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Rest Assured
How to sleep
soundly tonight and wake up slimmer, happier and
healthier!
By Ann Hettinger
WebMD Feature from
"Prevention" Magazine
Is a
good night's sleep the first thing you sacrifice
when life gets too full and busy? If so, this is
your wake-up call: You're not just sabotaging your
next day's performance (news to none of us), but
you're actually harming your health.
"Sleep deprivation is a serious medical risk, but
few people are aware of that," says Joyce Walsleben,
PhD, an associate professor of medicine at NYU
School of Medicine. "You have to pay as much
attention to your sleep as you do to eating a
nutritious diet."
A
spate of studies is turning up clear links between
inadequate sleep and obesity, as well as several
related conditions: heart disease, hypertension, and
type 2 diabetes.
For
example, people who typically get fewer than 7 hours
of shut-eye per night are more likely to be obese
than their well-rested peers, according to an
analysis of almost 7,000 people enrolled in the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
"Sleeping less and weighing more are two of the most
obvious social trends over the past century," says
Eric Olson, MD, codirector of the Sleep Disorders
Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. "The
less you sleep the more likely you are to be
overweight."
The good news is that with adequate shut-eye,
these conditions may be reversible, our experts
say. Drawing on studies about what robs us of
quality sleep, they have devised strategies that
can help you get the rest you need. Here's a
lineup of the most insidious sleep thieves--and
the latest recommendations on how to bar them
from your bedroom forever.
Sleep thief #1: an
overactive mind
The
reason you sometimes obsess over a tricky work
project or an argument with your best friend when
you're trying to fall asleep: You can't refocus your
thinking at the edge of slumber the same way you can
when you're alert, says Colleen E. Carney, PhD, an
assistant professor of psychiatry at the Insomnia
and Sleep Research Program at Duke University
Medical Center.
"People have little control over their thoughts,
because they may be going in and out of a light
stage of sleep, even though they think they're
awake," Carney says.
Rest
easy When fretful, get up and go to another part of
the house (but leave the lights off). "Your anxious
thoughts will usually stop right away. Then you can
go back to bed and fall asleep," Carney says. This
well-studied strategy, called stimulus control, also
prevents you from associating your bed with anxiety.
Another tip: Set aside time early in the evening to
problem solve. Write down your pressing concerns,
along with a possible solution for each, a few hours
before retiring.
Sleep thief #2:
weekend sleep-ins
Late
nights followed by extra sack time the next morning
throw off your internal clock, which is controlled
by a cluster of nerve cells in the brain that also
regulate appetite and body temperature, says
Lawrence Epstein, MD, medical director of Sleep
HealthCenters in Brighton, MA, and author of The
Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night's
Sleep. When Sunday rolls around, you're reprogrammed
to stay up past your bedtime, and you feel like a
zombie on Monday morning.
Rest
easy Even if you've been up late, don't sleep in
more than an hour longer than usual, Epstein says.
To make up for lost slumber, take an afternoon
catnap (no more than 30 minutes, though, because an
extended daytime snooze can keep you awake at
night).
Sleep thief #3: a
bedmate
A
snorer's sawing can reach 90 decibels--as loud as a
blender. Even if you can get to sleep, his snoring
will likely wax and wane through the night and wake
you up during REM sleep, the most restful phase.
Rest
easy Ask your partner to sleep on his side instead
of his back. If that doesn't work, earplugs
will--but only if they stay in, says Meir Kryger,
MD, director of research and education at Gaylord
Sleep Center at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, CT,
and author of A Woman's Guide to Sleep Disorders.
Try Hearos Ultimate Softness ($1) or Howard Leight
MAX ($1); both are made of flexible, washable
polyurethane.
Sleep thief #4:
your hormones
Fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone
before or during your period or throughout
perimenopause can sabotage sleep, says Walsleben.
You may notice problems--mainly waking up during the
night--long before you start having hot flashes, she
says.
Rest
easy A hot bath a couple hours before turning in
and, if you're often awakened by cramps, an
over-the-counter pain reliever at bedtime may be all
you need to counter premenstrual insomnia. For a
stubborn case, ask your physician whether a
short-acting sleep medication, taken two or three
nights a month, would make sense.
