By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Whether you realise it or not, you are not getting enough sleep. Recent studies have led researchers to conclude that insomnia is far more common than previously believed and its effects are far more reaching. Our generation with all its technological distractions has been the major factor behind the insomnia epidemic. It affects children, adolescents and adults alike, in all walks of life thereby increasing several diseases, while decreasing performance and effectiveness in the work place. Sleep is essential to life. Laboratory animals die young if they are deprived of deep sleep, and so do humans. The American Cancer Society in a survey, concluded that those who sleep six hours or less have 30 per cent higher death rate than those who sleep eight hours, even if they had no other health problems. There are endless theories behind sleep-how, when, where and why we sleep! For years scientists who have studied sleep concentrated on observing and describing the cycles, phases and patterns of sleep. Dreams have also been studied extensively, induced, analysed and interpreted ad infinitum, not only by scientists but by fortunetellers and soothsayers throughout the ages. Between the dream phenomenon and the sleep cycles of the infamous REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and the non-REM sleep, scientists seemed to have concentrated on all else except the fundamental purposes of sleep. Why do we sleep? We sleep in order to rest and refresh our bodies. Well, not really! Scientists have yet to find any vital biological function that sleep restores. The body does not need sleep; virtually all our organs continue to function efficiently without interruption, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, bones, etc. They do not need sleep. Why then is sleep such a major function, a necessity for virtually all members of the animal kingdom? Scientist simply don't know. If it does not rest the body, then sleep certainly rests and refreshes the brain. There is no doubt that it is the brain that benefits from a restful sleep. Yet there is no agreement on the various forms of benefits that the brain takes. One thing scientists do agree upon is that sleep does improve memory. Memory is helpful at school, at work and at play. The number of hours necessary for sleep to fulfil its function remains nebulous. You need as much sleep as will render you refreshed and revived the next morning. Whatever number of hours that takes, that is the precise number of hours you need. While some may feel totally refreshed after 3-5 hours sleep, others 6-7 hours, most researchers believe that this falls short of the necessary requirements; 8- 10 hours is more like it. Sleep deprivation is what we all suffer from, decreasing the metabolic activity of our brain as well as decreasing in core body temperature, "a decrease in immune system function as measured by white cell count and activity and a decrease in the release of growth hormone." It is inconceivable that seven hours of sleep is not enough, but studies reveal that a week's duration of seven-hour nights leads to "impairment of cognitive work, requiring simultaneous focus on several tasks". Risky behaviour increases as sleep duration decreases. The sleep-deprived individual ignores the high cost of an action, focussing only on the limited benefits. For decades experts believed that people required less sleep as they moved from infancy to adulthood but researchers were surprised to discover that teenagers require more sleep to perform optimally than do younger children. In a recent US study, students who received the lower grades were the ones who had 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed 40 minutes later than students with better grades. Adolescents' lifestyle pattern as well as their unusual week day sleep phenomenon is reducing school performance everywhere and lowering academic standards. It is also undermining their health making them less alert, weary, expending greater effort. The British journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine published a study by Australia and New Zealand where researchers reported that getting less than six hours of sleep a night "can affect coordination, reaction time, and judgement", posing a very serious threat to safety and well-being. The British Medical Association warns that impaired motor skills are not the only negative results from lack of sleep: stress, anxiety, depression, and taking unnecessary risks are among some of the adverse results of less sleep. Lack of sleep is behind more accidents than alcohol impairment, leading to emotional and psychological problems. A good night's sleep seems to be the cure to many of the ailments of the 21st century. Though our needs may vary, we all benefit from a minimum of 8-9 hours sleep daily in order to restore the brain's energy. I can almost hear a guffaw from those of you who have slept less throughout your lives without any apparent loss. Consider this -- had you had that extra hour, two or three, of extended sleep, how much more effective and efficient your performance would have been. Such research studies pop up daily from academic and scientific communities throughout the world. The Dutch have also contributed to sleeplessness analysis with researcher Michel Varkavisser who found that about 20 per cent of the Dutch population regularly experience sleeping complaints resulting in work absenteeism, reduced ability to concentrate, fatigue, drowsiness, and a worse mood. A bad day at work results in more stress at home, "relationships suffer, kids react, people are hurt and angry." The result is more stress. The National Science Foundation, last January, in a US poll concluded that only 50 per cent of Americans get a good night's sleep each week. The most common sleep disorder is characterised by: Difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep: Waking up early with inability to fall back to sleep again: Waking up feeling tired and unrefreshed from poor quality sleep. Researchers around the world agree on two things: Sleep is necessary for the well-being of the human race, and the human race as a whole is not getting enough sleep. So, what are we going to do about it? Off to bed! First, here are 10 dos and donts that could help you achieve nature's sweet restorer -- that balmy sleep. It is considered "better than medicine", and more effective than the sweetest lullaby: - Do not turn your bed into your office -- bed is for sleep. - Go to bed and get up the same time each day, including weekends. - Avoid daytime naps. - Avoid alcohol at night, and definitely do not use it to help you sleep. - Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate) after mid- afternoon. - Eliminate tobacco close to bedtime. - Exercise regularly throughout the day; avoid exercise at night. - Keep the bedroom cool and comfortable. - Give yourself at least an hour to unwind and relax. - Dim the lights, read a little, or watch TV, or have a glass of warm milk or a non-carb snack, if you must. And so, goodnight! Embrace "the cool kindliness of sheets that soon smooth away trouble". The amount of sleep required by the average person, is just five minutes more! Anonymous
