Understanding Healthy Sleep

Changing your sleep patterns constantly affects your health. A scientific study headed by a team of researchers from the University of Warwick and University College London discovered that not enough sleep potentially doubles the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. They have also determined that sleep in excessive amounts also poses similar risks.

In general, people who sleep for the same number of hours – seven hours, for instance – each night lived longer. This holds true especially when compared to people who adjust their schedules, by either increasing or decreasing their hours of sleep per night.

From normal everyday observation alone, there is no way people can miss the relationship between sleep and healthy living. Sleep directly affects one’s ability to function throughout the day. A typical poor night’s sleep, for instance, can lead to fatigue, mood swings or poorer concentration the next day. Many people take sleep for granted, not realizing that lack of sleep, particularly when it is already customary in one’s lifestyle, is closely linked to long-term health conditions. Diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are a few common examples that result in lower life expectancy.

University of Warwick’s Medical School Professor Francesco Cappuccio, MD, explains further: “Fewer hours sleep and greater levels of sleep disturbance have become widespread in industrialized societies. This change, largely the result of sleep curtailment to create more time for leisure and shift-work, has meant that reports of fatigue, tiredness and excessive daytime sleepiness are more common than a few decades ago. Sleep represents the daily process of physiological restitution and recovery, and lack of sleep has far-reaching effects,”

On the other hand, too much sleep has also been found to increase mortality rate. In the Warwick study mentioned above, the results showed that those who increased their nightly sleeping period from 7 hours per night to more than 8 hours per night or more doubled their overall mortality rate. Apparently, catching up on sleep by staying much longer in bed does more harm than good. “The major mortality risk associated with habitual sleep duration is among long sleepers, by which I mean those sleeping eight hours or more,” said Daniel F. Kripke, MD, a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

The required number of hours to achieve a good night’s sleep varies from one person to another. The important thing to remember is that one’s sleeping schedule must be as stable as possible. In an online article titled Sleep Matters published in SheKnows.com, medical director of the Sleep for Life center in New Jersey Dr. Carol Ash, DO, discusses why consistency is important in one’s sleep pattern.

A leading sleep expert, Ash asserted that her patients who get sufficient sleep are healthier after undergoing overall assessment. She claims she can also say the same for herself. “Speaking from personal experience, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand the rigors of medical school or my residency without a healthy sleep lifestyle. Ignoring sleep is like ignoring oxygen – it’s critical for life function,” she said.

In the end, too much and too little sleep is detrimental to healthy living. The best way to achieve healthy sleep is by consistently sticking to a bedtime schedule.