I was reading my FaceBook this morning when the following article attracted my attention. I am reposting it because recently a few of my fellow senior residents informed me that lately they have HARD time sleeping because of the unexpected results of the Election of Trump. I advised them that life must GO ON and forget what happened the last few days. Perhaps their good sleeping pattern will return to normal. The following article explained in detail why a good night sleep is a key to long life and good health. I hope you find the following article useful and informative. It is long read, but if you have problems sleeping, please continue reading.
" One of the most important (and least appreciated) keys to extending your healthspan is a great night’s sleep. It rejuvenates the body, boosts cognitive function, and powers your immune system. It’s the foundation for your health and longevity.
Sleep expert Matthew Walker, director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of the excellent book Why We Sleep, says that sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our mental and physical health each day. There is a direct relationship between how well you sleep and how long you live, and almost nobody can get away with fewer than six hours of sleep a night without harming their health.
For most people, regularly getting eight hours of sleep boosts memory retention, enhances concentration, augments creativity, stabilizes emotions, strengthens the immune system, enhances athletic performance, and staves off deadly ailments like cancers and heart disease.
Still not convinced? Here are three powerful examples:
1. The difference between getting a good night’s sleep and a bad one is a decrease from 100% to 60% in the brain's ability to retain new facts. That’s the difference, as Walker puts it, between “acing an exam and failing it miserably.”
2. Going twenty-four hours without sleep is like having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10%, above the legal limit for driving in most places.
3. A sleepless night with only four hours of sleep resulted in a 70% reduction in the activity of your natural killer cells (which combat infections and cancer). Remarkably, the activity of natural killer cells returns to baseline levels after one night of normal sleep.
Sleep doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It’s often the first thing people sacrifice to make time for almost anything else, whether leisure or work. But the popular belief that “you can sleep when you’re dead” is fundamentally damaging to your health, happiness, and longevity.
For example, regularly getting fewer than six or seven hours of sleep each night doubles your risk of cancer and can increase the likelihood that you’ll develop Alzheimer’s disease. Insufficient sleep can also contribute to major psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression.
One key lesson from Walker is if humans had been able to evolve with the ability to get along with less sleep, then we would have. We are most vulnerable to predation and least productive while we sleep. Yet evolutionarily our bodies retained the need for eight hours.
Insufficient sleep can have serious metabolic and hormonal consequences. When individuals are sleep-deprived, the body essentially enters a state of malnutrition. “If you take the mentality of ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead,’ ironically, you will have both a shorter life and the quality of that life will be significantly worse as a consequence,” Walker said onstage at our longevity conference this year. He then highlighted a study where young, healthy men were restricted to five hours of sleep for five nights. The result? Their testosterone levels droppedto the equivalent of someone 10 years older. “Five hours a night for five nights will age a man by a decade,” Walker emphasized, noting that this also affects female reproductive hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.
Sleep deprivation also leads to cognitive and metabolic impairments. A study that restricted people to four hours of sleep for four nights found that these individuals, previously with normal blood sugar, became classified as prediabetic by the end of the trial. This underscores the profound metabolic toll that insufficient sleep can take in a very short time.
Convinced yet? Here are 9 tips for optimizing your sleep.
1. Aim for 7-9 hours: Anything less than 7 hours of sleep can lead to significant metabolic, cognitive, and cardiovascular impairments.
2. Improve sleep efficiency: Walker emphasizes that efficiency is crucial. You can get a sense of yours through sleep trackers like Oura or WHOOP. Anything less than 85% (time spent in bed sleeping versus awake) needs attention.
3. Maintain regular sleep patterns: Regularity is more important than quantity when it comes to long-term health benefits. Walker recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, with only a +/- 25-minute variance.
4. Align your sleep with your chronotype: Everyone has a chronotype—whether they’re a morning person or a night owl. Your goal should be to gradually adjust to a healthy sleep schedule that respects your natural tendencies. For example, if you're a night owl, start with a bedtime close to when you feel naturally drowsy, like 11:30 PM, and gradually shift it earlier by 15-30 minutes every few nights.
5. Time your exercise right: For optimal sleep quality, it's best to finish exercise 90 minutes before bed, allowing your body enough time to cool down.
6. Eat at the right times, too: It’s best to finish eating at least two hours before bed, giving your body time to digest and reducing indigestion during sleep.
7. Manage stress before sleep: To avoid “tired and wired” syndrome before bed, consider journaling, taking a hot shower, meditation, or catching up with a friend.
8. Practice good sleep hygiene: An hour before bedtime, lower the lights in your room by 70%. If you need to use your phone, do it only while standing, and put it away when you lie down. Remove clocks from view to avoid watching the time pass.
9. Monitor yourself for sleep apnea: Sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, reduces oxygen levels and can lead to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline. Your doctor can order a sleep study, or you can use tools like the SnoreLab app to track signs like loud snoring or gasping for air. If symptoms appear, seek professional evaluation.
Reference: https://time.com/7160802/sleep-longevity-live-longer-health/?
Lastly, enjoy this photo of my first Camelia Bloom in my Patio here at THD
