleep. REM is short for rapid eye movement–describing the quick eye movement that can be observed during deep sleep. REM sleep is the lightest stage of sleep, during which a person may wake easily.
Normal sleep cycles are made up of a sequence of different sleep phases. When measuring total sleep time, sleep is considered to start when you close your eyes to fall asleep. The period between first closing your eyes and entering phase 1 is known as sleep onset.
Phase 1 is very light sleep, where you are drifting in and out of consciousness and are easily woken. In Phase 2 the functioning of the brain slows down but there are still short bursts of activity. The first two phases of light sleep make up about half of the total sleep cycle. Phases 3 and 4 are the deep sleep phases. You dream in phase 4 (REM sleep). When this phase ends, you sleep more lightly again before a new full sleep cycle starts. Some people completely or partially wake up after the sleep cycle ends, while others stay asleep until morning.
Total sleep time ends when you wake up and then stay awake and get up.
When evaluating your sleep, the appropriate sleep satisfaction elements should include how you feel (a) about your sleep, (b) immediately after your sleep, and (c) during the subsequent day. Then evaluate your environmental elements, such as (a) bedding comfort, (b) bedroom temperature, and (c) noise and light in the bedroom. Also, evaluate how you feel (a) about the time it takes to fall asleep, (b) the ease with which you fall back to sleep after awakening during a sleep period, and (c) the amount of sleep on weekdays and weekends, as well as how undisturbed your sleep is. These are all appropriate contributors to sleep satisfaction.
Developing good sleep habits (or sleep hygiene) can help you get a good night’s sleep. Here are some tips to help you improve your sleep:
If you have persistent sleep problems that are interfering with your sleep, you should contact your doctor for evaluation and treatment, preferably one familiar with assessing and treating sleep disorders.
Before you see your doctor, keep a diary of your sleep habits for about 10 days to discuss at the visit. For your sleep diary, you should include the following, recording when you:
According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, biological clocks produce circadian rhythms and regulate their timing. Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a daily, 24-hour cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in your environment. For example, sleeping at night and being awake during the day is a light-related circadian rhythm.
The master clock is a group of about 20,000 nerve cells (neurons) that form a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is located in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus and receives direct input from the eyes. The master clock is responsible for coordinating all the biological clocks in the body, keeping them in sync.
Natural factors within the body produce circadian rhythms, as well as signals from the environment, such as daylight. The light can turn on or turn off genes that control the molecular structure of biological clocks. Changing the light-dark cycles can speed up, slow down, or reset biological clocks as well as circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythms help determine our sleep patterns. The body’s master clock controls the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. It receives information about incoming light from the optic nerves, which relay information from the eyes to the brain. When there is less light–like at night–the SCN tells the brain to make more melatonin so you get drowsy.
People get jet lag when travel disrupts their circadian rhythms. Passing through different time zones resets your biological clocks. It often takes a few days for your biological clocks to adjust and reset themselves.
Circadian rhythms can affect body function and health. Specifically, they can influence sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, eating habits and digestion, body temperature, and other important bodily functions. If your biological clocks run fast or slow, it can result in disrupted or abnormal circadian rhythms. Consequently, irregular rhythms have been linked to various chronic health conditions, such as sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.
Researchers study humans and perform experiments altering light and dark periods in a subject’s environment to look for changes in gene activity or other molecular signals. This research helps scientists understand how biological clocks work and keep time. It also helps scientists identify which genetic components of biological clocks may be broken, causing irregular circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythm research not only gives scientists a better understanding of how our biological clocks tick, but it also leads to innovations in treatments for sleep disorders, obesity, mental health disorders, jet lag, and other health problems. It can also improve ways for individuals to adjust to nighttime shift work.
Whenever there are sleep loss and untreated sleep disorders, negative behaviors result affecting family health and interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, fatigue and sleepiness can reduce productivity and increase the chance for mishaps such as medical errors and motor vehicle or industrial accidents.
Sleep is important for overall health and well-being. If you don’t get enough sleep, poor-quality sleep increases your risk of:
There are many factors that cause sleep problems, including but not limited to:
A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is any disruption in your sleep pattern that interferes with your normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning.
Generally, symptoms of a sleep disorder depend on the type of disorder you may have, but you might
There are several different types of sleep disorders that can affect how well you sleep, some of which include:
If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder, discuss your symptoms with your primary care doctor. He or she can perform a physical exam and help you identify the difficulties you are having with sleep. Keeping a sleep diary for 2 weeks may be helpful to your doctor. Some illnesses can cause disturbed sleep, so your doctor may order tests to rule out other conditions.
If your doctor suspects that you have a sleep disorder, he or she may refer you to a sleep disorder clinic. A sleep specialist will review your symptoms and may suggest that you undergo a sleep study.
A sleep study or polysomnogram (PSG) is a multiple-component test that electronically transmits and records specific physical activities while you sleep. The sleep study can be done at home (home sleep testing) for select patients. The recordings become data that are analyzed by a qualified physician to determine whether or not you have a sleep disorder.
The treatment for sleep disorders depends on the type of disorder you have. For sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to keep your airways open so you rest soundly. If you have narcolepsy or restless legs syndrome, your doctor may recommend some lifestyle changes and prescription medication. And if you have insomnia, your doctor may also prescribe medication, and/or recommend therapies that calm your breathing and calm your mind.
If you have sleep issues, call CT Sinus Center at (203)574-5997 to schedule a consultation. Having a proper diagnosis and treatment could yield a happier and healthier you.
