How You Sleep Could Give You Alzheimer’s! Here’s What You NEED To Know

Nearly half of Americans do not get enough sleep with most of them sleeping less than five hours a night. This is evidenced in Sleepless in America documentary, coproduced by the National Geographic Channel. The larger percentage belongs to adolescents. Inadequate quality sleep can be fatal.

It is believed that the increase of insomniacs in Americans may be due to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Staten Island ferry crash, and the Three-Mile Island nuclear meltdown as depicted in the film.

Less than 6 hours of rest every night can damage your rational capabilities. Driving while tired could cause an accident. Absence of rest can lead to diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Insomnia can also impact heavily on depression and anxiety.

What Happens When You’re Sleep Deprived?

Sleep deprivation affects several aspects in your life and it is crucial to know that it has negative effect on physical and mental wellbeing.

It greatly reduces your movements and reactions. This is dangerous when operating a vehicle, power tools and performing dangerous activities.

Just one night of four to six hour sleep will negatively affect your cognition, especially the ability to think clearly the next day. The study conducted on mice showed that sleep deprived mice lost almost 25 percent of the neurons located in the locus coeruleus, a nucleus in the brainstem which is responsible for cognitive processes. It also affects the capacity to process data and make decisions. Research shows that nearly 400 percent of errors made by medical practitioner were because of working overtime for 24 consecutive hours.

An increase of 73 percent of self-injuries such as needle sticks and scalpel stabs has also bee reported among medical residents. Driving back home there is a 170 percent increased risk of a serious motor vehicle accident.

People with chronic insomnia are more likely to develop Alzheimer`s sooner than those who sleep normally. Adequate sleep is essential for brain detoxification, a process where harmful proteins associated with Alzheimer`s disease are eliminated.

The process in which brain growth and adaptation to new neurological changes is known as Neuroplasticity. It is necessary for your brain to control behavior, learning and memory. Sleep or lack of it alters the expression of some genes and gene products that are necessary for synaptic plasticity.

After slow reaction and cognitive ability, intense emotions and lack of tolerance set in. this makes you overreact even in normal arguments with others.

Lack of sleep equally has negative impacts on your immune system like physical stress and disease. This is why sleep deprivation more than doubles your risk of high blood pressure. Women who get less than four hours of sleep are at higher risk of sudden cardiac death.

You Need Around Eight Hours of Sleep Every Night

Most people ignore advice on adequate sleep of at least 8 hours. Retiring to bed at 10 pm and getting up at 6 am may seem enough but actually it isn’t. You don’t fall asleep immediately you get to bed and may wake up one or two times in the night.

The Glorification of Sleep Deprivation

About 25 percent of Americans reduced their hours of sleep due to long working hours and days, according to the 2013 International Bedroom Poll by the National Sleep Foundation. Most of them get 6.5 hours on average, according to the previous article in the Atlantic one need 7.25 for normal functioning.

Some people assume that they don’t require the eight-hour sleep and those who do are softies. Others do so to keep with peer pressure and sleep is an invisible sacrifice.

Edison spent so much of his and his staff’s energy on publicizing the idea that success depended largely on staying awake to be in the lead for technological and economic competition. His emphasis was on less sleep but did not see the co-relation between productive work and unproductive rest. Children’s books and magazines have promoted this theory of Edisonian asceticism. Edison told Americans to follow his lead and asserted that more than eight hours of sleep was a waste and even harmful. “There is really no reason why men should go to bed at all,” he said in 1914.”

The Importance of Addressing Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which people have shallow breaths and one or more pauses in breathing while sleeping. The documentary shows that it is one of the main reasons for insomnia. When there is cessation or considerable decrease in airflow during sleep it is known as obstructive sleep apnea and makes inhalation hard for periods of 10 seconds. People suffering from obstructive sleep apnea may have up to 30 disruptions in an hour. This makes them exhausted when they wake up. It also reduces the oxygen levels in the blood which negatively affects the function of internal organs or may worsen other health problems.

Researchers believe that this condition is directly related to metabolic health problems such as diabetes type 2 and obesity. Another study done over a period of 5 years indicates that shedding some pounds can improve or even cure obstructive sleep apnea. People with normal weight can also suffer from the sleep disorder. Dr. Arthur Strauss, a dental physician and a diplomat of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine alleges that size or shape of the mouth, position of the tongue can also play a significant role in sleep apnea.

If improper tongue or jaw position causes your sleep apnea you are advised to consult your dentist to design an oral aid to correct the issue. There is a mandibular repositioning device which can move your jaw forward, or other which can hold your tongue forward without interfering with your jaw. You can also go for myofunctional therapy. This is a speech therapy which can re-pattern the facial and oral muscles.

How to Support Your Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Better for Optimal Health

• Do not watch TV or use your computer at least an hour before retiring to bed at night.
• Get some vitamin D from the sun in the morning and expose yourself to bright sun for at least 30 minutes at mid-day.
• Make sure you sleep in a dark room.
• If you need light for movement at night, use low-wattage orange, yellow or red light bulbs.
• Your bedroom temperature should be less than 70 degrees F.
• Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes prior to bedtime.
• Do not use gadgets that emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the bedroom.
• Keep track of your sleep with a fitness tracker.