Three Reasons to Get More Sleep
December 31, 2008 Written by JP
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Do you feel rested when you get up in the morning? Are the bags under your eyes heavier than the bags you take to work? Is coffee your best morning buddy? If so, you really should pay attention to what modern science is telling us about the importance of sleep. Your very health hangs in the balance.
Sleeping Enough to Live Longer
A lack of sleep is the new cigarette. An abundance of research is piling up and it doesn’t look good for those who don’t get enough shut-eye. But it’s not all bad news. There is a solution to this potential health epidemic. And it’s as easy to implement as closing your eyes and lying in bed.
A brand new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports a strong association between inadequate sleep and a higher risk of arterial calcium deposits. The study, headed by Dr. Diane Lauderdale of the University of Chicago Medical Center, measured the sleep patterns of 495 volunteers.
The volunteers ranged from 35 to 47 years of age. They were asked to wear computerized wrist bands that monitored sleep-time movement. The frequency of movements were logged into a computer and analyzed. The results were used as an indicator for sleep quality.
A CT (computed tomography) scan was also used to measure the amount of calcium in the heart arteries. One CT scan was performed at the beginning of the trial, another at the end of it, some five years later.
The results of the five year experiment were startling. Of those who developed arterial calcium deposits:
- 27% of those with calcium deposits slept less than 5 hours per night
- The number decreased to 11% for those who slept 5-7 hours nightly.
- And most remarkably, only 6 percent of the volunteers who slept more than 7 hours per night developed coronary artery calcification.
Dreams of Less Cancer
In November, a scientific presentation was delivered at the American Association for Cancer Research. In that presentation, the researchers revealed data on the occurrence of cancer in a group of about 6,000 women.
Back in 1998, all the women filled out questionnaires about how physically active they were and how long they typically slept. In 2007, the researchers studied the data from the questionnaires and reviewed the women’s medical histories to note the occurrences of cancer.
In total, about 600 cases of cancer were diagnosed. The risk for cancer was the lowest (47% lower) in women who exercised roughly an hour a day and got a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night. The combination of sleep and exercise appeared to be the ticket. One without the other was not nearly as powerful.
Snoozing the Pain Away
In September, an article was published in Biological Psychiatry that reported that missing sleep, even occasionally, could trigger a chain of events that can increase inflammation in the body.
Excess inflammation is a factor in a great many diseases and disorders ranging from arthritis to heart disease to psoriasis and possibly even cancer. Therefore, finding safe and natural ways to manage inflammation is highly desirable.
The authors of the article measured the levels of a substance called nuclear factor (NF-kB). NF-kB is a primary player in the inflammatory process. Healthy participants had their NF-kB levels tested during periods of normal sleep and after forced sleep deprivation. In the female volunteers who were sleep deprived, an increase in NF-kB activity was found.
The editor of Biological Psychiatry, Dr. John H. Krystal stated that the results provided, “evidence that sleep deprivation is associated with enhancement of pro-inflammatory processes in the body.”
Sleeping is one of the most commonly neglected aspects of health care. It’s not something we should try to limit or avoid. Sleep is a powerful tool whose powers we should try to harness for a healthier heart, lower risk of cancer, fewer aches, pains and less discomfort. And it’s 100%, natural and there for the taking.
Be well!
JP
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Tags: Cancer, Sleep
Posted in Heart Health
January 1st, 2009 at 7:06 am
Glad to know more sleep is healthy :). I often sleep more than 10 hours, like a baby.
January 1st, 2009 at 7:29 am
Actually I don’t like sleep, I don’t go to bed until I’m very sleepy, I guess it’s not good. But once I go to bed, I will fall asleep in minutes and wake up after many hours.
January 1st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Kevin,
The ability to fall asleep easily and to sleep soundly is a real blessing.
Now that you know how healthy sleep actually is, maybe you’ll learn to like it more?
Be well!
JP
January 14th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Since my thyroid was removed 5 years ago (papillary cancer) I have had insomnia. Had a sleeping test (overnight) but had to take a sleeping pill to fall asleep. I am like the energizer bunny and just go and go. I try to take deep breaths, let go of the day’s activities and am rather an optomistic person. My synthroid daily intake is 112. It is the lowest the doctor will go.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Welcome, Teresa.
Have you tried anything besides deep breathing to help with your sleep?
There are many natural options to help with his problem. Perhaps I can do a blog about that in the coming weeks.
Be well!
JP
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
[...] Three Reasons to Get More Sleep Do you feel rested when you get up in the morning? [...]
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Hi! I am Turkish. I want to say something about this topic. I sleep every day 4 hours because of stuying. I have to work a lot so i can’t sleep enough. What am i do?
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Sivilce,
I empathize with your situation. You can only do the best that you can do. Sleep as long as possible and try to compensate for your lack of sleep by taking extra good care of yourself in other areas such as by eating a healthy diet and using nutritional supplements.
Hopefully your work and school situation will soon allow you more time to rest.
Be well!
JP