When was the last time you got 8 hours of sleep? Needed an extra cup of coffee this morning? Learn about the importance of sleep to our mental health and ways to improve your quality of sleep.

Living in the fast-paced 21st century, where busy schedules and endless to-do lists are typical, we tend to deprioritize sleep. We do not realize that we are making one of the biggest mistakes that potentially result in long-term health problems. Without sleep, our bodies cannot function in proper manners and contributes to mental health disorders and memory & learning impairment.

So, what is “sleep?”

Sleep allows you to physically be unconscious while your brain is mentally active. During sleep, our brains are working to process and restore the information that we retrieve from the time we were awake^[1]. After a good night sleep, we are able to retain information and dramatically perform better on the next day. Sleep is taken for granted because many of us overestimate our abilities to fulfill daily duties. We are not aware that sleep is fundamental for a healthy mind, body, and soul.

[Photo courtesy University of Rochester Medical Center]

You may be wondering…what happens to our brain and body during sleep?

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers which communicate between neurons throughout your brain and body. By acting on different groups of neurons in the brain, neurotransmitters regulate whether we are asleep or awake. They can “switch off” cells that signal the activation of arousal or relaxation.

The arousal signals are sent to the cerebral cortex when the alerting areas of the brain are most active, resulting in wakefulness.[2]
Areas of the brain that promotes wakefulness is inhibited when the sleep-promoting areas of the brain are most active, resulting in sleepiness.^[2]

The Sleep Cycle

Sleep is not just one “snoozed off” action, but it occurs in stages and it is quite complicated. During sleep, the brain and body go through five stages; the non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) phrase includes the first four stages and the rapid eye movement (REM) phrase is the fifth stage.

Stages 1 – 2

Stages 1 – 2

As we shut our eyes to sleep, we enter stage 1 of the sleep cycle.

It is known as light sleep linking between being awake and falling asleep where eyes movements and muscle activity become weak and begin to move slow.
During this stage it is normal to experience hypnic myoclonia or hypnic jerks where the muscle contractions happen suddenly and gives a sensation of falling ^[3].
This stage typically lasts about 5 to 10 minutes.

When there are very minimal to no eyes movements, we’ve made it to stage 2.

This stage marks the actual onset of sleep when you become disengaged from the environment ^[3].
The body temperature continues to decrease, but heart rate and blood pressure are regular.

Stages 3 – 4

Stages 3 – 4

We then continue to stages 3 and 4 or as known as the deep non-REM.

These are the most difficult stages to wake someone up as the body begins the restorative process where blood pressure begins to drop, breathing becomes even slower and muscles are relaxed.
During these deep stages, blood supply to the muscles is increased, energy is restored, tissue growth and repair occur and important hormones are released for growth and development ^[3].

Stage 5

Stage 5

We enter REM sleep when breathing and heart rate become irregular, muscles are shut down becoming paralyzed, and eyes movements are rapid.

This is the stage where the brain is active and dreams come into play.
It is important to get enough REM sleep because it plays an important role in learning and memory function
It is the time for your brain to consolidate and process information from the day before in order to stored it in the long-term memory ^[3].

[Photo courtesy Luke Mastin]

Approximately, we experience three to four sleep cycles. The sleep cycle repeats itself every 60- 90 minute ^[6] in that appropriate 8 hours that we are supposed to get. During the first 2-3 cycles, we spend more time in the deep non-REM sleep, stages 3-4. REM sleep occurs more frequently in the last 2-3 cycles^[4].

Now, what happens when you’re in sleep debt?

Sleep is not a luxury, but a crucial component of our daily lives. We spend one third of our lives asleep. Yet, many of us cannot get 8 hours of quality sleep for various reasons, putting ourselves in sleep debt.

When in sleep debt, parts of your brain become inactive which induces drowsiness. One to four percent of all highway accidents are caused by sleepiness; that’s about 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths each year in the USA ^[1].

[Photo courtesy Wheaton AG, Chapman DP, Presley-Cantrell LR, Croft JB, Roehler DR.]

Lack of sleep causes the body to respond as if you were under stress. When under stress, Dr. Malcolm von Schantz explains that the body automatically activate inflammatory genes preparing for injury to occur ^[8]. In the case of sleep-deprivation, there is no actual injury. Genes in the body’s cells function improperly when one is sleep-deprived which produce negative health problems including:

high blood pressure
diabetes
heart diseases
depression
lower sex drive

According to Dr. Kushida, director of the Standford University Center for Human Sleep Research,

loss of sleep ultimately leads to memory and learning impairment due to the disturbances in brain function when adequate sleep is not met ^[9]. Furthermore, sleep-deprived physically makes you look bad by giving you the premature wrinkling and dark circles under your eyes. Without sleep, stress hormone cortisol is produced, and it can eventually break down collagen and causes skin problems ^[8]. They called it “beauty sleep” for a reason.

