Falling and staying asleep is no problem at all. Getting a good night's sleep meant setting a bedtime and putting down my phone.Īlthough sleeplessness plagued my adolescence and early adulthood, most likely due to issues with anxiety, getting enough sleep hasn't been an issue in recent years. This sounded a lot like my experiment's premise, which made me eager to get started. Reflecting on your state of mind and professional performance during this time can be enlightening, as Dedhia noted. When Dedhia works with people who are sleep deprived, he encourages them to get more sleep for 10 to 14 days, paying attention to any physical, mental, or emotional changes. In fact, extending sleep time is often the first recommendation from a sleep medicine specialist. "Quantity is the most common sleep challenge," Dedhia said. (Fun fact: I've done all of these things.) In general, people are just not sleeping enough. In fact, if a person falls asleep while reading a book, attending a meeting, or sitting through long car ride, then these are all potential signs of sleep deprivation. He explained that many instances of daytime sleepiness are not normal. Param Dedhia, the Director of Sleep Medicine at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. In order to learn more about sleep needs from a specialist's standpoint, I reached out to Dr. Sleep deprivation can make you cranky - not that I'd known from experience. Not to mention, the long-term effects of chronic sleeplessness include serious health conditions such as hypertension, heart attack, and stroke, according to the book Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem.Įssentially, sleep deprivation can kill you. Short-term effects of such sleeplessness include memory troubles, moodiness, and an increased likelihood of car accidents, according to the Cleveland Clinic. For many people, though, even logging seven hours of sleep is an obstacle, making sleep deprivation a serious, prevalent issue.Īccording to the CDC, one-third of American adults get less than the recommended amount of sleep. Ideally, all adults age 18 to 64 are advised to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. What happens when you make sleep a priority, instead of an afterthought? I tried to answer that question by attempting to get nine hours of sleep every night for a week.Īlthough sleeping nine hours every night may sound excessive, it's within the recommended sleep parameters for people my age. Although powering through the day on far too little sleep is the reality for millions of Americans, it works against the body's natural and critical need for rest. In fact, 35 percent of American adults routinely do not get enough sleep, clocking in less than seven hours of rest per night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It often indicates a user profile.įor many people, sleep is a precious, often gets neglected, resource. For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I'm Vivien Williams.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. Vivien Williams: He also suggests keeping your bedroom as dark and quiet as possible. It's not for spreadsheets, it's not for watching TV. The bedroom, the bed is for sex and sleep. Somers: We've got bright lights all over the place, and then we switch the lights off, we lie in bed and expect to sleep. Somers offers the following tips: Avoid alcohol and big meals before bed don't exercise right before bed and turn off all screens, including your smartphone, an hour before bed.ĭr. Vivien Williams: Poor sleep may increase your risk of conditions such as heart disease, obesity, depression, dementia. Somers: Sleep is very much a multidisciplinary specialty for good reason because sleep affects all the organs of the body. Virend Somers is a cardiologist who studies sleep.ĭr. Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D.: When you don't sleep well, bad things happen.
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