The Importance of Sleep for Health

By Amanda Adams-Welligee Coach

Before the invention of the light bulb, our ancestors were attaining an average of ten hours of sleep per night. In present day, we clock in at an average of six and a half hours. This may be caused by the lack of a consistent daily schedule, specifically bedtime routine, perceived work stress, blue light stimulation from our plethora of electronic devices, among other causes. We may have adapted a way of pushing ourselves through sleep deprivation such as doubling up on that shot of espresso in the morning coffee or blasting music on the drive into work, but the truth of the matter is, there is a dark side to sleep deprivation that goes beyond the appearance of bags under our eyes and the necessary extra coat of mascara (sorry guys, using personal experience here).

18 consistent hours awake can produce the effect of a blood alcohol level of .05%. Do the math. 18 hours awake leaves six hours left of the day that were used for sleep, a value that the previous paragraph notes is right around what most individuals achieve on a regular basis. What’s even scarier is once an alcoholic beverage is actually consumed, this effect is doubled! Makes you think twice about going for the happy hour special before driving home after a crazy work day, huh?

Long term effects of sleep deprivation include an increase in auto-immune disorders, neurological decline, mood disturbances, chance of routine illnesses (the flu, pesty colds, etc.), addictive behaviors, and a decrease in the reinforcement of learned skills acquired during the day.

Importance of sleep for weight loss
For those participating in a weight-loss program, if you are not getting adequate amounts of sleep, you can kiss achieving your true potential good-bye! Studies have shown that when individuals are sleep deprived, they consume more than what is necessary for a typical day in order to cover the extra energy expenditure of the additional hours awake. This value averaged about 300 more calories per day on sleep deprived days, and often from less than ideal food sources. Other studies have shown that one hour of sleep deprivation per night for the duration of a year averages a gain of about 14.3 pounds of fat for the year. Avoiding that additional weight gain can be as simple as getting in the habit of a better sleep routine, and for those that look for simple solutions to weight loss, starting with the opportunity to sleep more doesn’t sound all that bad to me!

Sleep deprivation decreases insulin sensitivity, a concept we have visited many times by now. Specific to this topic, insulin aids the release of leptin, the hormone that helps control appetite. If fat cells have less insulin sensitivity, less leptin will be released, leading to an increase in consumption and ultimately, weight gain. When you add an increased appetite to more hours awake during the day, it is not complicated to understand why the weight gain as noted in the previously mentioned study often occurs.

If your next thought is, “I am not only watching what I eat, but exercising, so the few extra snacks won’t hurt me,” think again! Sleep deprivation has also been associated with losses in performance and technique execution. These issues can partially be attributed to the concept briefly mentioned earlier that the reinforcement of learned skill is somewhat lost without the right amount of sleep, the time when these concepts are actually drilled into the brain. In addition, levels of the hormone cortisol are also found to be elevated in the sleep-deprived. Chronically elevated cortisol levels puts the body in a state of muscle breakdown to supply the body with amino acids to be used for energy. Cortisol works inversely with testosterone. This means that the anabolic (muscle building) properties of testosterone are inhibited as the levels of cortisol increase, hampering your chances of gaining lean muscle mass and in turn, the chance of lowering body fat percentage.

How much sleep is enough?
The National Sleep Foundation recommends between seven and nine hours of sleep per night for the average adult. The problem with attributing a specific number across the board is that a variety of factors such as age, levels of physical activity, illness, and other daily demands all play a part in how much sleep an individual needs to function at their personal best. In addition, a typical week usually has a flux in the amount of sleep attained per night. If one night only has five hours of sleep, achieving a larger number on another night may be necessary to even out the discrepancy. It is not going to hurt if once in awhile sleep deprivation occurs, it is looking at the trend over time to see if we are chronically deprived. Let’s keep it simple. If you often wake up feeling exhausted and continue to feel exhausted throughout the day, there is a good chance you are not getting enough sleep.

How do I get more?
1. Establish a consistent schedule, going to bed and waking up around the same time, even on the weekends!
2. Create a regular bedtime routine that promotes relaxation and begin your routine an hour before you wish to go to sleep.

• Make the environment dark, quiet, comfortable and cool. This means powering off electronic devices and for some, even avoiding reading. The purpose of this time is to unwind without producing additional stimulation.

3. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillow.
4. Do not eat within two to three hours of your bedtime.
5. Exercise regularly.
6. Avoid caffeine and alcohol use as the day comes to an end and give up smoking. All of these factors are related to a decrease in the quality of sleep.


Sources:
http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2014/12/09/everything-need-know-recovering/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/20/sleep-loss-weight-gain/7507503/
Dr. Kirk Parsley: Importance of Sleep- www.youtube.com/watch?v=28nJXaZEh0I
http://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need/page/0%2C1/

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