Children, Sleep, and IQ

Researchers at the University of Virgina have found a correlation between sleep issues in children and their measured IQ.  When the child snores every night, his or her vocabulary (the way they judged IQ) was less when measured against the control group.  Perhaps children are more susceptible to sleep disorders because they need more sleep.  And sleep is the way that they grow their brains and process information.  Children in general need more sleep than adults, so it stands to reason that interruptions to sleep can harm the development of children.

So as parents, we need to pay attention to our kids as they sleep.  Do they snore?  Toss and turn?  Sleep too little?  Do they seem tired when they shouldn't be tired?  All of these and more need a parents attention.  Maybe even a doctors attention if it is prolonged or seemingly unchangeable by mom or dad.

And we need to enforce good sleep hygiene on our kids.  The pre-teen child needs more sleep than adults, so an appropriate bedtime must be set.  Consistent sleep hours as well, going to bed at the same time nightly and waking at the same time every day (even weekends, arrgh).  And that is what we see as an issue.  Talk to retailers at malls, ask them how many little children they see in the halls after 8 PM.  It is appalling.  Strong activity, things like simply spending time on a playground will do two things, wear them out so they sleep better, but also build their bodies and prevent obesity.  A lot of sleep apnea (snoring is the prime indicator of sleep apnea) would go away with good wholesome activity.  TV, computers, and video games are nice, but encourage, or even demand physical activity, it is good for their brain!

We have spent our treasure on things like hooked on phonics, or flashcards, or anything that we think might help them do better than us.  Maybe, just maybe good sleep and physical activity can do the trick easier and more economically.

Sleep Well!

The Summer Heat and Sleep

Wow, it seems as though our thermometers are just not long enough this year!  June in our part of the country is relativewly mild.  Some heat, but certainly not all month.  What does this kind of heat do to our sleep?  Seems you can feel the heat even in an air conditioned enviroment.  It is permeating everything.  Even our dogs do not want to stay out long. 

Sleep can be disrupted by this kind of heat, and frankly there is little we can do about it, except sleep in A/C and on a bed that sleeps at a relative regulated temperature.  It is important to try to maintain a regular schedule, and try to cool down prior to bed time.  But what if the power goes out and the A/C goes off?  Even then there are a couple things that might help. 

Sleep in an area with the most ventilation.  If you visit any city and go into neighborhoods that were built prior to about 1955, you may notice some differences in the way houses are laid out.  A lot of them will have big porches on the front.  And those porches often have an area that is relatively secluded by the wall or building.  Yes, our grandparents would sleep on the porch when the heat got to this point.  Why?  Because of the ventilation, heat rises, so if there is a slight breeze it will take the hottest air away, however, be prepared to sweat anyway.  Air temperature can still be hot, even though the hottest is leaving, but a few degrees can make a difference.

Another thing we can do is enhance our body's cooling system.  Our body uses evaporative cooling to help keep our core temperature regulated, which is a weird way of saying we sweat.  The point is to get the sweat off our skin, which is how the body will cool itself.  or to cool down the sweat so that it will cool our body.  Now some might think, I'll sleep in the bathtub...  Not the best idea, but consider this:  use cool water to heavily dampen a bed sheet, then sleep under that.  In extreme heat you might have to rewet the sheet a few times, but it should cool.  If you have any battery powered fans, consider putting them under the foot of the sheet, so it keeps an air pocket between you and the sheet.  That will also encourage the evaporative cooling. 

The only other suggestion I have is to drive north, until you find cooler days!  If you have any suggestions, just make a comment on this blog,  we all need help!  And looking towards the future, consider the bed you sleep in, and your bedding.  Natural fibers, like cotton or bamboo (which is the top of our Comfortaire beds), may offer some respite.  For now...

Sleep Well!

Want to Live to 100?

A quick post, I found an article that sums up a lot of what this blog tries to show our readers.  It was on Yahoo, and can be accessed by clicking:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/want-to-live-to-100--sleep.html .  Sleep may be the most important thing we can do for our health, yet so many try to see how little they can get away with... If you sleep well, you live well.  Visit our Comapany web site at http:HannahsBetterBeds.com to improve the quality of your sleep on a great Comfortaire Mattress.

Sleep Well!

Circadian Rhythms

So much is talked about our body clocks, how better sleep can improve our performance.  But how does this 'clock' work, and what the heck are Circadian Rhythms?

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences definition of circadian rhythms is:
"Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment. They are found in most living things, including animals, plants and many tiny microbes. The study of circadian rhythms is called chronobiology."*

Quite a mouthful!  Bottom line is circadian rhythms are what controls our sleep / wake cycle in our discussion on sleep.  It is, if you will, our body's reaction to the environment, especially light and dark times. 

