We know that an adequate amount of deep sleep every night is essential to our health, and lack of it can lead to disease as well as cause daytime drowsiness leading to accidents and poor work performance. So, how much sleep is enough?
Plenty of research and sleep studies have shown that those who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 typically live longer than all others. People who get less sleep than this range, as well as those who sleep longer, on average have a shorter lifespan. I thought we were supposed to sleep 8 hours!! Traditional wisdom has suggested that everyone needs about 8 hours sleep per night, and these results indicate otherwise. Sleep clinics report that quite often, their patients feel like they should sleep between 8 – 9 hours nightly, which adds stress at bedtime, often resulting in restlessness and insomnia – causing them to lay in bed watching the clock, and worrying.
Many controlled sleep study results in various the U.S. and other countries over time show that staying out of bed when not sleepy, and actually restricting the amount of time actually in bed, can help people sleep much better.
So, it appears that the quality of sleep is a far greater factor than number of hours in bed, and reaching the deepest stages over a few nightly cycles is the best thing for our health – of course for most of us, completion of these sleep cycles require several hours to accomplish. Try keeping track of how you feel – your energy level and alertness on days after sleeping 6, 7, or 8 hours – you may find that your optimal level is less than you expect!
Plenty of research exists that shows if we don’t get enough quality sleep, our health will suffer. This is true even if with the right diet, fitness routines, and low amounts of stress in our lives.
Dr. Rubin Naiman is a psychologist, author, and noted sleep specialist. He describes “cognitive popcorn” as one of the most common causes of insomnia: “Cognitive popcorn is something that occurs when you put your head down, trying to go to sleep or trying to get back to sleep in the middle of the night, and suddenly your mind starts to produce all of these thoughts. They’re unwanted thoughts, uncontrollable thoughts. It’s as if the mind has a mind of its own. That’s a very common complaint that keeps people awake.” How many of us can relate to this phenomenon?
According to Dr. Naiman, we need to be able to rest to sleep well, and most people simply don’t know how – they mostly substitute one activity for another and call it rest. It’s important to find opportunities to rest during the day. Many people “knock themselves out” with drugs, only to find that this solution does not in fact lead to the deep, necessary sleep that’s needed. He also explains the difference between fatigue and sleepiness in this short video:
The hormone melatonin is a well documented natural sleep aid offering relief for many people, but I bet you may not know that it might also make you feel a bit younger. Anti-aging benefits are created by melatonin’s ability to increase the body’s release of HGH (human growth hormone), which is a youth-promoting hormone. Studies have also shown that because it’s a strong antioxidant, free radicals that cause cell damage can be destroyed by the presence of melatonin, and extra enzymes the body creates with its help can improve skin quality and protect against various illnesses.
There are a couple of ways to boost your melatonin supplies. The first is the most natural – sleep in a very dark room. It’s also wise to turn down the lights a little while before turning in, which should lead to melatonin production and sleepiness. Darkness actually increases melatonin production, while bright sunlight and the “blue” light generated from fluorescent lighting can both suppress it. This might explain why blind people tend to manufacture more melatonin.
With hectic stressful lifestyles, caffeine consumption, and long days filled with work and family obligations, it’s easy for the body’s melatonin supplies to run low. Melatonin supplementation can help restore bodily supplies, assist you with better sleep (and allow you to fall asleep faster), while adding the antioxidant benefits mentioned above. Give it a try if you’re having trouble sleeping, or if you just want to take advantage of its additional benefits.
Lavender essential oil is proven to reduce stress and anxiety, therefore help you sleep better. Dr. Jeanne Galloway, N.D. discusses the benefits of lavender essential oil therapy and its positive effect on calming your brain.
Yoga is another method to achieve deep relaxation and a calm state. This is truly a natural sleep aid that is worth a try. In this “Yoga For Sleep” video, Sadie Nardini will take you through calming breathing and postures for relaxation before sleep.
