The MOST unrecognized cause of Weight Gain?
How was your sleep last night? Good, I hope! Did you know that:
Sleep deprivation affects more than 35% of Americans?
For many of us, this doesn’t sound alarming, a big deal, or does it? What if I told you that Sleep Loss has a hand in Weight Gain, Alzheimers, and PTSD? Well, today in our “Let’s Make America Healthy Again” series, I will enlighten you on how Sleep profoundlyaffects our health: understanding how much sleep we really need, chronic sleep loss, how sleep affects our lives, and how to master the perfect art of sleep in (10) simple steps. Read on to learn how important your sleep really is, some simple tools to help, and feel better immediately!
Why do Humans “waste” a third of their lives sleeping?
Throughout evolution sleep has remained universal and essential to all organisms with a nervous system, including invertebrates such as flies, worms, and even jellyfish. But the reason why animals sleep -- despite the continuous threat of predators -- had remained a mystery, and was considered among the biggest unanswered questions in life sciences, until a few years ago!
Research now shows that the depth of sleep can impact our brain's ability to efficiently wash away waste and toxic proteins. Because sleep often becomes increasingly lighter and more disrupted as we become older, studies reinforce and explain the links between aging, sleep deprivation, and heightened risk for chronic deadly disease, including Alzheimer's disease.
Studies indicate that the slow and steady brain and cardiopulmonary activity associated with deep non-REM sleep are optimal for the function of the glymphatic system, the brain's unique process of removing waste. The findings also explain why some forms of anesthesia can lead to cognitive impairment in older adults.
You can read more about the brain’s Glymphatic System from the National Library of Medicine, HERE.
What happens with just HALF a NIGHT of SLEEP LOSS?
Sleep is crucial for consolidating our memories, and sleep deprivation has long been known to interfere with learning and memory. A new study shows that getting only half a night's sleep - as many medical workers and military personnel often do - hijacks the brain's ability to “unlearn” fear-related memories. That might put people at greater risk of conditions such as anxiety or PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Read more HERE.
It’s crazy, that only half a night of tossing and turning after watching a scary movie, or witnessing a fight between your parents as a child, could taint your memories, or create terrible repercussions throughout your life, huh? Back to Disney or Rom-com flicks in my house before bed, plus we make sure to pattern positive role models for our children to protect our family’s MINDSET health!
One NIGHT of SLEEP LOSS?
Did you toss and turn last night, or struggle to fall asleep after your head hit the pillow? Were you fortunate enough to get a full eight hours?
With the hectic pace of daily life, sleep might feel elusive, like a luxury you can't afford. But let me tell you, from a medical perspective, you really cannot afford a bad night's sleep. While you have probably experienced how one night of poor sleep affects your MINDSET (mood and ability to think clearly), we now understand that sleep deprivation has a devastating effect on your health.
Most people have pulled an all-nighter at some point or another. While you likely don’t look back upon that sleepless night as a “fun” time, you may not realize what you were putting your body through.
After 24 hours without sleep, you’re cognitively impaired. In fact, at just 17 hours without sleep, your judgment, memory, and hand-eye coordination skills are all suffering. At this point, irritability has likely set in. Beyond feeling tired and groggy, you’re more tense, more emotional, your pain receptors are very sensitive, and believe it or not, your hearing is impaired, too.
Your body responds to this lack of sleep by producing more stress hormones and ceasing glucose metabolism to keep you alert and fueled. By now, your brain has probably entered a state of “local sleep.”
During local sleep, parts of your brain shut down and sleep in waves; while some regions and neurons in your brain are resting, others are active. Local sleep helps your mind recharge in-between the times your body has the chance to rest fully.
When local sleep isn’t enough, your brain begins to shut down in trance-like microsleeps. Microsleeps generally last 15 to 30 seconds, but they come in unnoticeable spells. Microsleeping is like zoning out— you’re completely unaware when it’s happening, and once you zone back in, you’ve realized your brain was just blank for however long you were staring off into space.
Microsleeps occur when your brain can no longer prevent sleep. Local sleep was its attempt to restore itself without real rest, but your mind can only stay active for so long. Once it can no longer keep going, it succumbs and microsleeps.
Think about it, if your brain shuts down and microsleeps while you’re behind the wheel, it can be dangerous, and possibly deadly to not only yourself but others as well.
