Why sleep is a necessity, not a luxury

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AL: WHY IS SLEEP SO IMPORTANT TO OUR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING?

Dr. Maas: Sleep is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. We’ve been hearing for so long that it’s macho to get by on four to six hours of sleep, but that’s not healthy or productive. Eight hours of sleep puts you in a much better mood and makes you more efficient and effective. It’s well worth the investment.

Sleep is important because it restores body and brain cells. It affects your mood, energy and alertness. Without it, you get irritable, anxious and depressed, and you gain weight.

Sleep deprivation affects your cognitive processing so you can’t learn, can’t think and can’t remember. Creativity and productivity go down.

And there’s a tremendous hit on your health. Sleep deprivation has now been linked to cancer and a host of other health problems.

Rebecca Robbins: When we’re sleep deprived, we wake up craving junk food. We have no perception of what constitutes a good diet.

The best way to lose weight is to add an hour of sleep every night. It might sound contrary that you can lose weight lying around, but research shows that by improving the quantity and quality of sleep, you’re more apt to exercise and can lose up to a pound a week.

Without enough sleep, we’re also much more prone to heart attack, strokes (and high blood pressure.)

AL: HOW DO OUR SLEEP NEEDS AND PATTERNS CHANGE AS WE GET OLDER?

Dr. Maas: The first big change comes at the beginning of puberty when sleep needs go up.  That continues to be true – we need 9.25 hours through age 25 or 26.  Then it drops down to 7.5 to 9.5.

There are individual differences, but most people need about an hour more than they’re getting right now.
As we get older, it’s harder to sleep in one long, continuous block, but our needs are not much different. That’s why older people try to nap during the day, but you should try to sleep longer at night.

AL: WHAT CHANGES DO WE NEED TO MAKE IN MIDDLE AGE AND BEYOND?

Dr. Maas: The same changes that we probably should have made earlier in life.

First, determine your sleep needs. Second, establish a regular sleep-wake schedule, including weekends. Regularity is the key.

When people are having trouble sleeping, they’ll often try to go to bed early and think that if they stay in bed for 10 or 11 hours, they’ll get eight hours of  sleep. But with insomniacs, we recommend that they delay sleep for a week or two. Wait to go to bed until midnight or 1 a.m. when they’re really tired. Then, once they’re used to falling asleep quickly, pull bedtime back 15 minutes each night. The goal is one long block of continuous sleep.

AL: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TIPS FOR INDUCING SLEEP?

Dr. Maas: The tips are the same no matter what your age.

Rebecca Robbins: You should start prepping for sleep as soon as you wake up in the morning.

Limit your caffeine intake; caffeine is the biggest destroyer of sleep. Smoking and alcohol also inhibit sleep.
Make your bedroom your sanctuary, a place you associate with rest and relaxation.  Get your (computer) out of the bedroom. Also move the TV and your briefcase, and don’t balance your checkbook in bed.

Try aromatherapy (such as a lavender candle) or soft classical music to put you in the mood for sleep. Also, try removing all sources of light – even a small crack in window, light under the door, or the LED on the alarm clock. Pitch black is the bottom line.

Reading in bed is perfect as long as it’s not work-related.

AL: ARE SLEEPING PILLS AN ACCEPTABLE WAY TO SELF-TREAT INSOMNIA?

Dr. Maas: Sleeping pills are OK for temporary insomnia that doesn’t last more than three weeks and occasional use is OK to get back on cycle.

However, for long-term chronic insomnia, we recommend cognitive behavior therapy – or CBT -- to simply teach people the rules of good sleep hygiene.

Follow the rules for what you eat and drink and the bedroom rules. This works much better than pills that put you into a deep sleep but don’t put you through the natural sleep cycles.

AL: WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS THAT WE NEED TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION?

Dr. Maas: In general, more than three weeks of insomnia.

The main one to watch out for is sleep apnea. Symptoms are heavy snoring, gasping for air at night, and repetitive pauses in breathing. It can be life threatening.

Restless leg syndrome is characterized by creepy crawly, biting or itchy feelings that cause you to move your legs when you’re in bed and kick the covers.

Even heavy snoring is hard on the heart and should be attended to.

Most general practitioners are not trained in sleep, so it’s best to go to an accredited sleep center. There are 89 known sleep disorders and most physicians (who are not sleep specialists) can only name three or four.
Of course, the most common sign of a sleep disorder is that you’re tired all the time.