Sleeping Advice

Have you asked yourself “Am I Sleep Deprived”? If you don’t have a regular bedtime, are caffeine obsessed and a workaholic then consider yourself deprived of sleep! After a dreadful time at the office, all I want to do is to head home and relax, but unfortunately because of family demands, this is usually not possible. Sleep is an important part of our wellbeing. As a child, I was taught to sleep 8 hours everyday to grow up healthilyand to have good memory and attention span. Lack of sleep can be harmful and lead to chronic illnesses. If you are sleep deprived, you might consider doing the 10 commandments for a better sleep!

“A good night’s sleep” has long been the intention of millions of people suffering from sleep disorders around the world.  However, this objective is scarcely met with ease.  The reality of this scenario is that many will not seek the professional help to address the serious sleep disorders that plague them, resulting in numerous health consequences.  The World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) will be holding the third annual World Sleep Day on Friday, March 19, 2010.  The event is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee and is regarded as a platform for medical professionals to deliver the message of the importance of healthy sleep to the public.

Sleep is a function in which all vertebrates and some invertebrates participate, however the physiological purpose of sleep has yet to be discovered.  While sleep is necessary to be alert to optimally navigate daily tasks, research shows sleep may also be a factor in growth, regeneration, and memory.  With an estimated one third of adults suffering from clinically recognizable insomnia and approximately 80 additional sleep-related disorders, there is significant concern for the health consequences that occur with the lack of quality sleep.  Studies suggest that a lack of sleep is detrimental to health in ways such as the development of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and other chronic ailments in those who consume less than 6 hours nightly.

The 10 Commandments of Sleep Hygiene listed below make common sense recommendations that are rarely complied with fully.

1. Fix a bedtime and an awakening time.
2. If you are in the habit of taking siestas do not exceed 45 minutes of daytime sleep.
3. Avoid excessive alcohol ingestion 4 hours before bedtime and do not smoke.
4. Avoid caffeine 6 hours before bedtime. This includes coffee, tea and many sodas, as well as chocolate.
5. Avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods 4 hours before bedtime. A light snack before bed is acceptable.
6. Exercise regularly, but not right before bed.
7. Use comfortable bedding.
8. Find a comfortable temperature setting for sleeping and keep the room well ventilated.
9. Block out all distracting noise and eliminate as much light as possible.
10. Reserve the bed for sleep and sex. Don’t use the bed as an office, workroom or recreation room.

Violation of these commandments causes poor quality of nocturnal sleep, short duration of sleep, fragmentation of sleep and serious sleep deprivation.  These infringements may lead to poor alertness, lack of attention, reduced concentration, decreased work and academic productivity, and even motor vehicle accidents.  Physical health problems come next.

It is due to the widespread effects of sleep disorders and increasing number of sufferers worldwide, that World Sleep Day dedicates its efforts in 2010 to educate the world on important sleep topics.  The day’s events will take place online, featuring the organization of local groups promoting sleep health, presentation of educational materials, an award presentation to the best creation and exhibition of historic videos.

The third World Sleep Day is co-chaired by Antonio Culebras, MD, professor of neurology at SUNY, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, and Liborio Parrino, MD, of Parma, Italy, and WASM’s Executive Director Allan O’Bryan.

World Sleep Day 2010 partners are pharmaceutical companies H. Lundbeck A/S and UCB.  More information regarding partners and affiliates may be obtained at www.worldsleepday.org.

Related articles:

• Sleep Your Way to Better Health (lifescript.com)
• Sleep Disorder Linked to Risk of Dementia (psychologytoday.com)
• How Much Sleep Do Kids Need? (aolhealth.com)

They say that it’s better to be awake because you can enjoy the world when you are awake, but wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to see the world from a well rested disposition? Too many activities every day curtail the hours of rest that we can have to restore us to contentedness. Sometimes biting off more than we can chew can deprive us of the rest that we require and it can if we are deprived of sleep over an extended period, this can have long-term health implications. The Benefits of Sleeping better are immeasurable and you should never take sleep and rest for granted!

Too many people today accept sluggishness and fatigue as the inevitable side effects of hectic lives, and believe that there isn’t much they can do about it besides squeezing in another hour or two of sleep. Getting enough sleep is important (and Dr. Edlund provides plenty of expert advice on sleeping well) but it’s only one part of a much larger spectrum of rest. The benefits of making time for rest have proven extraordinary: when people engage the body’s power to restore and renew itself, they look younger, heal faster, lose weight more effectively, and experience greater joy in their work and their relationships.

Award-winning sleep, rest, and body clock expert Dr. Matthew Edlund has identified an ongoing health crisis. After years of clinical research and consultations with hundreds of patients, he discovered that many people aren’t just sleep-deprived, they’re rest-deprived. The result? Our hearts, minds, and central nervous systems are overloaded, our health is suffering, and we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be truly refreshed. Dr. Edlund’s new book The Power of Rest: Why Sleep Alone is Not Enough provides a comprehensive step-by-step solution to rebuilding our natural ability to rest.

Dr. Edlund has isolated the unique benefits of four crucial types of active rest to create a groundbreaking program that fits easily into even the busiest schedules. The four types of rest include:

• Physical Rest: Sleep is one form of passive physical rest, but engaging in active forms of physical rest is also crucial. Dr. Edlund’s 30-day plan provides a range of techniques for active physical rest, including breathing exercises, timed naps, baths, and yoga poses.
• Mental Rest: While we need to rest the body, it’s equally important to learn to focus and concentrate the mind. Mental rest involves reconfiguring one’s mind to quickly and easily obtain a sense of relaxed control, and Dr. Edlund has developed exercises—including self-hypnosis, relaxation, and visualization—designed to help maximize this process.
• Social Rest: Humans are hardwired to be extremely social—social connectedness is built into the structure of our brains. Studies show that people with strong social connections live longer, cope with stress better, and are healthier. The Power of Rest explains how to incorporate key social rest techniques into your life.
• Spiritual Rest: Certain spiritual practices can provide a profound sense of rest, inner peace, connection, and self-healing, and scientific studies have demonstrated that meditation can actually change the structure of the brain over time. Dr. Edlund provides exercises involving meditation, prayer and contemplation that bring renewal and a sense of well-being.

We wouldn’t expect our bodies to function without food and, Dr. Edlund argues, we shouldn’t expect to feel fully fueled and alert without rest. This step-by-step 30-day plan introduces one simple, no-cost technique each day—many of which can be accomplished in just a minute or two. Readers will learn to make room in their lives for this basic biological need, and how to quickly create a healthier, more successful, more vital and relaxed life.

About the author Matthew Edlund, M. D., M.O.H., is an award-winning expert on rest, body clocks, and sleep. Dr. Edlund’s work had been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, Prevention, Shape, Redbook, Real Simple, More, and hundreds of other magazines and newspapers. He founded the West Coast Regional Sleep Disorders Center, and now runs both the Center for Circadian Medicine and the Gulf Coast Sleep Institute in Sarasota, Florida.

The Power of Rest Dr. Matthew Edlund HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers On-sale June 8, 2010 Hardcover / $25.99 / ISBN: 978-0-06-186276-2

Related articles:

• New Book ‘The Power of Rest’ Reveals Americans are Dangerously Rest-Deprived – and More Sleep Isn’t the Answer (prweb.com)
• Always Tired? Expert Tips to Get More Rest (lifescript.com)
• Sleep Deprivation (annetteholland.com)
• Lack of Sleep Can Trigger Migraine Proteins (psychologytoday.com)