Denton County Living Well Magazine March/April 2019 | Page 32
SLEEP YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH
By Brandon Allen, PharmD
A
ccording to the Centers for
Disease Control and Pre-
vention, upwards of 30%
of Americans don’t get
enough sleep.
Most adults need seven to nine hours
of sleep per night, but the average
American sleeps only 6.8 hours per
night, according to a recent poll. Lack
of sleep can lead to health problems,
cognitive issues, and just makes us all
a little crabby.
Why We Don’t Get Enough Sleep
Our current lifestyle factors into this
a lot. Little or no exercise, high stress
levels and poor nutrition can all wreck
our sleep.
hormone pumps more glucose into our
blood so that we can have quick ener-
gy. It ramps up our heart rate and gets
our muscles ready to fight or run. This
is great when a bear is chasing us, not
so great when we have worked eight
to 10 hours and are trying to go to
sleep that night.
Poor nutrition can lead to sleep prob-
lems. Too much sugar and caffeine
can make sleep very difficult. Typical-
ly, these foods and beverages are not
high in nutrients we need to maintain
a healthy sleep-wake cycle.
Other factors can be at play here too,
but these are the main culprits.
What Happens
Just 10 minutes a day of low-intensi- When We Don’t Sleep
ty walking can help promote healthy
sleep, but unfortunately, most Ameri-
cans get very little exercise and spend
most of their time sitting at a desk or
at home.
When your body is under stress, we
create a hormone called cortisol. This
30
A lack of sleep can lead to low ener-
gy, lack of concentration, poor memo-
ry, weight gain, and overall poor cel-
lular health.
Getting an appropriate amount of
sleep can help improve our memories.
Sleep protects new memories from dis-
DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2019
ruption and sleep consolidates memo-
ries according to their relative impor-
tance and the learner’s expectations
for remembering.
It might seem obvious, but the biggest
factor affecting concentration is rest. If
you aren’t well-rested your mind will
be scattered and lethargic.
Adequate sleep can also lead to better
muscle and tissue health. Your tissues
require additional sleep and recovery
time after illness, injury or surgery.
In addition, muscular recovery is re-
quired after intense exercise, particu-
larly strength and endurance training.
The amount of rest you get each night
affects your metabolism. Sleep-de-
prived individuals have a decreased
ability to manage blood sugar levels
and also may find themselves hungri-
er (particularly for high carbohydrate
foods).
What You Can Do About It
There are a number of things that you
can do to help improve your sleep.