A study from the University of Hong Kong, looked at the genes of young doctors who either worked during the day or worked the night shift. Doctors who had just one night of sleep loss had more breaks in their DNA and a reduction in DNA repair genes, compared to rested participants.
Brains do a lot of work while we sleep—far from being a passive behavior, sleep is actually critical to brain health, and as a result, mental and cognitive health. Several studies underline how important sleep is, and how detrimental lack of sleep can be. And not just chronic lack of sleep, but a single night of lost sleep. While many people may have heard that sleep deprivation can affect things like metabolism and memory, research is also showing that it can strongly affect anxiety, Alzheimer’s risk, and even chronic health at the level of our genes.
Step it up to One WEEK of POOR SLEEP?
If you want to maintain optimal function of your body and your brain, it is absolutely essential to get good sleep. With just one week of poor sleep, a person begins to have major cognitive impairment. You see, your immunity starts to drop, holes start to develop in your gut, your brain begins to shrink, and your metabolism slows WAY down.
Missing sleep for just 48 hours is known as extreme sleep deprivation. At this point, it’s even harder to stay awake. You’re more likely to have microsleeps. You might even begin to hallucinate. This occurs when you see, hear, or feel things that aren’t actually there.
After 3 days of sleep loss, your urge to sleep will get worse. You may experience more frequent, longer microsleeps.
The sleep deprivation will significantly impair your perception. Your hallucinations might become more complex.
After 4 days, your perception of reality will be severely distorted. Your urge for sleep will also feel unbearable.
If you miss so much sleep that you’re unable to interpret reality, it’s called sleep deprivation psychosis. Typically, sleep deprivation psychosis goes away once you get enough sleep.
It can take days or weeks to recover from a bout of sleep deprivation. Just 1 hour of sleep loss requires 4 DAYS to recover. The longer you’ve been awake, the longer it will take to get back on track.
CHRONIC Sleep Loss is DEADLY!!!
Sleepless nights can have a more significant impact on your overall health than you may think. Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to several health issues, including:
Stroke
Heart disease
Obesity
Depression
Anxiety
Diabetes
You see, without your Glymphatic System cleaning out your brain each night, by removing proteins, oxidation and toxins, it can’t repair and heal your brain’s micro-anatomy. Cleaning our brains while we sleep is not a luxury, but essential for our bodies, and brains.
Going without sleep also makes it harder to lose weight, causes you to age faster, and increases the difficulty of standard daily tasks such as driving.
Weight Gain:
When you’re not following a normal sleep-wake routine, your internal processes are thrown off; this involves everything from hormone production to digestive functions. When your body needs rest, it responds by over-producing cortisol, a stress hormone.
Increased cortisol exposure can lead to a greater accumulation of abdominal fat, creating what some doctors call a “stress belly.” Excess fat around your abdomen puts you at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes (as we discussed in our previous “Make America Healthy Again” series, access them HERE).
A lack of sleep also makes you hungrier. When your body is sleep-deprived, it produces more of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and less of the appetite-suppressing hormone, leptin. Usually, those needing sleep have cravings for sugar, as it’s quick and simple energy.
If you’re tired, you may feel less inclined to fight your sugar cravings and choose something healthier. Over time, this can lead to dietary problems and weight gain. One recent study uncovered a direct link between lack of sleep and increased BMI.
Expedited Aging:
As superficial as it may seem, one of the tell-tale signs of sleep deprivation is your appearance. When you see somebody with noticeable bags under puffy eyes and droopy eyelids, you can usually assume they need some sleep.
In a recent study, researchers had participants view 20 headshots and rate them based on fatigue and mood. Across the board, participants described the photos of sleep-deprived subjects as appearing sad. During this study, participants noted the well-rested subjects were more approachable and attractive.
Beyond under-eye bags, a lack of sleep can cause wrinkles, fine lines, uneven pigmentation, and saggy skin.
When you don’t get enough sleep at night, it weakens your skin’s ability to repair itself; this speeds up the aging process and results in a decreased ability to recover after sun exposure, too.
Diminished Performance:
Not getting enough sleep undermines all other efforts to perform your best during your day-to-day. Whether you’ve got a big test or a meeting ahead, skipping sleep to prepare leaves you no better off than if you were to get some sleep instead.
You’re almost always better choosing sleep over additional preparation because your brain at rest consolidates memories, stores new information, improves your attention span, refreshes your energy levels, and readies you to tackle difficult tasks.