We can affect our clocks, however, the natural state will always want to reemerge.  To control when you see light or dark will affect the clock.  So a shift worker working a late shift should sleep in a darkened room during daylight hours.  The darker the room the better.  In fact all of us should try to eliminate light from our sleeping areas, something we don't always do so well.  Think cell phones, TVs, ipods, and the like that generate light and often we keep right next to our beds.

The master clock is located in the hypothalamus, near the optic nerves.  It is a dense group of nerves.  Besides sleep the clock also controls the release of other hormones, and controls our body temperature.  The clock is our brains hardware, loaded with certain software that will maximize our ability to cope with the environment.  Which is why paying attention to the circadian rhythms is so important.  We have talked about sleep cycles, and how these cycles are important to our over all well being and health.  Circadian Rhythms can affect our productivity, stress levels, and even our body weight.

According to NIGMS, the circadian rhythms also have a genetic component.  Which may help explain why different people require different amounts of sleep.  But don't be fooled and blame your 5 hour sleep nights to genetics!  You need to find the proper amount of sleep for your body.  In doing so, your body can maximize it's ability to respond to infection, stress, injury, or other important things that will make you happier, more active, and healthy.

Sleep Well!

*http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm

Healthy Sleep

We all should know that healthy sleep is better sleep.  And that is one thing we like to promote.  But what is healthy sleep?

We spend a third of our lives in bed sleeping or trying to sleep.  Sometimes sleep eludes us and that is when we get cranky, become under productive and may develop health issues.  Stress can keep us from sleeping healthy, from work to personal lives there are times when thing just do not go our way.  It is important to try to not let these times affect our sleep.  It is a "catch 22"  stress leads to poor sleep which leads to increased stress.  Did you know that in a poll, sponsored by bettersleep.org, only 2% of us report that current events causes sleep issues?  Current events include economic recessions, politics, and world affairs.  Sixteen percent report that personal finances wrecks their sleep.  And last, family issues deters 23% of us from a good healthy night's sleep.

They did not combine the above in their research, however, often times family issues can be caused by financial issues, which can be caused by macro economic issues.  The point is that in the world as it is today in 2012, there are lots of reasons to lose sleep.  So what are we to do?

Consider stress reduction techniques.  Often times just admitting there is stress allows us to process it in our brains and reduce it.  There are many stress reduction activities available to us, from meditation to exercise.  And don't forget the family!  One thing that family has done through out the millennia is offer a support structure.  Spouses should talk, children should talk to parents, and parents should talk to children.  Even more distant relatives and friends can boost your well being and help reduce stress.  Some people turn to religion to reduce stress.  And some will find a way to feel they are working to change the stress points. 

What ever works for you, do it!  Poor sleep can be a plague on us.  Also know what healthy sleep is.  Try to go to bed at the same time every day, and wake up at the same time.  A consistent schedule can be your best defense.  Avoid alcohol, especially before bed time.  Find ways to relax, like a warm bubble bath, or yoga.  Try to exercise, but not before bed.  Avoid mood altering drugs like caffeine or nicotine.  Tell yourself a joke, tickle your significant other, it really doesn't matter, as long as you relax.

So you are now an expert!  See how well you can sleep well to be well, by taking this quiz:  http://bettersleep.org/about/quizzes/4

Sleep Well!

Lose Weight... By Sleeping



 What?  Did you read that right?  Yes you did!  Besides exercise and calorie control the way we sleep can determine the success of any diet.

Us News and World Report published an article on just this phenomena.  In it they report that not getting enough sleep can do several things.  They sight sources that tell us that those who get less than 6 hours of sleep at night are more likely to be obese.  Lack of sleep can add to your Body Mass Index or BMI.  Lack of sleep will stress the body, putting it in the protective mode ingrained in our DNA.  When stressed the hormones secreted will cause us to be more efficient in storing calories, adding fat because it senses lean times.  It is all about survival.  Hormones controlling appetite were effected.  And the cravings were not always healthy, seems the body was calling for carbs and starches more than for healthier fruits and vegetable products.  Most diets try to regulate carbs, fats, and or starches to try to boost metabolism.

Hmm, so it seems the metabolism is effected as well.  Lack of sleep can lead to an over all lethargy, too tired to go to the gym, maybe I'll take a nap after work or school.  Less activity means that the extra calories from those cravings will end up as fat.  The research they site says that there was an 8% drop in resting metabolism, which could mean an extra 10 pounds over a year's time. 

