|
|
|
THERESA: We all know how we feel if we don't get enough sleep, but a new study indicates getting too much sleep is worse than getting too little.
After surveying the health and sleep habits of more than 100,000 people for an average of almost 10 years, Japanese researchers have concluded that the lowest mortality risk occurred in people who slept seven hours a day.
The study, led by Dr. Akiko Tamakoshi of the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, appears in the current issue of the journal Sleep. The study also states that married non-smokers have the healthiest sleep habits. I don't remember the last time I slept for more than seven hours straight, so it's not like this study is going to prompt me to cut back on my snooze time or anything.
What's the right amount of sleep for you, Girlfriends? And what factors influence how well you sleep? Exercise? Alcohol? Stress?
YVONNE: If I have too much on mind or I go to bed too early I
wake up in the middle of the night. I woke up this morning at 2ish,
tossed around for a little bit, watched an hour of TV, then went back to
sleep. In general I have been finding it very hard to get up while it is
still dark out. Maybe if I set a fun goal for myself in the morning I
will want to get up, like leaving my favorite breakfast in the
refrigerator the night before. Or cueing up"The Simpsons" in the VCR so
I can watch it while I dress.
ELLEN: I sleep better when I have exercised. The rest of the advice
about when you drink alcohol or eat a big meal or watch a violent TV
show don't apply to me.
The trouble here is how to find the time to exercise.
LAURIE: It takes a lot to keep me awake, but when I do have
toss-and-turn nights, I find that putting one foot out of the covers
somehow helps. My grandmother taught me this - I am not making it up!
7.5 or 8 hours seems to be what I need to feel my best.
THERESA: I cannot go to sleep without reading or working a crossword puzzle for a few minutes after I climb into bed. That usually puts me right out. I go through periods when I wake up a lot during the night; almost always related to stress. I used to try to do my crossword puzzles after I'd wake up (I'm a crossword puzzle addict) but that's perilous-- you can do serious damage to a nightgown when you fall asleep holding an uncapped felt-tipped pen!
I generally feel fine with about six or seven hours a night. I think it's common for couples to fall out of sleep sync with each other, and one person's restlessness can make it impossible for the other to get any sleep. (At my house, one of us will just sleepily but promptly head to the spare bedroom whenever that happens!) And I know wine is supposed to make you drowsy, but sometimes drinking a couple glasses makes me more restless than usual during the night.
HEATHER: For some reason I require little to no sleep. Seriously, I usually get 2-4 hours of sound sleep and spend the remainder of the
night tossing, thinking, or up and getting things done. About once every 3-4 weeks I hit the wall and sleep a solid 8-10 hours and
usually wake up not feeling as refreshed as having had 2-4.
For me to even have a chance at catching a little more than 4 hours, exercise is imperative.
That's interesting if somewhat disheartening news. I generally sleep 7 hrs/nt during the work week but catch up with 8.5 hrs/nt on the weekend. If I don't do this, I find my concentration and motor skills become markedly deteriorated and eventually I get sick. When I was working full time and taking college courses at night, like clockwork I got sick at the end of every semester when I couldn't squeeze in those few extra hours on the weekends.
It's interesting that the body heals and replenishes itself during deeper sleep, so I guess it's the quality and duration of delta sleep that is more important than overall time spent sleeping.
Posted by: Gloria on February 17, 2004 12:26 PMAnother viewpoint:
Sleep deprivation leaves teens prone to depression, study says
By CAROLINE ALPHONSO
EDUCATION REPORTER, The Globe and Mail
Monday, Feb. 9, 2004
Sleep deprivation can compromise learning, affect memory and cause irritability among schoolchildren. Now, a new study shows that it can take yet another toll on students -- depression and low self-esteem.
Middle-school students who get fewer hours of sleep because of homework or other distractions should be of concern to parents and teachers because of the "psychosocial" consequences, Jean Rhodes, a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, said yesterday.
"When you have had one of those nights where you stayed up late and got up early, you don't feel as good about yourself. Everything looks a little bit less appealing," Dr. Rhodes said. Adolescents should ideally get nine hours of sleep a night, some studies have shown.
But Dr. Rhodes found that those aged 11 to 14 were getting about seven hours or less, especially because they spent more time on the computer doing homework and e-mailing friends.
"Elevated levels of depression and drops in self-esteem are seen as inevitable hallmarks of adolescence," Dr. Rhodes said. "Yet these results suggest that such changes are partially linked to a variable -- sleep -- that is largely under individual, parental and even school control."
In her study, published in the journal Child Development, Dr. Rhodes followed approximately 2,200 Illinois pupils over a thee-year period from Grades 6 to 8. Students answered multiple-choice surveys on the number of hours they slept each night, as well their mood, what they thought of their physical appearance and their school grades. From the data collected, Dr. Rhodes concluded that less sleep is a factor in low self-esteem and feelings of depression. Girls, she said, had a harder time than boys in getting enough sleep.
Students who got less sleep in the sixth grade showed signs of low self-esteem and symptoms of depression. Similarly, students who received less sleep over the three-year period reported heightened levels of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem, the study stated.
In an interview yesterday, Dr. Rhodes said adolescents need as much sleep as elementary schoolchildren because their bodies are going through a variety of changes and they're sleeping much lighter as they get older.
Officials at middle and high schools should consider starting the school day later in the morning, so that students can catch more hours under the covers. Also, parents should set earlier bedtimes for their children, Dr. Rhodes said.
"We need to think about sleep as a public-health issue the same way we think about drug and alcohol prevention, buckling up [seat belts] and all those other things. Sleep is something that affects mental health and we need to think about it that way," she said.
Colin Shapiro, director of the Sleep and Alertness Clinic at Toronto Western Hospital, agrees that schools should start later in the morning, especially for teenagers. They need more sleep over time because their bodies are changing and many are balancing part-time jobs along with school.
Dr. Shapiro said this study, along with others, show that sleep duration has more of an impact than people appreciate. Studies have shown that school performance is linked to sleep, Dr. Shapiro said. "What this study is saying is that it doesn't only affect your performance . . . but now it's having an effect on your mood and self-esteem," he said.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Online Casinos | Online Casino - Online Casino
Posted by: Online Casinos on August 7, 2006 10:56 AM