Diving Into the Impacts of Quality Sleep on Health and Well-being

“Sleep awaits those of us who dare to dream”.

Sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty in medicine, with literally just a couple of medical practitioners here trained in this new area. However, what happens (or doesn’t happen) when you sleep one night has a significant effect on what happens (or doesn’t happen) next day when one is awake, or tries to stay awake. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. The way you feel while you are awake depends in part on what happens while you were sleeping. Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many diseases and disorders.

In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. Getting inadequate sleep over time can raise the risk of chronic health problems. It can also affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.

Sleep affects various aspects of your overall health, from your mood to your immune system. When you don’t get enough sleep, you experience sleep deprivation. Signs of sleep deprivation can include:

Difficulty concentrating during the day

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Forgetfulness or poor memory

Tips for a “Good Night’s Sleep”.

Get more sleep- ideally aim for 7-9 hours every night.

The bed and bedroom should be cool, quiet, dark and comfortable.

A consistent sleep schedule is important, with regular bedtime and waking (except when the Olympics are on television all through the night).

The 3,2,1 rule: No physical activity for 3 hours before bedtime, no heavy meals for 2 hours before bedtime, and no electronics, including television, video, telephone, smartphone or radio 1 hour before bedtime. On the other hand, people who include regular physical activity into their daily routines tend to be better sleepers.

The bed should be reserved for only two activities that start with the letter ‘S’: sleep and sex. It is hoped that sickness, which also starts with an ‘S’, does not keep you in bed too long.

A cool bath, and a warm drink, may help you relax before bedtime. However, drinks containing caffeine or theophylline (coffee, tea and ‘black’ soft drinks), and alcohol, should be avoided.

If you sleep in the day, even a brief nap, this may affect your ability to fall asleep at night. Avoid taking naps close to your bedtime.

(Easier to say than to do but) avoid taking your daytime problems to bed with you. Stress can be a major destroyer of sleep patterns.

Over time, chronic sleep deprivation is linked to health conditions like diabetes, depression, obesity, dementia and cardiovascular diseases. Some of these diseases are associated with fatal outcomes so literally ‘not getting proper sleep can kill you’. In these situations, the physician has to treat both the actual condition and the underlying sleep deprivation for optimal management. One night of poor sleep can affect you the next day. Many poor nights of sleep can affect you for a lifetime.

Dr. Colin V. Alert, MB BS, DM. is a family physician and associate UWI family medicine lecturer.