Healthy living requires a great deal of planning. Most people do not consider sleep something they have to plan. The benefits of sleep outweigh the work required to plan for a good night sleep. When we focus on our goal to look better, to feel better, and to improve our memory the extra 10 minutes that are necessary to plan a good night sleep seem well worth it.  Let’s take some time to review the benefits you may not have thought about.

A good night sleep helps rebuild collagen this gives her skin more elasticity and less wrinkles. This helps improve our overall look and makes us feel younger. When we are feeling good we are willing to do more during the day. Sleep also helps contribute to being able to perform more activities. Those who play golf have noticed that when they get a proper night sleep their scores go down. This is because the brain works better when it is not sleep deprived. The benefit is that the increased exercise allows you to sleep better which then them helps you improve your gain more. Proper sleep also allows for better social function. When we are feeling healthy and well rested we are able to interact with other people on a higher level. We are able to make more successful judgments. We are able to accept more events that do not necessarily fall within the box that we consider normal disability to accept is in direct proportion to the amount of sleep that we have the night before.

A good night’s sleep also helps those that we are with during the day whether it’s our spouse, our children, or our current coworkers.  When we are sleep deprived we make poor decisions. When we have enough sleep we are able to access more of our brain more of our memories and more averred areas of judgment and so we are able to communicate better with those around us.

It is our job to ask our doctors when we are not getting enough sleep how to achieve optimal sleep. You must let him know if there is snoring teeth grinding movements or others or getting up to go the bathroom multiple times during the night.  Each of these issues can be handled if the physician knows about them.

Our ultimate goal is to be healthy and to be as active as possible for as long as possible. If we can also look good at the same time the entire better. It’s a simple step to get enough sleep so you can achieve all these benefits.

There was an article recently that stated that 9 million people are receiving prescriptions for sleeping pills.  This shows the true issue with healthcare in America.  We want an instant solution and we do not want to do any work.  We also do not consider that medication does not give us the same type of sleep natural sleep gives the body. 

The issue is why do we need to take pill to sleep and is there another solution that works just as well as a pill? I am not saying that there is not a reason for some people to take sleep medication.  But it should not be the first choice to treat, poor sleep and fatigue.  The physician treats disease and disorder they do not promote wellness.  It is most likely that your doctor is as tired and has as poor sleep habits and is walking around as fatigued as their patients. 

The first step is to decide if you have a sleep disorder?  If you have an answer to the STOPBANG survey of greater than 3 than you need to talk to your doctor:

1. Do you SNORE loudly (louder than talking or loud enough to be heard through closed doors)?
2. Do you often feel TIRED, fatigued, or sleepy during daytime?
3. Has anyone OBSERVED you stop breathing during your sleep?
4. Do you have or are you being treated for high blood PRESSURE?
5. BMI more than 35?
6. AGE over 50 years old?
7. NECK circumference > 15.75 inches?
8. Male GENDER?
 

The next step is to look at your sleep routine.  Our brains are computers in that they need a routine to slow down and allow our body to release the hormones that promote sleep.  A routine is not put on my pajamas and go to bed.  It should be 20-45 minutes prior to going to bed.  It also should generally occur 7 days a week at the same time each night.  Our brain does not know weekdays and weekends it just knows the 24 hours of the day.  Choose a specific bedtime.  Do the same activities each night for the 45 minutes prior to going to sleep.  These should be activities that will help you to unwind.  I do ten minutes of yoga because it helps me to relax and allows me to concentrate on my breathing so my mind will stop racing with ideas.  Create a routine that works for you that does not include television or computers.

Electronics are the new biggest issue to increase our inability to sleep.  Cell phones need to be away from the bed.  The light stimulates the brain to not release Melatonin.  In order for our brains to transition from wake to sleep we need exposure to dark.  Cell phones prevent that.  When we check our cell phones during the night we again stimulate the brain confusing it as to whether they it is supposed to be awake or asleep. 

Exercise is another factor to help sleep.  Studies show that exercise over the long term helps to increase sleep and its quality.  That means that if you work out in the morning it might not help with that particular night’s sleep but that if you work out three days a week for a month your sleep will start to improve.  You have to decide what exercise you can fit into your life.  There is no right or wrong it is about increased movement. 

There are many other ways to help you improve your sleep without turning to a pill as your first resource.  It is essential that we look at healthcare for what it is disease management not wellness management.  It is important for you to do your research and to understand how important it is for you to make an informed decision about healthy sleep and how you can achieve it.  If ultimately you need it than a sleeping pill might help.  Just remember pills have side-effects you may not be aware of. 

We talk about living healthier, exercising and eating whole foods.  We still do not take sleep and a sleep routine seriously.  We are still looking for the instant pill or the idea that will say that less sleep is better.  What the studies say is that poor sleep contributes to health issues across the board. 

