LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part 2

LACK OF SLEEP DESTROYS GOOD HEALTH part 2

DANGER SIGNALS OF DROWSINESS

 We all become drowsy before we fall asleep. Your eyes may start feeling heavy and strain, they keep closing, and lose focus.  You start yawning, and have trouble keeping your head up.

 If your car keeps jerking back in and out of your lane and hits off to the shoulder, you must stop at a safe place and take your 20-minute power nap. After the nap, get some coffee or a Coke, and go for a brisk walk in the rest area.

 If you are sleep deprived, you become drowsy during the day, moody, and have a difficult time coping under stress and anxiety.  You lack interest in socializing with others, feel lethargic and are un-productive, start putting on weight, and have a reduced immunity to disease.

Often between the hours of two and 4 PM, you find it difficult to concentrate, remember, analyze new information, make decision-making skills, and have reduced motor skills and perceptual skills, and lack creativity.

 TAKING NAPS

 The entire world takes naps between 1 and 4 PM, and most accidents occur between 2 and 4 PM.  Naps are certainly healthy, if you are sleep deprived.   A brief nap is as legitimate as a coffee break, and can make you more alert, productive, and less prone to accidents.  Lie down with your eyes closed and meditate.  This can be very beneficial to restore energy.

The best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you wake up.  You should only nap for 15 to 30 minutes.  If you sleep longer than that, the nap puts your body into a deep sleep, which is difficult to wake from.  You will find yourself groggy, difficult to wake up, and not fully alert until at least an hour after you wake up from a prolonged nap. It is unhealthy to nap late in the afternoon.

Our sleep patterns are biphasic, with a drop in your alertness and body temperature at night; there is a similar but very small drop in the middle of the afternoon. This occurs about 12 hours after the middle of your night’s sleep.

 SHIFT WORKERS

 Over 25% of Americans now are shift workers, and find it difficult to coordinate their free time. You may find it hard to fulfill your sexual role with your spouse, and you leave evening social events early to get to work on time, you find yourself needing more sick days, and are prone to heart attacks, and mood disorders.   Staying up late at night, results in decreased activity of your natural killer cells that fight viral infections. It’s wise to take a nap two hours before your shift, to help you make up for sleep loss. Avoid coffee the last half-hour of your ship so you can fall asleep when you get home. Wear dark sunglasses as you drive home, so your biological clock will not be reset, delaying your sleep cycle.




 QUALITY OF SLEEP IS BETTER THAN QUANTITY

 The quality of your sleep is more important than the quantity of your sleep.   Many sleep disturbances; result in the release of histamines and inflammatory cytokines.   These are released whenever infections and allergic reactions are present. Calcium deposits in your coronaries become more likely with poor sleep quality. 

When you sleep well, your immune system is bolstered.  While sleeping, if you are awake 8% or more of the time you are in bed, you are five times more likely to develop a cold then if you lay awake less than 2% of the time.

COMMENTARY

 Over the last few decades, we Americans have been sleeping less and less, and are getting fatter.   Everyone needs at least eight hours sleep.  If you sleep less than five hours, you have a high chance of having a heart attack.   Skimping on sleep, results in hardening of your arteries. If you snore when you sleep, you also have an increased chance of high blood pressure and heart attacks.

 Restful sleep gives long-range benefits, heals weary bones, makes you healthy and wise, and is better than any facelift. Sleeping cost you nothing, and comes without side effects. Perhaps tonight would be a good time to go to bed earlier!

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