Tips & Tricks for Better Sleep

Keep Track of Your Sleep
Exercise Daily
Naps are a big NO NO!
Avoid Drinking Coffee, Smoking, and Heavy Meals Before Bed
Eliminate Electronic Devices
Evaluate Your Bedroom
When in Doubt, Meditate!
Seek Professional Help

Keep Track of Your Sleep

Try sticking to the same bedtime and wake-up time throughout the week (even on weekend!).
Keeping track of your sleep schedule in a notebook could be helpful.
Dr. Matthew Ebben, a psychologist and specialist in sleep medicine, suggests that sleep diary is a wealth of information that includes not just when you sleep and wake up, but intake of caffeine, medications, alcohol, nap, exercise, and mood.
It is a useful tool to help many realize what they are doing that encourage them to deprioritize sleep^[10].

Exercise Daily

Find time in your busy schedule to fit in a minimum of 15-30 mins of exercise.
Even if it’s just light exercise, it is still better than nothing.
Exercise reduces stress by producing endorphins or as known as natural painkillers which in turn improve the ability to sleep^[11].
Get moving!

Naps are a big NO NO!

Napping is great for quick energy, but if you are having trouble falling asleep at night, you should definitely avoid any nap times during the day.
Long naps interfere with your body clock and nighttime sleep.

Avoid Drinking Coffee, Smoking, and Heavy Meals Before Bed

These behaviors can disrupt sleep because of the caffeine, nicotine and the discomfort feeling.
It is wisely suggested that you should have your last meal two to three hours before your bedtime ^[12].
Limiting caffeine intake throughout the day can dramatically improve your sleep.
Caffeine is a stimulant that we take to feel and remain alert during the day but it delays the timing of your body clock that will make it hard to fall asleep when the time comes.

Eliminate Electronic Devices

Not only do electronic devices distract you from your sleep, but the light exposure can interfere with melatonin.
You can still use your phone or tablet to read or do anything, but dim the light down to minimum and hold them at least 14 inches away from you ^[13]

Evaluate Your Bedroom

Many find that having a comfortable setting can help them fall asleep easier and getting more quality sleep.
Bedroom should not be too hot or too cold, it should be around 60-67 degrees ^[14].
Make sure the room is kept dark and noise-free for a comfortable nighttime.
Using comfortable mattress and pillows play a great part in your sleep, too.
Replace the mattress when they are 7 years or older because it will not be supportive anymore and replace pillows once a year to properly support your neck and spine.
Lastly, keep your bedroom nice and neat and only use it for sleep.

When in Doubt, Meditate!

Mindfulness meditation is a mind-calming practice that focuses on breathing and awareness of the present moment.
According to Dr. Herbert Benson, the director emeritus of the Harvard affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, mindfulness meditation is a method that evoke relaxation response in the body that help ease many stress-related ailments such as depression, pain, and high blood pressure ^[15].
Ideally, practicing mindfulness meditation 20 minutes during the day is enough.

Seek Professional Help

If you have tried everything and still having difficulties falling asleep, you should seek professional help. Your problems may be the surface to more serious problems like insomnia, narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, depression and etc.

References 1
References 2
References 3

[1] Why Sleep is Important. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx

[2] Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. (2017, May 22). Retrieved from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep

[3] Thompson, Jill. (2017, Sep 26). Hypnic (Hypnagogic) jerking explained. The Sleep Advisor. Retrieved from https://www.sleepadvisor.org/hypnic-jerking/

[4] Understanding sleep cycles. National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sleep.org/articles/what-happens-during-sleep/

[5] Gordon, A. M., Ph.D. (2013, Jul 26). Your sleep cycle revealed. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-you-and-me/201307/your-sleep-cycle-revealed

[6] Field, A. (n.d.). Why is sleep so important. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2009/01/why-sleep-is-so-important.html

[7] How much sleep do we really need? National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need/page/0/1

[8] Ghosh, P. (2015, May 15). Why do we sleep? BBC News Science and Environment. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32606341

[9] Kushida, C. A., Ph.D. (n.d.). College students: getting enough sleep is vital to academic success. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Retrieved from https://aasm.org/college-students-getting-enough-sleep-is-vital-to-academic-success/

[10] DiGiulio, S. (2018, Mar 15). How to use a sleep diary to figure out what’s keeping you up at night. NBC News. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/how-keep-sleep-diary-actually-improve-your-sleep-ncna805281

[11] How Exercise Affects Sleep. National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sleep.org/articles/exercise-affects-sleep/

[12] Caffeine and Sleep. National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/caffeine-and-sleep

[13] Mayo Clinic. (2013, June 3). Are smartphones disrupting your sleep? ScienceDaily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130603163610.htm

[14] Gregoire, C. (2015, May 25). 7 big things we’ve learned about sleep in the past decade. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/25/sleep-research-health_n_7215662.html

[15] Corliss, J. (2015, Feb 18). Mindfulness meditation helps fight insomnia, improves sleep. Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School. Retriever from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-helps-fight-insomnia-improves-sleep-201502187726

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