During perimenopause, stay on a consistent
sleep-wake schedule, exercise at least 20 to 30
minutes a day, and avoid caffeine after lunch and
alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime (a cocktail helps
you nod off, but its rebound effect will wake you
up, Epstein says). For hot flashes and night sweats,
try sleeping in a cool room and wearing light
clothing (several companies make pajamas that wick
away moisture). If you're still tossing and turning,
consider hormone therapy, Walsleben says. Recent
research suggests that it may be safe for many women
in their 50s (particularly the new low doses) when
used for fewer than 5 years.
Sleep thief #5:
eating too little
Going to bed hungry interferes with sleep--hunger
pangs simply wake you up--and some evidence suggests
that people trying to lose weight may wake up
frequently, says Peter Hauri, PhD, a professor
emeritus at the Mayo Clinic and author of No More
Sleepless Nights.
Rest
easy Hauri suggests saving some of your calories for
a high-protein bedtime snack, such as a small
serving of cheese or a hard-boiled egg. Protein
produces greater satiety than carbohydrates and fat.
This Is Your Body
without Sleep
You crave junk food
Sleep loss may cause you to want more calories than
your body needs, especially in the form of sugary
snacks and starches. After going without enough
sleep for two nights, people in one study had more
of the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin and less of
the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin.
Long-term risk: Obesity
You're less able to process glucose
It's the fuel that every cell in your body needs to
function. After just 6 days of sleep restriction,
people develop resistance to insulin, the hormone
that helps transport glucose from the bloodstream
into the cells, say University of Chicago
researchers. In another study, tests showed that
participants who slept fewer than 6 hours a night
and claimed to be "natural short sleepers" couldn't
metabolize sugar properly.
Long-term risk: Type 2 diabetes
You're always in fight-or-flight
mode
The University of Chicago study also found that
inadequate shut-eye caused levels of cortisol, the
stress hormone, to spike in the afternoon and
evening--increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and
blood glucose. Aside from posing future health
problems, the cortisol-induced alertness comes at an
inopportune time--when you should be winding down
your day or sleeping.
Long-term risks: Hypertension, heart
disease, and type 2 diabetes
Your immune system weakens
People who got insufficient sleep for 10 days had
elevated levels of C-reactive protein, an
inflammation marker that's been linked to heart
disease and some autoimmune diseases, according to a
study. Other research revealed that sleep-deprived
men failed to mount the normal immune response after
receiving flu shots. They had only half as many
disease-fighting antibodies 10 days after the
vaccination, compared with men who were well rested.
Long-term risk: Inflammation, which
can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2
diabetes
You're not mentally sharp, and your
mood takes a nosedive
After a restless night, reaction time is decreased,
making driving (among other activities) dangerous.
Chronically tired people are also less happy. "Sleep
and mood are regulated by the same brain chemicals,"
says Joyce Walsleben, PhD.
Long-term risk: Depression, but
probably only for those who are already
susceptible to the illness
3 New Ways to Sleep
Deeply
-
Slip on some socks: The instant warm-up
widens blood vessels in your feet, allowing your
body to transfer heat from its core to the
extremities, cooling you slightly, which induces
sleep, says Phyllis Zee, PhD, director of sleep
disorders at Northwestern University's Feinberg
School of Medicine. Wearing an old-fashioned
nightcap achieves the same result.
-
Stay on schedule: People who follow
regular daily routines--bedtimes and wake-up
times, work hours and meals--report fewer sleep
problems than those with more unpredictable
lives, according to a study from the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Recurring time
cues synchronize your body rhythms and
sleep-wake cycles, says Lawrence Epstein, MD.
-
Go Dark: Any light signals the brain to
wake up, but "blue light" from your cell phone
and your clock's digital display are the worst
offenders. For a sound sleep, turn your clock
around and banish lighted devices from the
bedroom.
©
WebMD. All rights reserved.
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"You have to pay as much attention to your sleep
as you do to eating a nutritious diet." |
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