·         The studies that lead to contribution to colon, prostate and breast cancer all involve both sleep deprivation and sleep disorders that prevent sound sleep.  These to conditions can be helped with therapy and possible treatment of a sleep disorder.

·         Studies have shown that children have difficulty learning and learning proper behavior due to poor sleep, lack of sleep and snoring.  We really do need to teach our children and teens that sleep is as important to health and good grades as studying.

·         Studies have proved that we still only help 20% of those with sleep disorders.  However that does not include the family that was affected by the disorder.  If husband or wife cannot sleep because of loud snoring, leg movements or acting out dreams than you have more than one person affected and we need to consider all who are affected as patients.  Sometimes the treatment may be time and space.

·         Weight and sleep are interconnected.  This is the vicious cycle the higher your weight the worse sleep disorder breathing will be, the worse the sleep disorder breathing the more difficult the body has at maintaining weight. 

With all those issues you would think insurance companies and doctors would be asking more sleep questions and explaining proper sleep.  The issue is they are not educated in the importance of proper sleep.  In fact if you look at a medical student’s time you will see they do not live what they preach.  This is a time where you need to take control.  You need to go to your doctor with written questions, maybe a three to four day diary with symptoms. 

Explain your desire to not just take a pill but to truly fix the problem and you may get some strong feedback.  Doctors like to know a straight ahead question they can fix and that would be a sleep disorder. 

The change has to start with an informed patient or at the very least a patient with relevant questions.  This way we are able to work with the insurance company.  Our goal ultimately is to get a good night sleep with the least amount of medication.  I believe we can achieve that if we work as a team.

The more research that is done the more people realize a child’s sleep is essential to their learning and their behavior.  Many children have poor sleep habits or have issues such as snoring that disrupts sleep during the years when the child’s brain is developing.  We are told it is okay if they snore or you are told that they need to take medications to treat the symptoms.  What your child might actually need is a sleep study.

The newest studies say that snoring in children can be an early indication of learning disabilities.  Poor sleep has also been linked to inattentiveness, irritability or poor memory.  These symptoms may sound familiar to some parents.  Evaluating your child’s sleep can be very easy. 

You start with keeping a sleep diary to see how much sleep your child is getting.  You should also include any out of the ordinary activities and their caffeine intake.  It is easier to see if there is an issue when you have something concrete to look at.  This can be done on a simple piece of paper or you can download a sleep diary for free from the internet. 

Consider the age of your child.  Children need different amounts of sleep depending on their age.  It can also change depending on whether or not they are getting ready to grow.  Since growth hormone is produced predominantly during sleep a child who is about to have a significant growth spurt will want to sleep more often and for longer periods of time?

Listen to your child.  If they can not make it until bedtime without a significant meltdown than maybe bedtime is too late or maybe they need a short afternoon nap.  A school age child might benefit from a 20 minute nap when they get home from school to help them to recharge.  They may not need to take a nap all the time but they may need it because they are growing physically or they are learning a great deal and their brain may need to rest so they can process everything they learned. 

Create a good sleep environment for your child.  Their bedroom should not be cluttered and there should be minimal light prior to bed.  The computer, television and cell phone can disrupt the brain’s ability to produce Melatonin, the hormone that tells your body it is time to sleep, and keep you from falling asleep in a timely manner.

Remember that you are in charge.  Children will naturally see your request for them to go to bed as something to challenge.  It is up to you to set the limits needed for them to grow and learn.  Once they see there is no arguing, a hard lesson for us parents to learn, they will understand it is bedtime and will stop arguing.

In the end we all want what is best for our children and for them to be successful at school.  The best thing we can do for them is to teach them that sleep is an essential part of their life and that they can use it as a tool to be healthy and to be successful in school.

Sleep may not seem productive because we believe we are not doing something we define as productive.  Unfortunately, this belief causes many people to put sleep at the bottom of their priority list.  Te long term effects of sleep deprivation will keep you from having a quality of life you have always wanted.  Sleep.  If you want to have energy and clear thought then you really need to consider your length and quality of sleep.

Sleeping is a personal need.  For most adults between 7 and 8 hours is the average amount needed.  This is an average and there are people who need a little more or a little less.  of course when we are children and even teenagers we need more sleep.  When we get older we may need less sleep, but contrary to popular opinion older people do need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep. 

Sleep time allows two important processes to happen.  It allows us to process our thoughts and move them from short term to long term memory, and it allows our body to heal itself.  These two processes are so important  especially as we grow older. 

How do we achieve a good night sleep.  You need to put it on your to do list.  If you make sleep a priority, set that absolute bedtime, make sure you are creating a routine to help, it will help to make life more energetic.  Creating the best sleep environment will help to get the most of this time of day. 

At the end of the day it is important for you to take advantage of this 7 hours a day of good healthy sleep to allow you to really enjoy the rest of the day.  Y