Sleep Well For A Reason, Sleep Well For Healthy Ageing

Sound sleep is a non-negotiable biological necessity. 

Don’t believe us? Even the experts think so. Professor Matthew Paul Walker, a scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California and a public intellectual focused on the subject of sleep says sleep deprivation is one of the most alarming and significant public health concerns of the 21st century, which, if not attended to, can lead to a major health catastrophe, especially among older adults. 

Why? Reasons are plenty and serious enough for all of us to pay immediate attention to. 

Adequate sleep is an essential food for robust ageing

Data released by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reveals that people with insufficient sleep - anything less than eight hours of sound sleep - have a greater risk of multiple health complications, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and obesity.

To add to it, Professor Walker comes up with some interesting facts about sleep deprivation and ageing in his Ted Talk titled ‘Sleep is your superpower’. He says, “With adequate sleep, lots of significant learning activities take place in the Hippocampus of the brain which is your memory inbox. Without sleep we observe a 40 per cent deficit in the ability of the brain to make new memories. Also, as we get older our learning and memory abilities begin to fail and decline and we also discover that our sleep gets worse as we age. Decline in learning memory and sleep deprivation are found to be co-occurring and significantly inter-related. Thus, inadequate sleep is directly linked to Alzheimer’s and Dementia.”

Apart from that, Walker also highlights a 24 per cent rise in heart attacks when we lose just an hour of sleep. Likewise, when one gains an hour of sleep, there is a whopping 21 per cent reduction in heart attacks. Also, with insufficient sleep, there’s a leaping increase in incidence of car crashes, road traffic accidents, even suicide rates.

Sleep can give your body fighting powers. Did you know if one has sleep deprivation for an entire night, one won’t have adequate natural killing cells in their immune system that identify dangerous, unwanted elements in the body and eliminate them? If one’s sleep gets restricted by 4 hours a day, one will observe a 70 per cent drop  in natural killer cell activity which is, undoubtedly, a concerning state of immune deficiency. 

“This enhances the risk of development of numerous forms of cancer like that of the bowel, prostate and breast.  The link between cancer and sleep deprivation is so strong that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared nighttime working shifts as a probable carcinogen because of the disruption of the sleep wake cycle they cause,” says the sleep expert. 

Lack of sleep has also been found to disrupt a human’s genetic activity - either distort or enhance it. 

As we grow older, we often find it difficult to fall asleep. These healthy bedtime habits can help you have a sound sleep

Have a sleep routine: Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, whether it’s a weekday or weekend. The body’s internal clock is designed to a specific sleep-wake cycle, which, if disrupted, can mess up with your sleep and disbalance your circadian rhythm - a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep–wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. Thus, attempting to catch up on missed sleep on weekends may not be of any use. 

Keep it cool: Your body temperature needs to drop down to a certain temperature to fall asleep and continue being asleep. Thus, the ideal temperature of the room where you sleep should be around 18 degrees Celsius and not more than that. A cooler bedroom is always a sleep appetiser compared to a warmer one. 

Cut your caffeine and nicotine intake: Caffeine and nicotine are non-inducers of sleep and can keep you awake for very long. Walker says: “Caffeine temporarily blocks the signal from adenosine, a crucial sleep chemical in your brain, which nonetheless continues to accumulate. This pent-up adenosine eventually breaks through, causing a dramatic crash, often at inopportune times. Nicotine, another stimulant, can lead to very light sleep.” He also suggests not drinking too much alcohol before bedtime. While a little of it may help one relax, too much of it can rob one of REM sleep - a kind of sleep that occurs at intervals during the night and is characterised by rapid eye movements, more dreaming and bodily movement, and faster pulse and breathing - which is important for optimal restoration of one’s brain. 

Avoid late night workout: While exercise can be a great sleep inducer, you must be watchful of the time of your workout. Late night exercise or an intensive yoga session just before your bedtime can make it harder for your brain to shut down for sleep. Thus, it is better to keep away from your treadmill during the late hours. 

Do not eat heavy before bedtime: Heavy dinners can cause indigestion and hamper sound sleep. Also, consuming a lot of fluids before bedtime is not advisable as it can lead to frequent urge to urinate and disturb your sleep. Having light food with moderate fluids at dinner is helpful and won’t disrupt your hours of adequate sleep. 

Manage your medication schedule: Certain medications and drugs can mess up your sleep pattern. In case you face trouble sleeping due to your medication dosage, you may consult with your doctor and take your medicines earlier in the day. 

Relax before hitting your bed: Engage yourself in some kind of unwinding activities like reading, listening to music and more to help yourself process difficult emotions before bed. 

Take a hot bath: A hot bath  before bedtime helps your body to drop temperature when you hit the bed, makes you more relaxed and helps you fall asleep soon. 

Keep your bedroom dark and gadget free: For sound sleep, it is essential to keep your gadgets and electronic devices away. Put your phones, laptops and other gadgets in a different room before you hit your bed. Ensure your bedroom is dark and noise free. Let go of the alarm clock and sleep well. 

Get some natural sun: Exposing yourself to the natural sunlight for about half an hour in a day, especially during the early morning helps in regulating sleep patterns and induce good sleep. 

What do you do when you lie down for quite some time and still do not fall asleep. The sleep expert suggests not to lie down on bed for a prolonged duration as that’s an ineffective sleep strategy. In case you don’t get to sleep within 25 - 30 minutes of lying down, you can wake up and do a relaxing activity until you doze off. 

Following these simple tips can help you preserve your daily sound sleep and help you age healthy.