Both the cravings and metabolic drop can lead to diabetes or pre-diabetes.  Seems according to the research that the pancreas stopped reacting normally to meals.  And we know that obesity can lead to diabetes.  Could it be that simple?  Just get a good night's sleep?  When you combine a regular schedule, with the proper amount of sleep and diet and exercise, yes.

Let's talk for a minute on "regular" schedule.  Our bodies have a biological clock, that clock tells us when to wake, when to sleep, and when to eat.  When we ignore the clock we stress our bodies.  So not only is the quantity of sleep important, but when you sleep is also important.  When we look back at a somewhat more pure time, around 1900, before the electric light, TV, Computers and the Internet, the average adult slept on average of 9 hours.  Obesity was much less a problem.  And what's more our biological clock is built on nature, we tend to want to sleep when it is dark, and do waking activities during the day.  And consider there is very little change day to day when the sun comes up, yes over the year it does change, but it is literally minutes a day.  The point here is that we need to go to sleep and get up at about the same time every day.  And the bonus:  Monday mornings will be more manageable.

This blogger also believes that the biggest meal of the day should be early, like breakfast.  Way back in the 1900's we were also more of an agrarian nation, and we ate what was available.  No running to the store, no prepared cereals and such; as a result things like bacon and eggs got into our diet, but because of the work, few farmers were obese.  The lightest meal should be the last meal of the day, the reason being that our bodies then have the ability to metabolize the calories, rather than storing them.

We have many advantages today.  We have a better handle on good nutrition, and finally more people are studying sleep and it's effects on our bodies.  To sum up:  get the proper amount of sleep at the same time each day, eat sensibly, and work or exercise to lose the extra pounds.  Take a look at their article for more information by clicking here.

Sleep well!

How Much Sleep is the Right Amount?

Ah sleep, it is a normal human need.  Even in stressful times, we all need sleep, how much is enough?  Can we sleep too much? How do I know what I need?  These are all questions that revolve around our natural bodies, and yes humans are part of nature.  There has been some study of what the right amount of sleep is, here are some generalizations.

The amount of sleep you actually need varies by age.  Infants will sleep 16 to 18 hours a day.  Their bodies are still forming, their minds are growing.  To use a computer analogy:  the operating system is loaded, now additional software is needed to help it function efficiently.  And that's what happens as we sleep.  Just like the computer needs to be rebooted occasionally, so to do our minds and bodies.  But sleep doesn't come with the push of a button.

Preschoolers need less sleep than new borns, probably 10 to 12 hours per day is the range most would consider right.  Again, they are still forming, learning new things constantly; and their bodies and minds need time to process these new things.  In an editorial aside, I find it strange that parents deprive these children of sleep by having them out after about 8 PM, you cannot treat them as adults, they need more sleep than you.  But go into your local mall, almost any day of the year and between 8 and close there are strollers galore, please consider what this does to your child's development.

School age finds another drop in the total amount of sleep children need.  Approximately 9 hours per day is what nature prefers.  Their minds are better able to assimilate information, body growth has slowed a bit.  Now is the time that sleep hygiene should be most important.  We learn from our parents and grandparents habits that can make or break our lives.  A consistent and enforced bed time should be one of these habits!  Failure to learn good sleep habits can doom the child to a lifetime of sleep problems an developmental issues.  Help them avoid these problems by being proactive.

Teens still require more sleep than adults, but they are testing boundaries.  They push the envelope on staying up to play video games, or watch TV, or even read or other hobbies.  It is still important to encourage them to keep a regular bed time, critically important.  Sleeping in on Saturday, while enjoyable for them, is not great hygiene, or habit for latter life.

Adults require from 7 to 9 hours per night of good sleep to recuperate from the previous day, and function at peak performance.  Did you know that before the electric light was invented Americans slept about 9 hours a day, in the century since our sleep has slowly eroded to about 6 or 7 hours on average.  I can hear now, there is some one out there saying "I do just fine on my 5 hours of sleep a night."  And perhaps they can fool themselves for a long while.  However, eventually sleep deprivation will cause health issues not unlike over eating or other activities we do that our body doesn't particularly like.

The key for all these separate groups is to keep a consistent schedule.  We don't always do that.  Why are Mondays so tough?  Most people tend to keep a schedule through the work week, but will stray from it on the weekends.  That screws up the internal biological clock, which will try to reset to the new schedule, only to have it change again on Monday, simply put our bodies crave consistency, when they don't get it they revolt, hence Monday morning.  If you want to feel better on Monday morning, try keeping a consistent schedule all 7 days of the week.  Maybe experiment for one month, see if it matters.

Sleep hygiene involves more than the total hours of sleep, but that is a matter for a future blog.  We can sleep for life, we can sleep better.  Listen to your body, it won't steer you wrong!

Sleep Well!