Among the many things that you do during the day, sleeping, like breathing, is perhaps taken for granted. You go through your routine that comprises work, exercise, social media, family time, and more work, and then you finally get down to sleep. How many of you follow a strict routine that sets aside 7-8 hours every night for sleep? If we did a show of hands in a room, it would be unlikely that we’d find many hands up for this. There’s always that movie to watch, the book to read, or that presentation to work on and as a result, sleep gets relegated to the bottom of our list. It is not surprising that sleep disorders are only on the rise in our country. In a survey conducted by Fitbit (link), Indians were found to be the second-most sleep-deprived among people from 18 countries.
To add to this, we have new-age productivity and ‘hustle’ gurus who constantly equate sleep to laziness. Yes, you can juggle multiple tasks when you sleep for as little as four hours, but it is only a matter of time before you drop the ball.
Berkeley Sleep Scientist Matthew Walker says “Sleep is your Superpower” and quite rightly so because many good things happen to your body when you are asleep. Here’s a lowdown on how sleep helps your body.
Improves recovery and athletic performance
While the detrimental effect of sleep deprivation on health and performance levels is known, what we want to emphasize is the converse – the edge you get when you sleep well. In a study conducted by the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic on a college basketball team, it was found that athletes shot with 9% increased accuracy and ran faster when they slept for extended hours in the night. If you’re aiming for peak performance, the secret lies in those sizes that you’re getting in the night.
Helps manage weight better
Sleep plays an important role in maintaining the levels of two main hormones associated with hunger – Ghrelin, which signals hunger, and Leptin, which signals fullness to the brain. In a study conducted with over 1,000 people, it was found that people who do not get the whole right hours of sleep showed close to 15% higher Ghrelin levels and 15.5% reduced Leptin levels. That’s your body asking for more and more food throughout the day and your weight management going out of the window.
Improves concentration and productivity
In our sleep cycle which comprises various stages, the REM stages help in filtering our important information from the previous day and consolidating it. The collection and storage of this new information and your ability to recall them in an orderly fashion depends on how well you sleep. Similarly, your decision-making ability and the way you process new information when you wake up also depend on how well you’ve slept the previous night.
Improves wellbeing
Longevity provided by sleep is often unnoticed. In a study done on youngsters in Indian metro cities, who were relatively fit, it was found that those who had less sleep were prone to minor heart attacks. Studies also show that women between the ages of 40 to 60 years who sleep less than 5 hours have a shorter lifespan than people who sleep at least 6.5 hours. Need a more compelling reason to start sleeping better?
Reduces stress and helps manage emotions
Have you woken up after a sleepless night to feel agitated throughout the day? A study conducted by researchers at UPenn found that subjects who got only 4.5 hours of sleep every night for a whole week reported increased anger, stress, and exhaustion.
The amygdala controls anger in the brain. With adequate sleep, activities of the amygdala are suppressed and you will be less agitated. This helps you manage emotions and foster better interpersonal relationships.
Gives you better skin and hair
Beauty sleep is not a myth. Sleep can make your skin glow and reduce acne. When you sleep, your body pumps blood to the skin which makes it plump and soft. Your skin will age slower and as a result, remain wrinkle-free. Increased blood flow to the hair follicles makes your hair stronger.
Improves immunity
Perhaps now, more than ever, we are all focused on improving immunity. Sound sleep helps the T-cells in our body to fight off pathogens and fortifies our immune system. So when you take your COVID-19 vaccine, be sure to get a good sleep to improve its efficacy.
When something that comes free of cost has such multifold benefits, why should you deny your body the requisite hours and quality of sleep?
How to fall asleep with quality
As sleep cycles are facing further disruptions in the pandemic, one needs to be mindful of sleep hygiene. It means to do activities that promote the ability to sleep enough and sleep well.
- Having a diet with less than 70% of carbohydrates and having an early dinner promotes good sleep. Cutting caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine will promote better sleeping patterns.
- People with diabetes and high blood pressure should monitor their levels. The diet that can keep these lifestyle diseases in control can also make your sleep steady.
- Switch off blue light devices and maybe read a book to put you to sleep. Listening to calming music and meditation helps a lot of people to wind down and fall asleep quickly.
So you see, we are not exaggerating when we call sleep a superpower. As a team that studies the impact of sleep day in and out, we urge you to be conscious about the hours of sleep you sacrifice and try to avoid such disruptions. Sleep is programmed into our body for a reason. Feeling sleepy is not a crime, in fact, actively avoiding it is.
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The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the US Health Department says people of different ages have different lengths of sleep. While teenagers sleep late, infants sleep for the longest duration. This is essential for early childhood brain development.
Harvard Medical School co-relates sleep with hunger. Sleepiness, just like hunger is a drive that will help you satiate the needs of the body. It helps you to be less worn out, just like hunger makes sure you get enough nutrients.
Why do we need sleep?
Why do we sleep is a question pondered over and over by our scientists. Independent Studies of Siegel JM, Porkka-Heiskanen T. and Frank MG have suggested various theories. But there is no clear answer however few studies have some theories.
- For many animals, nighttime is when they are vulnerable to predators. So putting them in a state of inactivity, nature helps them to survive. However, the question that remains is of shouldn’t the organism be alert if safety is the concern.
- It is also said, that sleeping helps to conserve energy, especially in the wild when the next meal is unsure.
- Sleep plays an important role in brain plasticity. This activity is higher in infants who sleep about 13-14 hours, mostly REM sleep, and develops the brain and helps in forming the brain.
How sleep deprivation occurs
A study conducted by a tech corporation states India sleeps nearly 7 hours and 1 minute of sleep which is almost an hour behind recommended 8 hours of sleep. We also stay behind REM sleep, getting only about 77 REM sleep on average. This has drastic effects on building neural connections and keeping our brains healthy.
- Young people stay awake watching television or movies, listening to music, or even talking to others over the phone. Many software workers work for overseas clients which forces them to shift their schedules accordingly.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has single-handedly disrupted the sleep cycle of millions. Mostly because working from home has become working full-time and people are caught up in things to have a better schedule.
- Due to the surge in electricity and digital devices per person, inappropriate exposure to blue light is now infamously called a “lightmare”. This light pollution deprives sleep quality.
In this scenario of rush and tumble, the benefits of sleep are criminally underrated. Manvir Bhatia, Senior Consultant in Neurology and Sleep Medicine and author of The Sleep Solution: Secrets For A Good Night’s Sleep says that sleep will be the next major pillar of wellness.