Beyond the “big” events of the next day, cutting your sleep short influences your overall functionality. When you’re tired, you’re not as sharp, your decision-making skills aren’t on par, and your coordination is off-kilter.
According to the CDC, 1 in 25 adults has nodded off behind the wheel in the last 30 days. U.S. Police report around 90,000 car crashes each year involving sleep-deprived drivers, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported over 800+ deaths as a result of drowsy driving.
The scariest part? You’re usually unaware of your impairment, meaning you typically feel like you’re perfectly fine to jump behind the wheel, or take that big exam. Your brain is so tired, you don’t notice just how exhausted you really are. Even if you don’t feel tired after countless waking hours, your body still needs sleep.
Can SLEEP Deprivation KILL you?
Simply put, yes. Forcing yourself to stay awake and abstain from sleep will eventually kill you.
How long it can take to pass away, and the exact cause of death may vary from person to person, though. While some individuals take a week or two to pass away, others may perish sooner or later down the line.
When your body is without sleep, it is in a stressed state— your immune system is suppressed, making you more susceptible to illness; you produce more stress hormone cortisol; your blood pressure rises; and your internal temperature drops.
Some people may die because their internal temperature drops so low that they succumb to hypothermia. Meanwhile, others might die as a result of bacteria or illness, since their immune systems are unable to fight off germs.
For a slew of moral and ethical reasons, researchers do not hold sleep deprivation studies on humans any longer than 2 or 3 days.
Everybody is different, and while going days without sleep isn’t healthy for anyone, the time it takes sleeplessness to turn fatal changes from person to person. For that reason, organizations such as Guinness Book of World Records do not even acknowledge submissions for voluntary sleep deprivation— as it’s a lot more dangerous than people may think.
What’s the scary reality if you go weeks without sleep? Read Michael Jackson’s and other’s stories HERE.
How many Hours of Sleep per Day?
The CDC and Sleep Foundation have put together the following list of
Recommended Hours of Sleep Per Day:
Newborn (0–3 months): 14–17 hours
Infant (4–12 months): 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
Toddler (1–2 years): 11–14 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
Preschool (3–5 years): 10–13 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
School Age (6–12 years): 9–12 hours per 24 hours
Teen (13–18 years): 8–10 hours per 24 hours
Adult (18–60 years): 7 or more hours per night
Adult (61–64 years): 7–9 hours
Adult (65 years and older): 7–8 hours
PRACTICAL and EASY STEPS to get needed SLEEP
After learning what just half a night of sleep loss can do, not to mention a chronic sleep problem, it’s all the more important to pack some tools in your arsenal for when sleep patterns become interrupted.
Here are 10 simple steps you can take to improve your sleep starting today:
STEP 1: MAINTAIN A SLEEP SCHEDULE THAT ALLOWS FOR 7 TO 9 HOURS OF SLEEP
Having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends, is one of the most important steps to mastering a perfect night of sleep. This step is vital because it helps set the pace of your body’s circadian rhythm. When you wake up, the light comes into your eyes and resets that rhythm every single morning. If you do this consistently, your brain will know what to do and when to do it every single day. Try and stick to one sleep schedule seven days a week, and you’ll be well on your way to better sleep.
STEP 2: STOP CAFFEINE BY 2:00 PM
You might want to reach for the pot of coffee when the afternoon slump hits around 2:30 PM, but doing so may impact the quality of your sleep. Remember, the half life of caffeine is 6 to 8 hours, so stopping caffeine by 2:00 PM is important if you’re planning a bedtime that’s around 10:00 P.M. or earlier. In other words, an 8 oz cup of coffee has around 100 mg of caffeine, so having a coffee at 4:00 pm means you will still have 50mg of caffeine in your system at 10:00 P.M!
STEP 3: AVOID ALCOHOL WITHIN 3 HOURS OF YOUR BEDTIME
It may not be an issue to enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage in the evening. The problem arises, however, if you indulge in that glass of wine or beer too close to going to bed. If your body is still digesting alcohol when you lie down, this could affect the quality of the sleep you get early in the night. Ideally, give yourself about 3 hours between your last drink and lights out, so that the alcohol can be digested. This will help limit any negative effects on your sleep.
STEP 4: EXERCISE REGULARLY
Getting exercise during the day can help strengthen your circadian rhythm, promote daytime alertness, and even help you feel sleepy when it’s time to turn out the lights. However, it may be best to avoid exercise right before bedtime. This is because intense physical activity can raise your body temperature and disrupt sleep. When possible, try to get your exercise completed at least 4 hours before bedtime, which will give you time to relax before bed.
