|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Answers To Your Top Snooze Q's
Our sleep expert answers WebMD community members'
questions about shut-eye
By Christina Boufis
WebMD Feature
In
each issue of WebMD the Magazine, we put five of the
most-asked questions on the WebMD community boards
to one of our health experts. In our
January-February 2011 issue, we gave WebMD's sleep
expert, Michael Breus, PhD, ABSM, the top five sleep
questions -- including why we need it, how much we
need, even whether or not it can really make us
beautiful.
1. Why do we sleep?
Great question. Unfortunately, we don't have a great
answer. We're still kind of baffled about why we
sleep. We know that we need it -- and that there's
an internal drive for it, like hunger, that we can
satiate. But it's very difficult to put a finger on
the exact purpose of sleep.
What
we do know is that several critical things happen
during sleep. Every 80 to 120 minutes we progress
through five stages of sleep -- drifting off in
stage 1, light sleep in stage 2, deeper sleep in
stages 3 and 4, and REM or rapid eye movement sleep
in stage 5.
Stages 3 and 4 are the most physically restorative;
your body emits growth hormones and refreshes itself
by repairing any muscular damage done during the
day. In stage 5 or REM sleep, your mind restores
itself: The brain moves information from your short-
to your long-term memory and makes specific
connections to organize thoughts so you can recall
them later.
2. Do we need less sleep as we age?
This
is really more a myth than a fact. A lot of folks
age 65 and older say they require less sleep, but
that's not the case. They still need roughly the
same amount of sleep -- somewhere between 6.5 and
8.5 hours -- but because they may not be as active
as they once were or they have opportunities to take
unscheduled naps throughout the day, they get those
hours someplace else. They just end up with less
sleep at nighttime.
Eight hours of sleep a night is also a myth. The
average person is sleeping between 6.8 and 6.9
hours. And that might be fine. It all depends on the
individual and the quality of sleep, not just the
quantity.
Children are another story; their sleep needs are
dramatically different from those of adults. What we
know is that people's sleep needs do change over
time or with their health. There's even data to show
that people who sleep more than 10 hours or less
than 5 hours in each 24-hour period have double the
mortality rate.
3. Is there really such a thing as
beauty sleep?
There is. Being sleep-deprived can affect the
overall way you look. An example of this is weight
gain. If you're not getting enough sleep, there's an
increase in a digestive hormone called ghrelin,
which tells your body to eat. There's also a
decrease in leptin, the hormone that tells your body
you're full. When you have more "eat" and less
"full," you tend to overeat and put on weight.
Beyond that, hydration and skin elasticity can
change due to sleep deprivation. During deep sleep,
your body releases growth hormone (GH), which
affects almost every cell, renewing the skin and
bones and bringing back organ and tissue function to
more youthful levels.
For
many, GH acts like a natural cosmetic, restoring
skin elasticity, smoothing wrinkles, and tending to
hair and nails. Conversely, lack of sleep speeds up
arterial aging -- affecting the blood vessels that
nourish the body and the skin -- which has a direct
relationship on how your skin looks and feels.
Puffiness or bags under the eyes can be caused by
fluid retention, loss of skin firmness and
elasticity, or fatigue, many of which are triggered
by poor sleep. Dark circles under the eyes can also
be due to poor blood circulation -- again, the
result of lack of sleep.
4. Are sleep patterns inherited?
Absolutely. Research shows there are genetic
components to not only sleep disorders but also
overall sleep quality. If your mom or dad, for
example, was a bad sleeper and your grandmother was
a bad sleeper, you might have a high proclivity for
sleeping poorly.
For
sleep disorders, the cranial facial structure
(meaning the skull and front of your face) is passed
down from generation to generation. This may have a
lot to do with your risk of developing sleep apnea,
which can affect the quality and quantity of your
sleep.
5. Do naps help make up for lost
sleep?
They
do. I'm a big proponent of naps. The only time I
don't recommend people nap is if they have insomnia
-- difficulty either falling asleep or maintaining
sleep.
New
evidence suggests that the ability to fall asleep is
directly related to the last time you were asleep.
You have to build up "sleep pressure" over the
course of the day. So if the last time you were
awake was 6 a.m., your pressure is going to be far
higher at night than if the last time you woke up
was 2:30 in the afternoon. Taking a nap halfway
through the day reduces that pressure, and that can
make it difficult to sleep at night.
The
goal of a nap is to dip the body and mind briefly
into stage 2 sleep, which can last for about 20
minutes, or to make it through one entire sleep
cycle. Napping longer can leave you with sleep
inertia -- that groggy feeling where you feel worse
than before you napped. That's why I recommend
30-minute power naps or 90-minute restorative naps,
both of which can leave you feeling refreshed and
energized.
©
WebMD. All rights reserved.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
A lot of folks age 65 and older
say they require less sleep, but that's not the
case. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
It's
easy to stay up to date on the things that interest
you. Just 
