“…the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. The leading causes of disease and death in developed nations—diseases that are crippling health-care systems, such as heart disease, obesity, dementia, diabetes, and cancer—all have recognized causal links to a lack of sleep.” – Matthew Walker
Modern society has adopted the thought that sleep is luxury that gets in the way of progress and entertainment. Using phrases like “I will sleep when I am dead”, “sleep is something to be avoided” and “it’s a shame to spend one third of our lives sleeping” have become popular in circles of people who are trying to get the most out of life. Interestingly, it is the last phrase that interests me most. Science tells us a different story altogether about sleep. In his book, Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker lays the foundation for the importance of sleep addressing the first phrase by stating “The old maxim “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” is therefore unfortunate. Adopt this mind-set, and you will be dead sooner and the quality of that (shorter) life will be worse.” You see, sleep is not a luxury; it is a biological necessity.
Most every species on Earth finds the time to sleep. Some species in very unique ways, some shorter and some longer sleep times. For example, whales and dolphins experience sleep by shutting down half of the brain allowing them to remain in a conscious, restful state alternating between the halves of the brain. Giraffes in the wild require the least amount of sleep with only 30 minutes as a necessity. While the koala sleeps between 20-22 hours. Point is, sleep appears to be a requirement for all mammals and most other animals. If sleep were not a necessity, particularly to animals still concerned about survival, natural selection would have done away with it. Since mother nature decided to keep us sleeping there must be a solid reason for our nightly slumber.
Sleep may be one the most fascinating actions that we perform as humans, puzzling scientists for many years. Why we sleep continues to be a mystery however there have been some theories suggested that seem to have supportive plausible scientific evidence. Before I get into the reasons for sleep, I would like to share what the sciences says about sleep architecture. The typical human takes about 15-20 minutes to fall asleep. If you happen to fall asleep faster than that it may be a sign of built up sleep debt from sleep deprivation. Sleep goes as follows, light sleep leads to deep sleep leading to deeper sleep leading to REM sleep then the sleep cycle starts all over again with light sleep. During the recommended 8 hours of shut eye, a typical human will experience between 4-5 sleep cycles. When we fall asleep our brain wave activity shifts with each stage of sleep. Normal waking consciousness demonstrates beta brain waves transitioning to alpha waves during light sleep then theta waves then to delta waves occurring during deep restorative sleep. Finally, the brain waves shift back to a beta wave appearance on EEG (electroencephalogram) during REM sleep, or dream sleep.
Scientists have suggested that sleep offers a restorative aspect for the body and mind. During the time where we release consciousness our bodies are busy repairing and restoring energy used during the prior day. Each organ of the body is placed on a biological clock during which rejuvenation of the organ takes place. Whether its the liver, brain, skin, spleen, pancreas each organ gets its time on the clock, if there is sufficient sleep duration. All of these clocks operate off of one main clock in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This nucleus operates based upon the amount and type of light being received by the eyes. It is the amount and type of light that is the major influencer of the body’s biological clocks. This is why it is recommended that all electronic devices be shut down at least 1 hour prior to bedtime. The light emitted from devices, such as televisions, tablets, computers and cell phones mainly composed of blue light, reduces the body’s release of the natural sleep hormone melatonin.
Besides restoration and rejuvenation of the body, sleep also impacts the brain in very cleansing way. The glymphatic system discovered in 2013 is the brain’s internal self cleaning system. Mainly during restorative sleep this system acts as to remove toxic debris from the day’s work while distributing nutrients to the cells that need them. This phenomenon occurs as glial cells, a type of brain cell, shrink by about 60% allowing for cerebrospinal fluid to flow in and do its magic. Sleep deprivation has been related to fatigue, headaches, concentration and focus impairment and memory issues with more severe cases inducing paranoia and even hallucinations. It has been reported that the average American sleeps 6h36min per night. It has also been reported that the glymphatic system appears to function optimally with at least 7 hours of sleep. There are two proteins that scientists have isolated that seem to be related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, Beta-amyloid and Tao. It is debris like these two proteins that gets cleared as a result of the glymphatic system.
Another reason scientists believe we sleep has to do with our dreams. REM, rapid eye movement, sleep or dream sleep has been purported as overnight mental therapy. It appears that during deep sleep the brain is busy consolidating memories from the day’s activities. Whether it is a skill, action or behavior the brain records what we do and think about. During sleep these memories are transferred from working memory to long term storage in other areas of the brain. During REM sleep something different occurs. Scientists have demonstrated that the brain prunes away old connections during REM sleep. This is critical to emotional health. Scientists believe that dreams may represent the brain’s way of playing back life’s challenges and past traumas in order to reduce the sting associated with these memories as a kind of exposure therapy.
It turns out that sleep truly is not a luxury but a biological necessity. Too many critical actions occur during sleep that allow life to be more fulfilling. Sleep deprivation has also been associated with many of the major chronic diseases affecting millions of Americans. Notably, insufficient sleep has been linked to the development and management of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Matthew Walker goes on to outline the largest trial on sleep that goes on every year, daylight savings time. When we move the clock forward just one hour, statistics show a 24% increase in heart attacks, 8% increase in strokes and a 6% increase in fatal car accidents. The modern way of life with its fleeting moments of immediate gratification may be causing a great deal of long term hardship for those choosing to skip on sleep.
The last point I would like to make regarding sleep is about quality and duration. Technology may be the very reason we are not getting enough sleep. Yet, when working with clients I utilize technology to gain an awareness advantage. When I started my health journey I followed the prescription for 7-8 hours sleep programming time into my cell phone setting a notification to alert me when it was time to turn down. I thought my sleep was being managed well until technology told me otherwise. After getting Whoop, the health metric device I use, I began to notice that time in bed did not equal time asleep. I also noted that different pre-bedtime behaviors had distinctly different effects on my sleep quality. It was then that I began what my pre-sleep ritual or pm bookend. Every night my preparation for sleep begins 1 hour before my intended bedtime. I take a hot shower, dim the house lights, make a cup of chamomile tea, put my mouth tape on and read a book until I begin to doze off.
The brain is a pattern recognition system. By creating this sleep ritual I begin alerting the brain that it is almost time for sleep. After starting this pattern, I began to notice a significant improvement in sleep quality which also impacted duration by reducing the number of micro awakenings I had been experiencing. Micro awakenings are moments of unconscious waking that disturb sleep quality, such as tossing and turning in bed. I will add the mouth tape was a game changer for my sleep quality. Prior to this discovery I experienced sleep disruption from mouth breathing. Since adding the mouth tape, sleep has been more peaceful than ever before. To wake each morning ready to take on the day’s challenges with a strong will and a joyful heart has been a real blessing I am so grateful for. I have big dreams for the rest of my life. I know those dreams can become a reality only if I continue making sleep non negotiable in my life.