Getting good quality sleep is essential to our health and survival.
The amount of sleep we obtain contributes to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
When we don’t get enough sleep, our quality of life decreases, and it puts us at greater risk of developing disorders and diseases.
Establishing good sleep habits now and diagnosing and treating disorders not only helps improve the quality of our sleep, but it can also increase our longevity.
Why Do We Sleep?
Many people perceive sleep as a period in time when the body shuts down.
When we are sleepy, we are often told to “get some rest.” However, when it’s time for us to lay down, relax, and shut our eyes, our body isn’t inactive.
A whole series of stages, cycles, and patterns take place when we fall asleep. These activities restore and strengthen our mind and body.
Throughout the day, our mind is active, and while we sleep, our brains process and transfer memories of our experiences during the day, from short-term memories to long-term memories.
Our muscles grow, tissues repair, and we synthesize hormones so our body can restore itself and rejuvenate.
Researchers also indicate that while we sleep, our brain undergoes a series of checks to monitor the balance of hormones, enzymes, and proteins.
They claim the brain acts like a dishwasher. It gets rid of toxic organic matter. If the matter accumulates, it can lead to a myriad of problems.
For instance, excess matter can damage healthy cells and make it difficult to form memories, create thoughts, and process our emotions.
Benefits of Sleep and its Effects on Our Longevity
Obtaining an appropriate amount of sleep not only helps us to feel well-rested, but it also improves our health and quality of life.
The activities that occur while we sleep develop our language, social, and motor skills throughout our youth and help us to improve and maintain them during adulthood.
Some centenarians attribute being well-rested as one of their secrets for living a long life.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, supercentenarian Nabi Tajima of Japan reached the age of 117.
She was the world’s oldest person in 2018. She shared her secret to longevity: “eating delicious things and sleeping well.”
Sleep helps us to tackle mentally challenging tasks:
- Develop creative insights
- Improve our cardiovascular health
- Bolster our immune system
- Regulate our weight, appetite, and blood sugar levels
- Supports the release of hormones that contribute to puberty and fertility
The Center for Disease and Control Prevention suggests the recommended amount of sleep needed at each developmental stage within a 24 hour day.
- Newborns, 14-17 hours
- Infants, 12-16 hours
- Toddlers, 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers, 10-13 hours
- Elementary and middle schoolers, 9-12 hours
- Teenagers, 8-10 hours
Researchers commonly recommend adults receive between six and eight hours of sleep; however, an American Cancer Society study indicates that the magic number for longevity is seven hours.
The study included more than 1.1 million men and women. Participants were between the ages of 30 and 102 years old.
The study found that mortality increased for individuals who slept six hours or less.
However, people who slept more than 8.5 hours also increased their mortality.
What Occurs When We Don’t Get Enough Sleep
Americans aren’t getting enough sleep. Thirty-five percent are getting less than seven hours a day, according to a 2016 Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) study.
Researchers reached this conclusion after reviewing data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
They retrieved the data from the state-based, telephone study performed by state health departments and the CDC.
The study showed that the lack of sleep was highest among people unable to work or unemployed.
Individuals who had higher sleep quality included college students and married couples.
According to the National Institute of Health, as many as 70 million Americans either have trouble sleeping or sleep disorders.
The lack of sleep contributes to $16 billion in health care expenses and $50 billion in lost productivity since it affects daily activities, health, and longevity.
Contributors to poor sleep include poor sleep hygiene and medical issues, such as sleep apnea and acid reflux, genetics, drinking alcohol or caffeine right before bed, long naps, late-night exposure to light from electronics, and medicines.
Unfortunately, you can’t pay back “sleep debt.” Cutting back on sleep and having irregular sleep patterns and low quality sleep compromises your health and quality of life.
Sleep disturbances can account for symptoms of anxiety, depression, reduced reaction times and vision, memory problems, and imbalance.
The chronic loss of sleep can result in reduced insulin sensitivity and an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, cancer, depression, and poor quality of health.
Taking longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep, snoring or gasping during sleep, or experiencing tingling or crawling sensations in your legs when you try to fall asleep can signal a disorder.
The most common disorders are insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy.
Strategies for Falling Asleep
The best sleep habits are consistent ones.
Therefore, it’s critical to develop a healthy routine and good sleep hygiene to improve your quality of sleep.
Doing the following activities can help.
- Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule
- Cutting off electronics before going to bed and if needed, using a low-wattage light
- Limiting your consumption of caffeine and alcohol before bedtime
- Changing your bed linens weekly
- Participating in soothing activities, such as listening to music or taking a warm bath or shower.
- Using an air purifier to eliminate indoor air and impurities
- Investing in allergen-barrier bedding
Learn how much sleep you need so you can function well, be productive and well-rested, and improve your health, quality of life, and longevity.
20 Tips For Sleeping
From Visually.
