(Austin Compton is Cleveland County’s Family and Consumer Science Agent with the University of Arkansas System Cooperative Extension Service. Contact Austin via email at acompton@uada.edu or phone at (870) 325-6321.)
Sleep is extremely important to our health. Our bodies need it to repair muscles, consolidate memories, and regulate hormones and appetite. Even though sufficient sleep is increasingly recognized as an essential aspect of chronic disease prevention and health promotion, many people do not get enough sleep or suffer from sleep problems.
Poor sleep has a negative impact on quality of life. It can lead to accidents, impaired job performance, and relationship stress. It also can cause distress, impaired alertness, concentration and memory, as well as associated with poor health and a number of chronic disease and conditions, such as Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and depression.
Learning and Memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation.
Metabolism and Weight: Adequate sleep helps with weight control. Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
Safety: Sleep reduces accidents. Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes, such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps and road accidents.
Mood: Sufficient sleep reduces irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness.
Cardiovascular Health: Sleep improves heart health. Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormones, and irregular heartbeats.
Disease: Sleep helps fight diseases. Sleep deprivation alters the immune functions, including the activity of the bod's killer cells.
The sleep that someone needs is based on their age. Sleep is extremely important for children because it directly impacts both physical and mental development to a higher degree, so they need more sleep that adults.
Infants: Birth - 2 months need 10.5 - 18 hours a day while 2 - 12 months need 14 - 15 hours a day
Toddlers and Children: 12 - 18 months need 13 - 15 hours a day, 18 months - 3 years needs 12 -14 hours a day. 3 - 5 years need 11 - 13 hours a day, 5 - 12 years need 9 - 11 hours a day
Adolescents: at least 8.5 - 9.5 hours a day
Adults: 7 - 9 hours a day
Recommendations to Promote Better Sleep
- Do relaxation training to reduce tension
- Restrict time in bed if time is spent lying awake
- Try therapy to help modify attitudes and beliefs that may contribute to poor sleep
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol at least three to four hours before going to bed
- Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up the same time every morning
- If you cannot go to sleep within 20 minutes of lying in bed, get out of bed and participate in a quiet relaxing activity, then try to sleep again once tired
- Wake up to the sun, or use bright lights to reset the body's biological clock
Sleep prepares you to concentrate, make decisions, and fully engage in school, work, and social activities. Ignoring sleep problems and disorders can lead to poor health, accidents, impaired job performance, and relationship stress. Sleep is a necessity for feeling your best, staying healthy, preforming at your best, and maximizing your potential for optimal aging throughout our lifespan.
References: LaVona S. Traywick, Associate Professor of Gerontology, University of Arkansas; Amy F. Hosier, Assistant Professor of Family Sciences, University of Kentucky; Erin Yelland, Doctoral Student, Family Sciences, University of Kentucky.
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