know it all Get a Good Night’s Sleep CHANGE 1 THING
What’s the harm in getting by on less sleep? Plenty, according to scientists who are just beginning to understand the importance of sleep.
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU NEED? While there’s no magic number, experts recom- mend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. If you are drowsy or tired during the day, you might not be getting the amount of sleep you need. Try adding ½ to one hour of sleep to your nightly routine and see how you feel.
SLEEPY? MEET GRUMPY. Sleep has a powerful impact on mood. In a University of Pennsylvania study, subjects slept only 4.5 hours a night for one week and felt stressed, angry, irritable, sad and mentally exhausted. Their moods improved dramati- cally when they resumed normal sleep patterns.
BODY AT WORK. Body tissue repair and muscle growth take place almost exclusively during sleep. Plus, good sleep habits protect you from other health problems. Blood pressure usually falls during the sleep cycle— skimping on sleep can alter that process and lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. Too little sleep also seems to harm your body’s ability to use insulin, which can lead to diabetes.
8 SIMPLE STEPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
1 Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. 2 Exercise regularly—30 minutes, most days.
3 But, wrap up your workout at least three hours before bedtime.
4 Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.
5 Create a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or listening to soothing music. Begin your routine one hour or more before the time you expect to fall asleep.
6 Shut down the electronics a few hours before bedtime. Researchers think staring at a bright light—like a computer, cell phone or other digital screen—just before bedtime may trick our brains into thinking it is daytime and signal it to stop producing melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep.
7 Make your bedroom a sleep-only and sex-only zone— not for watching TV, doing work, or reading.
8 Talk to your doctor if you’re having trouble getting a good night’s sleep.
SLEEP LESS. WEIGH MORE. The risk of obesity goes up if you regularly get less than seven hours of sleep a night. One University of Chicago study found that after a night of not getting enough sleep, people consumed significantly more calories from snacks and carbohydrates than they did after getting eight hours of sleep. Another study found that sleep- deprived people ate 20 percent more food per day than when they were well-rested. Studies show that not getting enough sleep lowers a hormone that keeps your appetite in check and raises a hormone that causes food cravings
MORE SLEEP. FEWER COLDS. A recent study showed that people who averaged less than seven hours of sleep a night were about three times more likely to develop cold symptoms when exposed to the cold- causing rhinovirus than those who got eight or more hours of sleep.
Traveling across time zones?
Plan now to avoid jet lag at
HealthyAdvice.com/NoJetLag
FALL 2010 | HEALTHY ADVICE 13
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