STEP 5: GET SUNLIGHT IN THE MORNING
Believe it or not, sunlight stops the release of melatonin in your brain. This helps the brain and body to wake up and also regulates your circadian rhythm. It’s incredibly easy to take advantage of this information. In the first 30 minutes after you wake up, try to walk outside, or go to a window for some direct sunlight.
STEP 6: COOL YOUR ROOM TO BETWEEN 65F AND 75F AT NIGHT
Your sleep cycle follows your core body temperature cycle. In the evening, your temperature falls. This drop is a signal to your brain that it is time to sleep. Sleeping in a cooler environment encourages this process, helping you get to sleep quicker and easier.
STEP 7: AVOID BLUE LIGHT AT NIGHTTIME
Blue light emitted by electronic devices like cell phones, TVs, and computers blocks your brain’s production of the hormone melatonin. In a nutshell, this means too much exposure to blue light too close to bedtime can make falling asleep quite difficult. If you can’t avoid screens late at night, try wearing blue light blocking glasses for 2 to 3 hours before you go to sleep.
STEP 8: DO A RELAXATION PRACTICE BEFORE BED
Meditation is a wonderful tool for stress relief, reducing anxiety, and getting your mind and body relaxed and ready for sleep. Practicing meditation before bed can go a long way towards putting you in the mood for sleep. If you’ve never tried meditation before, there are plenty of resources available. Breathing meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and guided meditation apps are a great place to start.
STEP 9: GET TESTED FOR SLEEP APNEA
Sleep apnea is a fairly common sleep disturbance, and roughly 70% of people with sleep apnea go undiagnosed. When it comes to getting all the benefits that sleep has to offer, it’s not just about how many hours you spend asleep, but what’s happening during those hours. If you aren’t waking up feeling rested, consider looking into a sleep study to see if sleep apnea is an issue for you.
STEP 10: ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS FOR SLEEP
There are a number of supplements that may help you get to sleep and even sleep better throughout the night. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about the various nutritional supplements that may help you with sleep. As an example, some people may benefit from magnesium and melatonin.
ONE LAST TIP
Think about your sleeping position. Best Sleeping positions for a good night’s sleep, read article HERE.
WHAT ABOUT LOSING A little SLEEP EVERY NIGHT?
Most people don’t go a full 24-hours without sleep. However, that doesn’t mean people are getting the recommended amount of hours each night. What happens if you are only sleeping 3, 4, or 5 hours a night? Is a week of inadequate sleep equal to the same amount of sleep deprivation? Can you “make it up” on the weekend?
As mentioned above, sleep deprivation isn’t just going a night without sleep. Sleep deprivation is getting less than the recommended 7-9 hours each night. Doing this habitually leads to significant issues, such as weight gain, moodiness, decreased performance, and more.
Some people claim they can lose sleep during the week and make it up on the weekend. While this theory is still up to a lot of debate, the science seems stacked against it. And it is now even more in question, with the new science of the glymphatic “brain cleaning” system discoveries and how important they are!
The most straightforward and simple solution: work to make sleep a priority and get a good 7-9 hours each night.
THE BOTTOM LINE
While sleep may be low on many peoples priority list, sleep is crucial to leading a healthy life. Skipping sleep to make time for more work, or extra social activities, may seem more advantageous to you at the moment, but at the end of the day, sacrificing sleep impacts your mental, physical, and overall health.
As a society, we are sleep deprived; so much so that losing only one hour of sleep when Daylight Saving Time rolls around increases our drowsy driving accident rates by 7%. The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research reports sleep-related accidents and disorders which impact work productivity cost the American economy between $100 and $150 BILLION annually.
Sleep deprivation kills, and our failure to recognize the impact of a sleepless night continues to baffle researchers— as humans are the only mammal that actively puts off rest.
I hope today’s newsletter has given you a greater insight into what happens when you deprive your body and brain the needed sleep it. needs. To get better rest and improve your bedtime habits, I recommend sticking to a fixed schedule and improving time management skills to ensure you’re always getting your recommended hours of sleep.
Remember, SLEEP is your brain’s destiny, it’s not a luxury, but essential for our bodies and brains! It’s a lifestyle choice, the sooner you get it right, the healthier you’ll be!