Shakespeare showed he was part medical professional when he made guilt-ridden Macbeth utter these words, “Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent sleep. Sleep that knits up the revell’d sleeve of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourisher in life’s feast”.
Many of us know the importance of a healthy diet and proper exercise, but we pay scant attention to the “chief nourisher in life’s feast”. Even those who are religious about their diet and exercise regimen, treat sleep like a luxury than a necessity. Add the incessant noise bowl that is Kathmandu – barking dogs, rowdy neighbours, honking impatient vehicles – and getting a good night’s sleep becomes rather challenging.
Most adults require between seven to nine hours of sleep. Anything less and we build sleep debt that cannot be paid back by ‘sleeping in’ on Saturday mornings. In a country like Nepal where hypertension and diabetes are common, sleep deprivation appears to make us even more susceptible to these ailments. Indeed, even a single night of inadequate sleep can lead to daylong elevation of high blood pressure. Lack of proper sleep also affects the body’s ability to process glucose and can lead to diabetes.
Healthy young men who are deprived of sleep have abnormal glucose levels in their blood. In general the risks of cardiovascular disease and stroke are higher in people who sleep less than six hours.
And there is more bad news. Several studies have shown an association between insufficient sleep and weight gain. The levels of the hormone leptin, which tells the brain when enough food has been consumed, are lowered in sleep-deprived individuals so it is possible these people eat more. Finally inadequate sleep weakens our immunity, making us more prone to flu and other infections.
Age affects the quality of sleep and the amount of time spent in various stages of sleep. These include rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep) or dream sleep and the three types of non-REM sleep, the light sleep of Stage 1 followed by relaxed sleep of Stage 2 and finally the restorative, deep sleep of Stage 3. Children spend most of the night in deep sleep oblivious to surrounding noises. But with age, the time spent in restorative sleep diminishes since we become more aware of distractions.
Wearing eye masks when there is extraneous light in the room which we cannot control is helpful in achieving restorative sleep. Ear plugs are also very effective even if they don’t completely block out all levels of noise. For those who are overweight and snore during sleep, sleeping on the side or losing weight can help in reaching stage 3.
Besides noise, night-time sleep is also influenced by anxiety level, lack of exercise, excessive daytime naps, medications, and alcohol and coffee consumption. These issues also need to be addressed so that we allow the “chief nourisher in life’s feast” to rejuvenate us.
Sleep tight
** School-age children (5-10 years) need 10-11 hours of sleep daily, teens (10-17 years) need 8.5-9.5 hours, and adults need 7-9 hours
** Sleep deprivation impairs attention, memory, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving leading to poor performance during daytime
** Lack of sleep stimulates appetite and cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods leading to obesity
** Those who experience chronic sleep loss are at higher risk of: heart disease, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes
Sweeter dreams
**Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible
** Use earplugs, fans, or recordings of soothing sounds to block out outside noise
** Make sure your mattress and pillows feel comfortable
** Keep your room cool
** Develop a sleeping ritual and stick to it: go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning
** Avoid large meals, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol close to bedtime