SPENDING TIME TO SLEEP

Seven hours sleep a night best for health

 

                                                                    Fewer than seven hours a night linked to heart disease

People who regularly sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day could be increasing their risk of heart disease, new research finds.A study of more than 30,000 adults found that cardiovascular disease - angina, heart attack and strokes - was twice as likely to occur in people who slept for fewer than seven hours a night compared with those who slept for seven hours.

In the study, the participants were asked to fill in questionnaires about their health and lifestyle, including questions about their sleep patterns. People who slept for fewer than five hours a night had double the risk of developing heart disease compared to those who got a good seven hours. The findings showed the risk was highest in women, and people over the age of 60. Sleeping for more than seven hours was also shown to be associated with an increased, but less dramatic risk, as people who slept for more than nine hours a day were one and a half times more likely to develop heart disease. Although the researchers could not explain why too much or too little sleep could affect the health of your heart, they suggested that short sleep duration may be related to changes in the body's metabolism and hormonal functions. Sleep deprivation is associated with impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening of the arteries, they said. 

And long sleep duration may be related to an underlying sleep-related breathing disorder or poor sleep qualit "Sleep disturbances may be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease even among apparently healthy subjects," said Dr Anoop Shankar from the Department of Community Medicine, who led the study. "Our study findings may have important clinical and public health implications, such as screening for changes in sleep duration by primary care physicians as a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, or initiating public health initiatives focussing on improving sleep quality and quantity," he added. The findings are published in the journal Sleep.

Do you have a sleep problem?

Symptoms and causes of insomnia If you have problems sleeping, you may have insomnia. It is very common. Common symptoms of insomnia include:

• Being unable to fall asleep within 30-40 minutes of going to bed
• Needing pills or alcohol to help you fall asleep at night
• Waking repeatedly during the night
• Waking too early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep
• Feeling tired after a night’s sleep
• Feeling tired during the day
• Having headaches, difficulty concentrating and generally feeling irritable

 Main Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia can be temporary and may start after a stressful event in your life - family death, unemployment, divorce - or it can be chronic and continue for months or even years. There are a number of possible causes, but they usually include:

• Environmental factors - nigh-time noise, room temperature, uncomfortable bed
• Lifestyle - diet, alcohol intake, irregular hours at work
• Psychological – stress, anxiety, grief, depression
• Sleep disorder – apnea, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy
• Other medical conditions which have insomnia as a symptom - under-active thyroid, some cancers

Identifying the cause of your insomnia is the first step to solving your problem. This may not be obvious to you, so it may be worthwhile 

Create the perfect sleep environment

De-clutter the bedroom

Bedrooms should be used only for sleeping and sex – not working, eating, sleeping or watching television. Your brain needs to associate your bedroom with sleep.

If you have a television or computer in the room, then it is time to de-clutter and move them elsewhere.

You should aim to make your bedroom a dark, quiet and peaceful environment in which to rest after a hard day’s work. To do this:

• Make sure you have a bed which is comfortable. Mattresses are supposed to be changed every 10 years. If the mattress sags, put a board under it until you can afford to buy a new one. You will also be doing your back a favour!
• Fresh sheets and pillow cases may also help
• If the morning sun is causing you problems, invest in heavier curtains or lining, or wear an eye mask
• If your partner snores, buy some soft ear plugs
• Keep the room at a decent temperature, and well ventilated – not too hot in the summer or too cold in winter

Create a sleep routine

Break the cycle of insomnia

Establishing a good sleep routine is one of the best ways you can help yourself to sleep.

• Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, even at weekends
• As bed time approaches, start to wind down. Avoid television or anything which is mentally demanding in the hour before bedtime
• Have a warm relaxing bath, followed by reading and a warm drink (no caffeine or stimulants) or listen to some quiet music
• If you don’t fall asleep after 20-30 minutes, then get up and go to another room. Sit in a comfortable chair, perhaps with a cosy throw, relax and read a book or magazine. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed again. Try some breathing exercises to help you relax. If you still can’t sleep, repeat the process. Don’t worry about not sleeping; relax and sleep will come to you
• Only sleep in bed. Try to avoid taking a nap during the day, especially in the early evening or else you will find it difficult to sleep again at night. You need to eliminate the factors which contribute to insomnia.

These simple steps may seem straightforward enough. But bad habits are difficult to break. If you stick with it, you really can break the cycle of insomnia.

Snooze and booze

They really don't mix! When it comes to sleep, alcohol gets great PR! Most people know that drinking caffeine last thing at night may keep them awake, but the same cannot be said about alcohol.

In a government survey carried out earlier this year, 58% of those questioned were unaware that drinking above the daily guidelines can lead to problems sleeping. In fact, alcohol along with caffeine and nicotine is a major sleep disruptor.

As we said, alcohol has good PR! Part of the reason for this is that alcohol can help you fall asleep faster. It does this by suppressing the production of adrenaline which keeps you alert. However, within hours the body tries to counteract this effect by producing more, causing you to wake up or sleep poorly.

Alcohol is also a diuretic, and encourages the body to excrete fluid. So you may have to visit the loo during the night. Alcohol has also been shown to interfere with the normal sleep cycle. People experience two types of sleep - rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, where the brain is at its most active and you dream, and non-REM sleep, when the brain "switches off" and you fall into a deep sleep.

Alcohol before bed can cause you to fall straight into a deep sleep, only entering REM sleep once it has been metabolized by the body. As you wake more easily from REM sleep, many drinkers wake early in the morning feeling un-refreshed. We need both types of sleep, in the correct amounts.

Even drinking at "Happy Hour" can affect the normal sleep cycle up to six hours later.

If you are trying for a good night's sleep, stick to the daily recommended limits, or cut back altogether.

The daily recommended amounts:

• Men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day
• Women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units of alcohol a day