Like food and drink, sleep is a biological imperative. A good night's sleep is crucial to your health and wellbeing; yet sadly, this is sacrificed the most at the altar of a busy life
In an ideal situation, we should spend at least one-third of our lives in slumber. According to Global Sleep Research Organization, US, approximately half of the world's population is at risk of suffering from some kind of insomnia or sleep related disorder. Chronic insomnia can affect your health in many ways.
Natural defense against disease
Apart from accelerating the aging process, insomnia causes the onset of obesity, diabetes and even heart attacks. In a study by Eva Van Cauter, a sleep scientist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, US, it was established that those who limited themselves to only four hours of sleep every night had decreased levels of leptin - which is a hormone that signals your body that you are full at meal-times. With a deficiency in this hormone, people tend to overeat.
In chronic insomniacs, it was found that leptin levels matched those who were malnourished or underfed by 1,000 calories a day! The brain then signals [and wrongly so!] that the body is starving, leading to those unexplained hunger pangs and mid-night binges that can have your weight go out of control.
Van Couter also monitored 27 people at their homes, dividing them into two groups. One group was allowed to sleep only five hours a night and the other eight. Afterwards, each person was tested for insulin resistance, a measure of how well the body processes blood sugar. The greater the resistance, the greater one's risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes. The results were mind-boggling. Those who slept for a shorter duration at night had 50 per cent more insulin resistance than longer sleepers!
This is only the tip of the iceberg. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, US, found that those who sleep five or fewer hours a night have 82 per cent higher risk of heart attack than those who slept the essential eight hours. Earlier a six-hour sleep session was considered adequate, but today it is proven that even this causes mild sleep deprivation and boosts the risk of heart attack by 30 per cent.
While you were sleeping...
A full night's rest includes several 90-minute cycles of dreaming and non-dreaming sleep. A 10-minute nap can help you reach only the first two cycles of sleep.
You enter the deep stages [stage three and four] after you've been asleep for at least 60 minutes. It is at this stage that the body rejuvenates itself physically. The last stage is the REM [Rapid Eye Movement] sleep when the mind is truly refreshed. It is awash with dreams, which allows the sub-conscious to work through various emotions and also help improve memory. When you burn the midnight oil, you tend to miss the most refreshing REM part of your sleep. This can lead to diminished concentration, headache and even memory lapse.
Secret to sound sleep...
Getting plenty of exercise and watching your diet is instrumental in ensuring a good night's sleep. Strive to eat nutritious and well-balanced small meals throughout the day. Avoid spicy or heavy food/s before bed-time.
Dr Virend K Somers, Professor of Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, US, advises insomniacs to follow certain simple steps as a prelude to bed-time to woo sleep.
He calls this, "sleep hygiene." He says: "Getting the TV out of the bedroom, making the room darker by reducing ambient light, and avoiding strenuous mental and physical activity just before sleep is crucial."
(source:thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2070872.ece)
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