Stess and worry are often causes of insomnia. If you have trouble falling asleep, try to create a relaxing atmosphere prior to going to bed. Relaxing music can often ease stress and do the trick. Here’s a relaxing music video from Dr. Jeffrey Thompson and the Delta Sleep System:
John Wesley Hardin was a western gunfighter and outlaw in the late 1800′s. Legend has it that, upon becoming so mad about the loud snoring in an adjacent hotel room, he fired several pistol shots through the bedroom wall into the snorer’s room. The shots first waked the man, then killed him!
Does the annoying sound (and volume) of a snoring mate have this effect on you? Hopefully not, but at times we’ve all felt extreme frustration. Snoring volume can be determined by several contributing factors: the amount of dangling soft tissue in the back of the throat, the deepness of the snorer’s breathing, and the size and clearance of the nasal passages, all play a part in the sound that’s created. Even very small people (men and women), can blissfully produce a symphony (first row volume), if these internal factors accommodate snoring.
Regardless of our interpretations of snoring sounds, can we all agree that it’s usually quite loud? Snoring volume is one of the most annoying sounds that has actually been quantified by researchers. Silence, of course, is measured in 0 decibels. The level of measured sound that can disturb sleep is 30 decibels. A garbage disposal creates 60 decibels. General snoring produces between 60-80 decibels. A jackhammer on concrete produces about 82 decibels. Loud snoring can produce 90 decibels! This is at a level just under the sound of a chainsaw (100 decibels) – which is probably how the description of snoring as “sawing logs” became popular.
One research study in Sweden revealed that over time, a snoree can suffer hearing loss due to their partner’s loud long term snoring. This is certainly a cause for concern, in addition to the many other consequences that can be created by snoring.
We’ll begin exploring things you can do to possibly help reduce or eliminate snoring in your household. There are many “remedies” marketed to the public, and the problem is that solutions can only be found on an individual basis – since we were all unique and have different contribution factors and habits that cause snoring.
Studies have concluded time after time that getting less than 6 hours sleep per night causes adverse health consequences. Here is an article from Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, that highlights results from a sleep study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai. The study found elevated blood sugar in children with less than optimal sleep patterns and shorter sleep duration. Click on the link below to open the article:
We’ve known for a long time now that sleep can affect body weight, but recent research unveiled more trouble can come from restless nights. Dr. Zhijie Yu, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, found elevated blood sugar in …
Over the years, studies have shown that men snore more than women, and older men snore the most. Men snore twice as much as women, and you don’t have to search far to figure out why.
Men are more likely to have more loose tissue in the back of the throat, along with fatter necks and bigger tongues. Men are also most prone to the behaviors and bad habits linked to snoring: smoking, drinking alcohol, overeating. Men also tend to sleep on their backs more often than women – opening the snoring “floodgates”.
Women do start to catch up with the men in snoring frequency after menopause, due to the reduction in estrogen, which helps breathing.
As we age, there are two common bodily changes that often occur: we gain more weight and lose muscle tone – both can lead to snoring. This is why an estimated 80% of all people (men and women) over age 60 snore often.
Based on these facts, is there anyone left out there that doesn’t snore?
In addition to limited nasal passages for airflow, there are various conditions that can cause snoring:
1. Sleeping on your back. This forces your tongue to the back of your mouth, where it either vibrates, or forces the uvula to vibrate – or both simultaneously.
2. Using too large a pillow. This can force your head to move too far forward, constricting the throat.
3. Alcohol. Alcohol relaxes the tissues in the back of the throat, causing snoring. This is why alcohol should not be consumed 3-5 hours before bedtime.
4. Sleep medications, cold medicine, or any medication containing sedatives or some antihistamines, can irritate the throat causing snoring.
5. Eating a large meal before bedtime.
6. Smoking. Smoking constricts the passageways, and irritates nasal valves and the throat.
7. Pregnancy. Blood flow is increased in pregnant women, which in turn narrows nasal pasages as the blood vessels swell.
8. Being overweight. This is probably the most problematic cause of snoring. With the extra weight, the face, tongue, neck, and soft palate get loose and flabby also. This condition simply restricts air flow through the nasal passages. Losing weight is always the first recommendation Doctors make for problem snorers or people diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Here’s an article many snorees can relate to – being forced to sleep on the hard couch!
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