We recently conducted a survey of the young to middle-aged urban population and found alarming rates of sleep deprivation. Only a quarter of the respondents were getting 8 hours of sleep, and the majority of them indicated waking up tired and needing more rest.
Besides being essential to life and survival, sleeping affects our mind body soul. Counting sheep is not as simple as closing your eyes and closing your eyes.
Neuroscientists define sleep as a state of active unconsciousness, in which the brain is in a state of relative rest and is reacting primarily to internal stimuli. Simply put, it is a state where the body slows down in almost all departments, none more so than the brain.
Why do we sleep?
It may sound strange, but we still don't know exactly why humans and other animals sleep. A variety of theories are being proposed in current research, including the Inactivity theory, the Restoration theory, the Energy conservation theory, and the Brain plasticity theory.
It has been found that muscles repair themselves, tissues grow, proteins are synthesised, and growth hormones are released predominantly during sleep. The body has decreased metabolism by up to 10% during sleep. During sleep, the brain's structure and function are reorganised and grown.
Stages of sleep
There are essentially four stages of sleep – 3 stages of Non-Rapid Eye Movement, Sleep, and Rapid Eye Movement. These stages typically occur in 90 to 120-minute cycles. The body ideally needs 3 to 4 such cycles for restful rebuilding.
How much Should we sleep?
Now, this is a tricky question. The importance of sleep in infants' and children's brain development explains why infants need to sleep upwards of 14 hours a day. Geriatric patients can swing from managing with 5 to 6 hours a day or needing nearly 12 hours of sleep as age advances.
A minimum of 6 to 8 hours of sleep is recommended for adults in order to maintain excellent emotional wellness. This includes a majority of it as interrupted night sleep with an optional power nap during the day; and no more than 9 to 10 hours of sleep.
"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." - Benjamin Franklin
Problems associated with sleep deprivation
What we do know for sure is that chronic sleep deprivation has tremendous effects on mood, productivity, immunity, and metabolism.
In addition to an increase in the frequency and severity of infections, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to a number of other health problems, including depression, anxiety, obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes, as well as reduced fertility rates and mental disorders.
What is insomnia?
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling or staying asleep accompanied by daytime impairments related to those sleep troubles.=
It can be of two types - chronic insomnia disorder and short-term insomnia.
Insomnia, whether short-term or chronic, has certain symptoms in common. There are different types of sleep issues associated with those symptoms, including those related to nighttime sleep when a person experiences at least one of those types of sleep issues:
- Sleeping problems
- Not able to lead happy healthy life.
- Not being able to stay asleep through the night
- Getting up too early in the morning
- Teenagers and children who resist sleeping at bedtime
- Children and teens who have difficulty sleeping on their own (without the assistance of a caregiver)
There are also several daytime symptoms related to sleeping problems that must be present as well:
- Tiredness
- Memory or attention problems
- Working, studying, or socially performing poorly
- Mood disturbances or irritability
- Feeling sleepy
- Hyperactivity or aggression are examples of behavioural issues
- Motivation has decreased
- Accidents or mistakes occurring more frequently
- Sleep concerns or dissatisfaction
For chronic insomnia to occur, symptoms must be present three times per week for a minimum of three months. Short-term insomnia is characterised by less frequent episodes and less than three months of symptoms.
Having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is not explicitly defined in the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. Adults may suffer from insomnia if they take longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep or are awake during the night for more than 30 minutes (20 minutes for children).
Causes
Recognising why you are not sleeping well is essential to treating the problem.
- Lack of opportunity to sleep or a disruptive sleep environment. Poor socioeconomic status, cramped living, small children, or dependents needing care.
- Medical disorders like Prostatomegaly or Diabetes causing frequent urination, OSA or sleep apnea, aches and pains, acid reflux disorder, thyroid disorder, etc
- Sleep procrastination syndrome - it's the only me time and free time you get. So you keep scrolling mindlessly through social media sites and videos and articles.
- Screen time: Most of our survey participants were on a screen minutes before sleep. Melatonin, an important sleep hormone, is regulated by the brightness of light falling on your retina. Gadget screens thus keep pushing the brain into an active state.
- Anxiety - generalised, work-related, social, emotional. We all live in overloaded, busy, and stressful times.
- Just not enough time due to work and travel.
All of us will be sleepless on some occasions or through certain phases of life. Recognise the issue and embark on a holistic approach toward solving it. Disciplined screen time, a more natural unwinding schedule, fixed waking hours, appropriate meals and meal times, and adequate exercise are some of the first steps we must take.
Diagnosing and treating underlying medical disorders with a physician's help comes next. Then, if need be, some pharmacological support. Emotional, social, financial, and even generalised anxiety shouldn’t be ignored.
An overwhelming majority of our respondents (primarily 25-40-year-olds) stated work and work-related anxieties as major obstacles to adequate sleep. Emotional anxieties were a close second. Therefore, workplace wellness programs are more than necessary to help employees.
If only a fourth of our young, upwardly dynamic population are waking up naturally and feeling fresh, there is definitely something afoot that doesn’t augur well for the future. So pull up your eye masks and switch off the lights! Enough of hand sanitisers. It's time for some sleep hygiene.
Good luck and Good night!
