By,
Apoorva K. Saptarshi
Not
sleeping enough and not sleeping well is not OK. As a matter of fact, there is
quite a price to pay. It may surprise you to learn that chronic sleep
deprivation, for whatever reason, significantly affects your health and performance.
There
are many causes of sleep deprivation. A routine workload would build a good
amount of stress. Not only this, but a silly traffic jam, punctured tyre, and
even angry “girlfriend” would build up stress in you. This would definitely affect
the whole day!!
After
a typical night's sleep, you may not feel restored and refreshed and be sleepy
during the day, but be totally unaware that you are sleep-deprived or have a
sleep disorder. You might think, "It's just the stress of work or the
kids," or you might have "always felt this way" and had no idea
that you should feel differently. This lack of awareness compounds the
consequences, because so many people remain undiagnosed for years.
Long
term consequences of deprived sleep:
·
High blood pressure
·
Heart
attack
·
Heart
failure
·
Stroke
·
Obesity
·
Psychiatric
problems, including depression and other mood disorders
·
Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD)
·
Mental
impairment
·
Fetal
and childhood growth retardation
·
Injury
from accidents
·
Disruption
of bed partner's sleep quality
·
Poor
quality of life
Sleep deprivation and Teen Health
On any
given school day, teen-agers across the nation stumble out of bed and prepare
for the day. For most, the alarm clock buzzes by 6:30 a.m., a scant seven hours
after they went to bed. Many students board the school bus before 7 a.m. and
are in class by 7:30.
"Almost
all teen-agers, as they reach puberty, become walking zombies because they are
getting far too little sleep," comments Cornell University psychologist
James B. Maas, PhD, one of the nation's leading sleep experts.
Insufficient
sleep has also been shown to cause difficulties in school, including
disciplinary problems, sleepiness in class and poor concentration. “There is
substantial evidence that the lack of sleep can cause accidents, imperil
students' grades and lead to or exacerbate emotional problems," says U.S.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Adjusting school schedules, Lofgren says,
"could do more to improve education and reduce teen accidents and crime
than many more expensive initiatives."
Sleep
expert suggests ‘Changing school start times would help to protect young
people's sleep, and then, if we can only understand what's going on with sleep
in these sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, we can intervene to change their
sleep behavior before it gets out of hand.’
Sleep
deprivation linked to junk food cravings
A
new study from UC Berkeley suggests that, a sleepless night makes us more
likely to reach for doughnuts or pizza than for whole grains and leafy green
vegetables.
Brain
regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack
of sleep. This combination of altered brain activity and decision-making explains
why people who sleep less also tend to be overweight or obese. Previous studies
have linked poor sleep to greater appetites, particularly for sweet and salty
foods, but the latest findings provide a specific brain mechanism explaining
why food choices change for the worse following a sleepless night. These
results shed light on how the brain becomes impaired by sleep deprivation,
leading to the selection of more unhealthy foods and, ultimately, higher rates
of obesity,”
On a
positive note, the findings indicate that ‘getting enough sleep is one factor
that can help promote weight control by priming the brain mechanisms governing
appropriate food choices.’
Food
choices for sound sleep:
1.
Warm milk:
Dairy foods contain tryptophan, which promotes sleep. Can choose from nuts and seeds, bananas, honey, and eggs for a better ‘Tryptophan’ content.
2. A small snack before bed:
If you struggle with
insomnia, a little food in your stomach may help you sleep. But don't use this
as an open invitation to hog on. Keep the snack small. A heavy meal will tax
your digestive system, making you uncomfortable and unable to get soothing
sleep.
3. Cut down on caffeine:
Caffeine helps you to get
alert. It is a brain stimulator and disrupts your sleep. Even moderate caffeine
can cause sleep disturbances. But don't forget about less obvious caffeine
sources, like chocolate, cola, tea, and decaffeinated coffee. For better sleep,
cut all caffeine from your diet four to six hours before bedtime.
4. Cut down on fluids by the end of the day:
You're
sure to have interrupted sleep if you're constantly getting up to go to the
bathroom.
5. Strictly NO SMOKING:
Nicotine is a stimulant,
with effects similar to caffeine. Avoid smoking before bedtime or if you wake
up in the middle of the night.
6. Switch off:
No working on your laptops,
computers, chatting on phone, watching TV. The entire glare adds up on sleep deprivation
for a very long time. Switch off all the lights in the room. Create a soothing atmosphere
to get relaxed and sleep.
Get into your cozy beds... and explore the goodness of sound
sleep..!!!
