When it comes to sleep, some people say they don’t need much at all. About four hours a night and they’re at the top of their game! I was one of those people. Years ago, I used to open up the gym that I worked out in. I worked the desk at Iron Unlimited in exchange for a membership. The gym opened at 6:30 am so I usually showed up around 4:30 am so that I could work out, rush home, eat and get back to the gym to open in time. I stayed up late every night but still hit the gym early every morning. I’d end up getting 4-5 hours of sleep and for the rest of the day I was sleep deprived. If I could get a nap in, it was a beautiful thing! Let’s just say that coffee was a close friend of mine. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the damage I was doing to myself.
Driving while sleep deprived is like driving drunk. Your reaction time and mental functions are slowed down by sleep deprivation. A few years ago, my wife Mary learned this the hard way when she fell asleep at the wheel. The night before we had danced late at our regular Thursday night swing club dance. With usually getting only four to five hours of sleep on Thursdays, Fridays were always rough!
Friday morning, she was up early as usual to start a full day of teaching. After school, she picked up our daughter and the two of them headed to a dance lesson. Mary dropped our daughter back off at her place, and called me telling me how tired she felt. She didn’t want to drink coffee because it would have kept her up all night and felt she could make it home ok. Shortly after that call she fell asleep at the wheel, rolled several times and totaled our car. Luckily she escaped with only a concussion, bruises, and a nasty laceration on her arm needing stitches. Thankfully, no other cars and people were involved in her wreck.
The world is full of misguided souls who think that they are still able to functional at a high level on too little sleep. On the other hand, I know people who say they can’t function on less than eight or nine hours a night. Others never seem to get a solid night of sleep. One of my clients wakes up every two hours, every night. Talk about sleep deprivation! Intuitively we all know we need sleep and on average we spend one-third of our lives sleeping. That’s almost 25 years! Why are we so bad at it?
Why do we need to sleep?
Theories about why we need to sleep have fascinated scientists for years. The famed ancient Lucretius thought that sleep, “is caused by the spirit being attacked and weakened into a state of senescence by mysterious air particles.” I don’t know what the heck that means! Aristotle said that sleep and waking were diametrically opposed phenomena. When sleeping there is the absence of perception. More modern sleep theories suggest that:
· Sleep clears the brain of toxins and waste materials
· Sleep strengthens our memories
· Sleep restores our bodies
· Sleep conserves energy
· Sleep helped us hide from predators
Sleep is considered one of the critical pillars of health, but sadly many people don’t make sleep a priority. Hence the multi-million dollar industries around sugar, coffee, caffeinated drinks, and sleeping pills/sleep aids. Just look at all the mattress commercials that promise a great night sleep. When speaking to my health coaching and training clients, I stress the importance of sleep if they truly want to be healthy.
In an excellent article written by Teri Mosey, PhD., and author of The Hidden Messages In Food (Balboa Press 2018), she states, “We know that sleep is designed to restore, recalibrate, renew and upgrade brain and body functions.” Here are a couple of studies she cites:
· From the perspective of the brain, sleep aids in problem-solving, influences memory retention and the ability to concentrate, regulates emotions, improves coping skills, and inspires creativity (Lewis, Knoblich & Poe 2018; Vandekerckhove & Wang 2018).
· In the body, sleep boosts immunity, balances metabolism and hormones, regulates blood sugar levels, manages blood pressure, combats fatigue, and suppresses cancer cell growth (Ibarra-Coronado et al. 2015; Irwin 2015; Schmid-Hallschmid & Schultes 2015).
There is a growing body of science looking at the connection between our gut and sleep. Our gut is considered our second brain. The health of our gut greatly affects our ability to enjoy the health benefits of sleep. This gut-sleep connection is known as the Gut Brain Axis.
Your gut is filled with thousands of bacteria that make up what is called a microbiome. The microbiome affects appetite, metabolism, weight management, and whether or not you get a sound night’s sleep. What we eat and drink affects our gut health which then, affects our sleep. The Gut Brain Axis is a complicated pathway in which the gut microbiome communicates with the brain to influence sleep through three pathways: endocrine hormone release, nerve transmission, and immune activation.
And here you thought that sleep was a just good way to recover from a late night of studying, partying or for getting over a hangover! The truth is the less we sleep, the more we shorten our lifespans. We also become more susceptible to diseases like diabetes, heart disease, dementia and obesity. The icing on the cake is that we’re also killing brain cells. So let’s see... dumber, fatter, less healthy, and a shorter lifespan. No thank you, please!
How much sleep do we need?
For adults, 7-9 hours of sleep is recommended. A loss of sleep is defined as sleeping less than 7 hours a day resulting in suboptimal physical and psychological performance. For children and young adults, the need for sleep is even greater. Not only are adults sleep deprived but so are millions of children. I want to scream every time I see kids gulping down sugar-filled, highly caffeinated “energy drinks". If only parents knew the damage these drinks can cause!
I've included the chart below for parents to show how much sleep kids should get.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 35% of U.S. adults do not get enough sleep. The Institute of Medicine, reports that 50-70 million people suffer from at least one sleep disorder, with 30 million struggling with insomnia. How do most Americans get by? Coffee and sleep aids mainly. In 2016, Consumer Reports stated that sleep aids are a multi-million dollar market.
The CDC has a short informative video for employers and employees on sleep. I’ve provided a link below. It’s well worth watching!
