Sleep Series: Why Sleep? (First of Three Parts)

Justinne Lou Go, RND

DISORIENTATION, fatigue, decreased alertness — are you experiencing these or have been suffering from these for several months or years now? Then most likely, you may need to check on your sleep quality and habits.

When “being or getting healthy” comes to mind, most people associate this with the most common lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise. However, sleep might as well be the lifestyle aspect that is often taken for granted most.

Having said that, I decided to do a three-part series on the importance of sleep, how to practice sleep hygiene, and what to eat to promote good sleep quality.

Sleep always seems to easily be the first of the health determinants that takes the back seat for whatever reason — be it work, socials or personal errands. But think about it, most of us work at least eight hours a day and yet why can’t we give the same value for sleep? It’s all a matter of priorities, really. Sleep is part of your health; so, if health is a priority for you (it should be!), then don’t forget to keep your sleeping habits or pattern in check.

Sleep is closely related to nutrition more than you might know, because our sleeping pattern directly affects our meal pattern (schedule of meals). In relation to this, poor sleep “hygiene” has been linked with diabetes as well. So no, it’s not just carbohydrate or sugar intake that actually causes type 2 diabetes.

Significant role of sleep in our health:

* Fight off infection
* Support the metabolism of sugar to prevent diabetes
perform well in school
* Work effectively and safely

Besides affecting our eating habits and meal pattern, sleep can also affect our behavior and thus, our interpersonal relationships. It can even negatively affect work productivity and compromise our safety at work or on the road. We hear of a lot of road accidents caused by people falling asleep while driving, so sleep isn’t something to just take lightly at all. This is especially of concern for people with chronic diseases such as kidney disease, diabetes, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and depression, to name a few. Inadequate sleep can aggravate their condition because their bodies are not able to repair itself efficiently and thus impairs the immune system further, leading to an increased risk of death.
So, what is good quality sleep and how much do we need? One thing you should know is that it’s not just a matter of the amount of sleep you get, but it’s most importantly the quality of your sleep.

Good quality sleep is defined as getting 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This allows the body to rest and recover from the daily grind. People have different ways of getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep and one misconception is of getting this quantity in installments throughout the day — through naps. Don’t get me wrong, naps are fine but doing them too frequently throughout the day will definitely disrupt your sleeping pattern. Try not to have more than one or two naps throughout the day, and definitely not a few hours before your bedtime.

Getting 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep may sound unachievable for some, but the point is, sleep must be uninterrupted for it to be beneficial enough for the body. Case in point, 4 to 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep is better than 8 hours of light and frequently interrupted sleep. But still, try to aim for at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep as much as possible.

Safety, productivity and wellness are really the main reasons sleep is a basic requirement for all of us and why we need to prioritize it. Taking this for granted causes too many repercussions we cannot risk.

The next part of this series will be talking about “sleep hygiene” and how to practice this to achieve the quality of sleep we all need.

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