Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
When is the last time you got a full eight hours of sleep?
Have you been conditioned to think getting a full night’s sleep is not that
necessary? When I asked one patient about his sleep habits he said, “I’ll sleep
when I’m dead!” Prophetically, a lack of sleep will get you there more quickly.
It is estimated that 40% of Americans do not get proper
sleep time. Many get less than five hours per night. Even the CDC has stated
that a lack of sleep is a public health epidemic. Improper sleep habits are
linked to a wide variety of health problems. Tired drivers are as dangerous as
drunk drivers. By lacking sleep, you are risking far more than accidents, you
are affecting your entire health picture.
After reviewing over 300 studies on sleep, experts have come
to the conclusion that most people need roughly 8 hours of sleep to maintain
their health.
Getting less than 7 hours has been shown to raise your risk
of weight gain by increasing appetite inducing hormones.
Getting less than 6 hours leaves you cognitively impaired.
Even a single night of only 4 to 6 hours sleep leaves you thinking less clearly
the next day.
On a long term basis, lack of sleep is linked to increased
risk of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Poor sleep quality can be just as hazardous to your health
as not getting enough sleep. Obstructed sleep can increase your blood pressure,
depriving the body of oxygen, causing irregular heart beat and making blood stickier.
These can lead to risk of heart disease and stroke.
A study by the European Society of Cardiology in June 2015
found that men who had a sleep disorder were between 2 and 2.6 times more
likely to have a heart attack and 1.5 to 4 times more likely to have a stroke
over the 14 year study.
Improving sleep has another major benefit in that it helps
reduce physical pain levels. Sleep problems tend to lower your tolerance for
pain. Compared to individuals who reported no insomnia, those who reported one
weekly episode of insomnia had a 52% lower pain tolerance. Those who reported
one bout of insomnia per month had a 24% lower pain tolerance.
Another unfortunate finding is that night shift workers have
a radically increased risk of disease and premature death. A worse finding is
that there is no known remedy to this biological adversity.
The link between impaired sleep and cancer has been
repeatedly established. Tumors in lab animals grow 2-3 times faster with sleep
deprivation. Less sleep leads to less melatonin production. Melatonin is a
hormone that has both antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. It inhibits the
proliferation of cancer cells, triggers cancer apoptosis (self-destruction),
and interferes with angiogenesis (new blood supply) to tumors.
Experts offer these tips to promote better sleep:
·
Avoid medications with pseudoephedrine (common
allergy drugs) they are a stimulant
·
Avoid eating before bed
·
Blackout your sleeping room – any light
interferes with the pineal gland
·
Keep bedroom temperatures below 70*
·
Avoid caffeine before bed
There are many
benefits of proper and adequate sleep. Your path to better health depends on
it.