Negative consequences of the lack of sleep
Reading Arianna Huffington’s book The Sleep Revolution years later, really woke me up to the value of sleep. Huffington as a high achieving business leader, owner and author, talked about how she prided herself on getting by on next to no sleep. One day she fell asleep while standing up. The resulting fall fractured her face! Her personal experience with the lack of sleep and its negative consequences influenced her to write this book. She's since make getting sufficient sleep an absolute priority in her life.
If you don’t fully understand the connection between sleep, performance and health, I urge you to read her book. After reading her book, my wife and I have made sleep a priority. We try to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
There are several negative consequences of getting too little sleep like:
· More accidents (like my wife’s)
· Bad skin and older appearance
· Emotional breakdowns and worsening of relationships
· Increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease
· Lost work productivity
· Higher levels of inflammation
· Lowered immune system and higher risk of cancer and infection
· Compromised hormone balance
· Slower weight loss
· Increased pain
· Weaker bones
· Higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline; worsening memory
· Shortened lifespan
Learning how to upgrade your sleep is imperative for long lasting health. First let’s see what regulates sleep.
What regulates sleep?
Teri Mosley, PhD, in her article entitled The Gut-Sleep Connection, points out the two main regulators of sleep is our circadian rhythm and our sleep drive. Both are influenced by our Gut Brain Axis. Our circadian rhythm has a cycle of 24 hours. It helps stimulate wake-sleep periods and is greatly influenced by the environment such as light exposure.
Additionally, our circadian rhythm:
· Play a role in determining body temperature
· Hormone secretions
· Metabolic rate
· Emotional state
· Appetite
· Digestion
Our sleep cycle also affects our sleep. When we’re awake a chemical called adenosine is released and indicates how long it’s been since we’ve slept. When we’re awake, adenosine levels gradually increase in the areas of the brain important for waking us up. As adenosine levels increase, it inhibits us from waking and causes sleepiness. When we sleep adenosine levels drop.
After an average of 12-16 hours of wakefulness, adenosine decreases alertness and eventually brings on a desire to sleep (Bjorness & Green 2009; Huang, Urade & Hayaishi 2011; Walker 2017). The interplay between our circadian rhythm, adenosine and the environment, regulate when we sleep and when we wake the next morning.
How do we improve our sleep?
By combining changes in our lifestyle, environment and diet, we can greatly affect the quality of our sleep. Here are a few suggestions from Dr. Mosley:
Daytime actions:
· Practice meditation at the start and end of your day.
· Exercise. Try to avoid vigorous exercise for at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
Nighttime actions:
· Wake up and go to bed at the same time, especially if you suffer from insomnia. Even on weekends.
· Remove or avoid LED-powered lamps, laptops and television screens prior to going to bed. These devices mess up your circadian rhythm by decreasing REM sleep and dropping melatonin levels. Melatonin helps you sleep.
· Go to bed when sleepy. You’re not getting anything worthwhile done so just go to bed.
· Sleep in a cool room. 65 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal. As your core temperature drops you sleep better. Living in the Southwest we know how hard it is to sleep during the summer months. Thankfully there’s A.C.!!
· Avoid sleep aids. They suppress the REM stage of sleep which is essential for integrating memories and resetting your emotional state.
· If you use an alarm clock, don’t go pressing that darn snooze button time after time. Get the heck up already! You’re just jolting your nervous system and cardiovascular system. They don’t like that.
Eating Strategies:
· Eat primarily a plant-based diet. Here once again is the benefit of a plant-based lifestyle! Benefits include:
a) Better immunity (one of the pathways in the gut-sleep connection)
b) Decreases the number of nighttime arousals and deeper REM sleep
c) Higher production of serotonin and melatonin which calm the nervous system and helps us fall asleep and stay asleep.
· Add small amounts of fermented foods such as raw, unpasteurized naturally fermented sauerkraut, tempeh, miso and apple cider vinegar are great option.
· Minimize caffeine consumption which blocks adenosine receptors which regulates sleep. It takes 10 hours for caffeine to fully exit the body. Better get that last cup in early especially if you suffer from insomnia. Staying hydrated with good old water helps you sleep. I’m trying to avoid drinking fluids at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. Otherwise, I’m waking up and running to the bathroom when I should be sleeping. These old kidneys ain’t what they used to be!
· Make dinner the smallest meal. Your digestive system is most active during the early part of the day. Some research suggests that lunch should be the largest meal of the day. Regardless, don’t stuff your face after about 7 p.m. This gives your body time to heal and restore for the next day’s onslaught.
· Practice mindfulness when eating. This supports better digestion. Be conscious of your breathing prior to eating. Slow down and pay attention to what you’re eating. Be mindful of the taste and sensations caused by food. Also be aware of how eating affects your emotions. Mindfulness decreases inflammation and improves sleep (Fountain-Zaragoza & Prakash 2017; Pintado-Cucarella & Rodriguez-Salgado 2016).
Everyone needs a good night sleep to function at a high level and to be healthy. Even though on average we sleep for a third of our lives, sleep doesn’t come to us equally. Some people fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow while others lay awake staring at the ceiling. Then there are those unfortunates who wake up every two hours and rarely feel restored by sleep. By gaining an understanding of the gut-sleep connection and how food, our environment and lifestyle choices affects this connection, we can take smart steps towards gaining better sleep. After all, restorative sleep isn’t an indulgence it’s necessary for a long and healthy life.
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