Don’t take a good night’s sleep for granted. It’s more important for your overall health than you may think.
Sleepiness throughout the day after minimal shut-eye isn’t the only possible consequence. Other problems may include those that affect your immune system, thought process and cardiovascular health.
What is interrupted sleep?
It’s
recommended that adults and the elderly get 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Waking up once or twice briefly during the night is normal. But
interrupted sleep is when you wake up for prolonged periods at least
four times over the course of about eight hours. There are four sleep
stages your body goes through during the night: non-REM (rapid eye
movement) sleep (stages 1 to 3) and then REM sleep, which is associated
with dreaming.
When a sleep stage is interrupted, your body
essentially has to reset and start going through the stages all over
again, which could prevent you from getting deep, restorative sleep.
Side effects
In
addition to daytime sleepiness, missing or interrupted sleep can cause:
irritability, decreased creativity, increased stress, decreased
accuracy, tremors, aches, and memory lapses or loss. It can even cause
symptoms similar to ADHD and contribute to increased heart rate
variability and risk of heart disease and stroke.
Less than ideal
sleep also can lead to an impaired immune system, says Amit Narula,
D.O., medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Carroll
Hospital. When you lack sleep, your body makes fewer cytokines, a
protein that helps fight inflammation and infection.
“It’s easier to get an infection and it could be harder or take longer to get rid of an infection,” Narula says.
How to get better sleep
One
of the main things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep is
avoid alcohol and nicotine, and food and drinks in general, as it gets
closer to bedtime. You should also keep a sleep diary to track your
habits and patterns so you can share them with your doctor.
Narula also suggests things like:
- Keeping your bedroom dark and cool
- Limiting time in bed to sleep and sex
- Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule
- Avoiding the use of light-emitting screens (television, phone, etc.) before sleep
- Using comfortable bedding
- Keeping pets out of the bedroom
- Not wearing tight clothes to bed
Another
tip: Write down the next day’s to-do list so you’re not constantly
thinking about what you have to do when it’s time to call it a night.
It’s
generally recommended that teens get 8 to 10 hours of sleep and younger
school-age children get about 9 to 11 hours of sleep. But adults
shouldn’t assume that regularly sleeping for more than nine hours is
good rest because it may be a sign of an underlying problem.
“Recent
studies have indicated that more than nine hours of sleep in some
individuals have been associated with diabetes, heart disease and
depression,” Narula says.
When to seek treatment
If you’re
experiencing daytime sleepiness, you may have a sleeping disorder and
should see a doctor about it as soon as possible.
The good news
is that most sleep disorders are highly treatable. A sleep doctor can
determine the cause and severity of your sleep problem as well as
treatments and therapies for better sleep. Sleep studies are conducted
to diagnose or rule out problems such as sleep apnea, periodic limb
movement disorder, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and insomnia. They
also help evaluate nighttime behaviors such as sleepwalking and REM
sleep behavior disorder.
Quality sleep is good not only for your
mind, but all of your organs. It’s also a time for healing. A number of
studies have determined that quality sleep leads to longer, healthier
lives.
The state-of-the-art LifeBridge Health Sleep Centers have
your total solution for sleep resolution. Our specialists can evaluate
your sleep patterns to accurately diagnose and treat your source of
sleep disturbance. Call (833) 647-5337 or 410-601-WELL to learn more or
ask about scheduling an appointment.
