Energizing ourselves naturally with some good old-fashioned shut-eye

Better Nutrition, March, 1997 by Patricia Andersen-Parrado

In our efforts to keep our energy levels high, we can eat right, supplement accordingly, exercise regularly, and keep our stress levels down, but without enough hours of actual sleep, we are still likely to find ourselves feeling listless and tired. In brief, there is no replacement for sleep.

20th-century sleeplessness: an epidemic?

A recent article written by Verlyn Klinkenborg entitled, "Awakening to Sleep," which appeared in the New York Times Magazine, tells us that many sleep researchers believe that sleep deprivation is reaching "crisis proportions." Klinenborg reports, "It is a problem not only for serious insomniacs, who total perhaps 17 percent of America's adult population, but also for the populace at large. People don't merely believe they're sleeping less; they are in fact sleeping less--perhaps as much as one and a half hours less each night than humans did at the beginning of the century--often because they choose to do so."

People who are particularly vulnerable to sleep disturbances

Hospital patients are vulnerable. Although hospitals are supposed to be a restful environment, most people who have stayed in one for any period of time realize that just the opposite can be true. Night-time procedures, such as the taking of vital signs, noise from pagers and beepers, and bright lights in rooms and halls, can all make getting a good night's sleep difficult, at best.

Long-term hospital patients, for example, those who have undergone bone marrow transplants, are in extra need of good, undisturbed sleep, according to research carried out at the University of Florida.

The study revealed that many bone marrow transplant patients (who are typically hospitalized for one or two months at a time) complain that hospital noise keeps them up or awakens them after they have fallen asleep. Such sleep disturbances may affect growth hormone levels for prolonged periods, making the issue of disturbed sleep more significant for long-term patients, in particular.

In response to the findings, the authors of the study recommend that hospitals make efforts to minimize interruptions by coordinating visits by personnel who need to monitor patients; reduce random noise; and promote natural sleep cycles by opening curtains during the day and dimming lights at night. Good advice.

Shift-workers need to pay extra attention to getting their ZZZs. In our 24-hour society, there are some 21 million Americans whose jobs require them to do "shift work," according to Circadian Information, a Massachusetts-based organization dedicated to helping managers of 24-hour operations improve worker safety and performance.

Given how difficult it is for someone on a "normal" schedule to get a good night's sleep, for people whose schedules differ from the norm, a good night's--or rather, a good "day's"--sleep can be even more elusive.

Here are some tips offered in one of this organization's publications, Working Nights:

* Seek absolute darkness.

* Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bedtime.

* Keep a regular sleep schedule.

* Develop a pre-sleep routine.

How much sleep do we need? According to an article in the July 1996 issue of ShiftWork, "Most people need 7.5 to 8.5 hours of sleep per day to function at their best. A small percentage of the population can get by on five hours, and some people need as many as 10 hours or more a night."

Defining sleep

Although pinning down one concise explanation of sleep's raison d'etre is difficult to do, in his book, Restful Sleep, Deepak Chopra, M.D., offers this thoughtful definition, "... the purpose of sleep is to allow the body to repair and rejuvenate itself. The deep rest provided during sleep allows the body to recover from fatigue and stress and enlivens the body's own self-repair and homeostatic, or balancing, mechanisms."

Pleasant dreams.

For more on sleep aids, see the article on page 64 of this issue entitled, "'Perchance to Dream...': Herbs to Help Us Sleep," written by Steven Foster.

REFERENCES

Chopra, Deepak, M.D. Resthil Sleep. New York: Harmony Books, 1994.

Klinkenborg, Verlyn. "Awakening to Sleep," The New York Times Magazine 5 Jan. 1997, sec. 6:26 .

Moore-Ede, Martin, M.D., Ph.D. "12 Tips for Sleeping When the Sun is Shining and the Dogs are Barking," Working Nights 1996.

Mardon, Steve, ed. Shiftwork, 1(5):11.