Sleep

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Sleep is a necessary and integral state that permits mental and physical restoration. Adequate restful sleep, like diet and exercise, is critical to good health. Insufficient restful sleep can result in mental and physical health problems. Nearly two out of three Americans get less than the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep a night. Average sleep duration has decreased from about nine hours per night in 1910 to about seven and a half hours today. In order to meet the many demands of daily life and around the clock production, many shift workers sleep less than five hours a night.

More than 70 million people suffer from sleep deprivation caused by poor or interrupted sleep and about 50 million suffer negative health effects as a result. Prior to invention of the light bulb, people used to get up at dawn and go to bed at sundown. This natural rhythm rejuvenated the immune system and restored energy. Today, however, a 24x7 economy forces us to view sleep as a nuisance or a waste of time.

Paying little attention to natural sleep patterns sets us up for sleep deprivation and weakened immunity. In fact, inadequate overnight repair and rejuvenation added to a dash of stress set the stage for infirmities including compromised immune function.

ROLE FOR ANTI-AGING:

Sleep deprivation of just 2 to 3 days can lead to serious lapses in mental function and judgment, at 4 to 5 days can cause psychosis, and at week or more may be fatal &emdash; studies of lab rats that were not allowed to sleep for thirteen days revealed the cause of death as brain hemorrhage. A study carried out in 2001 found that people who slept for less than sixhours each night were more likely to gain weight, and were therefore at higher risk from type II diabetes. When you are asleep, your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is in control and your nervous system is being rejuvenated. Many important immune system processes occur as you sleep, which is why "getting a lot of rest" is prescribed as a treatment for so many illnesses. Given its simplicity, bedrest and deep sleep are perhaps the two most underestimated therapeutic interventions that deliver the greatest benefit for the ‘effort’ spent.

THERAPEUTIC DAILY AMOUNT: Traditionally 8 hours per night, however research published in 2002 found that people who slept for eight hours were 12% more likely to die within the six-year study, compared with participants who only managed six to seven hours sleep a night. Furthermore, results of another study, also published in 2002, found that 14% of people who said they slept for more than 8-hours a night had a history of stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIA’s), whereas less than 6% of those who slept for just 6- hours a night had a stroke history. Together, these findings suggest that 6-7 hours may be the optimum amount of sleep for adults.

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