What is the optimum amount of sleep?
It is acknowledged that
the optimum amount of sleep for adult is between 7 and 9 hours per night. As we
go from baby through to teenager our need for sleep reduces from 18 hours per
night right down to 9 hours per night according to the National Sleep Association.
When we are adults (18 years of age and up) we only require between 7 and 9
hours sleep per night, but even this is difficult to achieve.
What happens when we
don’t get enough sleep?
Sleep reduces stress
and anxiety so When the body is sleep deprived, it starts performing on high
alert, the same way it would in a stressful situation. The heart rate
increases, blood pressure increases and stress hormones are produced. With
these stress hormones running around our body making us feel like we are in a
life or death situation, we don’t respond to normal every day events very well.
Our reactions can be blown massively out of proportion and it just sets us up
for a bad day. This stress hormone also makes it difficult to sleep as the body
is functioning on high alert and so it produces more of the hormones, it is a
vicious cycle which all starts by not getting enough sleep.
Sleep reduces
Inflammation
The hormones produced
in the body when we aren’t getting enough sleep cause inflammation. Just like
when we injure ourselves, our body produces inflammation to help protect and
heel the injured body part. These hormones are produced when we are sleep
deprived to alert us to the fact the body is in distress. Inflammation of the
heart and other organs can result in heart attacks, strokes and other
unthinkable health problems.
Makes you more alert
A good night’s sleep
makes you feel more energized and ready for the next day. When we sleep well we
feel good in general, which has a dramatic effect on everything we do,
including how we react to situations. Being more alert means you make smarter
decisions, your analysis of a situation is more effective, you can think about
the outcome and into the future and generally just make better decisions. When
we are tired our thinking and decision making is hindered by the fact we are
tired and this is evident in the way we respond to certain everyday events and
decision making.
Sleep helps your body
repair itself
When we sleep it gives
our body time to repair itself. During the day when we are up and awake, our
body is constantly working, when we sleep it does not stop; the body is then in
repair mode. If we don’t get enough sleep, the body doesn’t have the sufficient
amount of time to repair the damage caused by wear and tear throughout the day.
The term “protein is the building blocks of life” applies here, the body
produces proteins that are used to repair the damage, with insufficient amounts
of sleep the body doesn’t produce enough proteins and so damage goes
unrepaired.
Sleep helps us lose
weight
It is not just the fact
that when we are asleep we don’t eat; there is more to it than that. There are
two hormones in the body that are produced to signal hunger and then signal
when we are full. If we are getting enough good sleep the body is producing the
right amounts of these hormones at the right time and everything is ok. When we
don’t get enough good sleep, our body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone to tell
us we are full and it produces too much of the hormone to signal we are hungry.
An imbalance of these two hormones causes us to eat too much and gain weight.
How to get a good
night’s Sleep
Researchers suggest
that we are not good sleepers. The demands of our jobs, the schedules we keep,
our social networking activities, our communication devices and our eating and
drinking habits, our family lives, all affect how efficient we are at night when we lay down to
sleep.
Get a Sleep schedule - Our
body works better when we have a routine and a schedule. This is difficult for
people who work shift patterns or who have other obligations that prevent them
from having a set schedule, but for most this is definitely doable. Try and go
to bed at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each day. It is
easy to let yourself stay up later and lay in on the weekends or on a day off,
but this will affect your sleep for the following days. Stick to a schedule and
it will make for better quality sleep times.
Get in a routine - Implement
a relaxing bedtime routine, take a relaxing bath, listen to some music in bed,
read a book or magazine etc. Try and reduce the use of computers, laptops,
smart phones or other electronic devices that might stimulate your brain. The
hour before bed time needs to be a relaxing one and following up work emails or
watching an action movie does not relax the body. Try turning down the light or
using a side lamp, this will help signal to your body that it is time to wind
down and will help you feel relaxed before it is time to sleep.
Comfy and cosy
Nightwear - It is vital that you are comfortable at night or you are just going
to keep waking up. Choose Pyjamas that are warm and comfortable in the winter
and switch to lighter pyjamas in the summer when it is hot. Your body
temperature drops slightly at night, so it is worth taking this into account when
considering sleeping attire. You will wake up during the night if you are too
hot or too cold. It is suggested that you keep your room cool at night but
sleep in cosy pyjamas and bedding, this has been researched and has resulted in
better quality sleep. The addition of a hot water bottle or a blanket might
also help in the winter.
Clean and comfortable
bed - A freshly cleaned bed always seems to promote good sleep, or maybe that
is just me. I tend to sleep much better the first night after changing the
bedding, than any other night. It is important that your bed is comfortable to
sleep in, that includes - the mattress, the duvet, the bedding and the pillows.
Your bed should be right for you, some people like a soft bed, some like a
firmer bed, some like one pillow, some like lots of pillows like me. There is no right
or wrong answer, your bed must be comfortable to promote good quality sleep.
I hope this guide helps you to have a good night sleep, Toodlers!
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