Sleep and Health – Are they related?
Sleep and health are trending topics, and here is why. Sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining your health. It affects virtually every system of the human body and has far-reaching effects on brain function, metabolism, immune function, mood, hormones and gene expression. The amount and type of sleep you get each night can impact your overall health as well as your quality of life.
Sleep is so important to one’s health.
When we sleep, our body repairs itself and our immune system attends to injury and illness. Our heart, brain, weight and mood are just some of the things that benefit from a good night’s rest. Sleep also helps with metabolism because when you’re tired you may not be able to exercise as much or will be less likely to eat healthy meals; this results in weight gain which leads to other problems like diabetes. During sleep our brain also attends to emotional regulation and memory consolidation, which impacts our anxiety levels, ability to cope, and ability to learn and remember. This especially affects our adolescents in so
Benefits of good sleeping habits include better overall cardiovascular health, as well as, mental health.
We all know that good health is important to living a long, happy life. It’s also one of the key ways we can be successful in all aspects of our lives, including school and work. But what exactly makes good health?
Well, let’s start with the basics: sleep! Sleep affects everything from your mood to your weight to your heart disease risk. For example, getting enough sleep has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety; improve memory function; help you think more clearly; reduce stress levels; increase energy levels; improve athletic performance during high-intensity sports like running or cycling (and even decrease injury risk); lower blood pressure levels for people who have high blood pressure (hypertension); lower cholesterol levels among people with high cholesterol; increase immunity against illness by boosting production of antibodies in response to viruses such as influenza or seasonal flu viruses.
Good sleeping habits have been linked to a lower risk for cancerous tumors, for Alzheimer’s Disease and depression.
You might not associate the quality of your sleep with cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes, obesity and depression. But in fact good sleeping habits have been linked to a lower risk for these chronic illnesses—and several studies have shown that people who get less sleep are more likely to suffer from them.
In one study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, researchers found that people who slept fewer than six hours a night had a 27 percent higher risk of developing cancerous tumors when compared to those who slept seven or more hours per night. Those who slept under four hours per night were at even greater risk—they were 42 percent more likely than those who got seven or more hours shut-eye to develop tumors.
There are different types of sleep disorders and they can be treated.
- Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can negatively impact your daily life. People who have insomnia may have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or both.
- Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness and sometimes also sudden muscle weakness called cataplexy (sudden loss of muscular strength in response to an emotional reaction like laughing).
- Sleep apnea: The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where the airway becomes blocked when sleeping often due to relaxation of muscles in the throat region sometimes combined with enlarged soft tissues and tonsils. An estimated 18 million Americans are believed to suffer from OSA but it can go undiagnosed because so many people don’t report symptoms like loud snoring or gasping for breath during their slumber. The American Sleep Association estimates that one in three adults snore regularly and approximately 4 percent of adults have severe enough symptoms to require treatment for their condition; however, this number may be significantly lower due to underdiagnosis by physicians who aren’t trained in recognizing these signs during routine exams.
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is crucial.
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is crucial. The first line treatment for mild to moderate OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which delivers pressurized air through a mask worn over the face. It keeps the upper airway open at night, reducing snoring and improving breathing quality. CPAP generally works well for its intended purpose, but people may not adhere to it because it can be uncomfortable or inconvenient. But it could save a life!
Some patients with mild OSA may benefit from an oral appliance—a piece of plastic that fits in your mouth and helps keep the tongue from falling back into your throat during sleep. A less common treatment option is surgical intervention. Sometimes a treating physician will recommend gradual weight loss.
The effect of sleep on weight gain.
One of the most well-known ways sleep deprivation can affect your weight is through its impact on hunger. When we’re tired, our bodies produce more ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger and reduces energy expenditure (the calories we burn). It also produces less leptin, a hormone that signals the brain that we are satiated when we’ve had enough to eat. In addition to these hormone changes, and other physiological changes that occur while we’re sleeping, there are also many studies showing the correlation between inadequate sleep and increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone). High levels of cortisol can slow down metabolism, which may lead to weight gain over time.
Another way lack of sleep could be contributing to obesity is by making it harder for people who are overweight or obese to lose weight through dieting or exercise alone. According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEMJ), being “metabolically obese” – meaning you have excess fat around your middle area – has been linked with having less deep sleep during childhood years (ages 5-12), compared with those who had normal body mass index scores. This suggests that even though children who are already overweight may not be eating very much at all during these early stages; perhaps what they aren’t getting enough of is quality restful sleep!
Getting a good night’s sleep will improve cognitive function the next day.
Getting a good night’s sleep will improve cognitive function as well as balanced hormone function, the next day. This is because sleepallows for your brain to repair itself and consolidate memories from the day before. For example, if you are learning something new at school or work, you may be able to remember it better if you have been able to get enough sleep in the previous 24 hours of learning that information.
And so…
It’s time to normalise the conversation and concern about sleep and your health.