This week we will be looking at how adults can be affected by a lack of sleep - worryingly these effects are the same whether the deprivation is caused by insomnia or just trying to fit too much into your day.
Since the beginning of the last century great leaps in technology have promised us more time for leisure and activities we enjoy. Electricity and light-bulbs promised us that we could do more in the evenings and the early hours of darkness. Time to spend with family and loved ones, time to read and do other hobbies rather than going to bed soon after dusk.
In reality some of the advances have actually impacted the amount of time we spend asleep and the impact is increasing year on year. On average humans now sleep for about an hour less than we did 60 years ago.
Television was a great invention but used to switch off in the evenings, now it is available 24/7 and there is always another programme to watch. As the technology improved, TV's have now expanded into the bedroom and have an even bigger impact on sleep levels.
Now the internet and the sophistication of mobile technology means that we are connected to work all the time. The days of leaving work at 5pm and heading home for an evening with the family are diminishing, with only a few occupations left where this is possible. I remember my father being 'on call' one night a week and one weekend in four. This did impact our lives but for the other nights/weekends he was off duty. Now Doctors can be called all the time and are never off duty. This isn't just for the medical profession though - hands up who checks their emails one last time before going to bed, over the weekend or even when on holiday.
Computers have introduced and updated a new range of hobbies and pastimes. Several clients have reported to me that if they can not sleep they get up and play on-line games during the night. These range from card games and chess through to the latest shoot-em dead epic. The thing is they all stimulate the brain and delay the opportunity for falling back to sleep.
Sometimes we expect our brains and bodies to act like computers and switch on and off automatically. We go to bed, so stimulated - through technology, work, caffeine etc - and expect to fall asleep as soon as we hit the pillow. In fact our brains need time to wind down before being relaxed enough to sleep. In the 'old days' the sunset and darkness would be enough of a trigger but now artifical light (especially the lights on computers and kindles etc) stimulate the retinas at the back of hours and delay the sleep mechanisms of the brain kicking in. Reading your kindle, even on the low light setting, sends light directly to your eyes, whereas reading a book with a sidelight slightly behind you sends only the light reflected off the page to your eyes. A big difference.
In this world of physical perfection some people are getting up ever earlier to fit in a workout or run before they go to work. In fact I often see this being offered as a solution to people who say that they do not have the time to exercise during the day - paraphrasing somewhat it is along the lines of 'Get up an hour early and fit in your exercise as it is important to have a physically fit body.' However, unless done with care, the physical benefits of exercise are diminished -if not negated - by the physical effects of sleep deprivation.
So whether or not you have the classic insomnia and lie awake staring at the ceiling or you are getting less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours as you are burning the candle at both ends - the effects on your body are exactly the same.
Sleep deprivation portrays itself in the body in a variety of ways including -
Lethargy
Poor concentration
Decreased performance in both physical and mental tasks
Increase in appetite
Weight gain
Increased risk of heart problems
Increased risk of diabetes
increased risk of strokes
The problem for most sleep deprived adults is that the effects are accumulated over time. You do not get diabetes after just one night of poor sleep. In fact, after just one night of poor sleep you feel ok, it was not a problem and you feel as if you could do it again.
You may have been slower at work, or felt tired on the way home but these effects are diminished by taking caffeine or other stimulants. So you do it again. Pulling an all nighter to get a report done. Staying out late with your friends. Watching a late night TV programme.
In fact your body has been pulling out all the stops to help you feel normal and ok and it has the resources to do this and it these that are causing the long term damage that one day may show up as a heart problem.
When you are sleep deprived your hormones are affected including leptin - that suppresses your appetite causing you to eat more. (The science bit is here). So you may eat a little more after a bad night's sleep, so what? It is the accumulative effect that causes weight gain and the increased risk of diabeties, heart problems and strokes.
Constantly taking stimulants to keep your performance levels high at work may gradually become a cycle of stimulants to wake you and sedatives to help you sleep.
Also if you start feeling tired, you skip on the exercise, further impacting on the problems for your health.
Without becoming a social recluse - what can you do help get back into a normal, healthy sleep pattern?
Make a sleep a priority in your life
Work out how many hours sleep you need a night and start to work towards getting them
Cut out caffeine after 2pm
Stop drinking alcohol 2 hours before bedtime
Take technology out of the bedroom - computers, smartphones, kindles, TV's etc
Have a 'no screen time' hour before bed
Read proper books at bedtime, not kindles
Use things like a having a bath as a wind down time before going to bed
If needed have strategic naps but not too late in the afternoon
Record and watch favourite late night programs at a later date
Have a time limit on social events on 'school nights'
If you are aware of sleep deprivation and the affect it is having on your body, you are already one step along the path of changing your habits. Good luck in your journey.
Sweet dreams
If you think you have a problem with sleep deprivation and would like help resolving it and do not know where to begin, then please contact me for a free consultation session. charlotte@charlottewelply.com
