It’s pretty special to come in here tomorrow and have a chance to do that. I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights for a lot of reasons, but tonight I look forward to losing that sleep. It’s been a long hard grind…
Buck Showalter just managed his team to a division clinching win. No one will blame him for skipping (see?) out on a night’s sleep. We’ve all prioritized a various activity over a solid rest period, and most of us do it for less than an AL East title.
My current schedule has me arriving home from the studio most nights at around 11:00pm. By the time I answer emails, set my fantasy football lineup and finish up a post or two, it’s close to 1:00am. Regardless of when my head hits the pillow, I have to pop out of bed at 6:30 to get my boys off to school. They both kick ass at math and could tell you better than I that I slumbered for 5.5 hours last night. From Harvard Health:
A recent survey found that more people are sleeping less than six hours a night, and sleep difficulties visit 75% of us at least a few nights per week. A short-lived bout of insomnia is generally nothing to worry about. The bigger concern is chronic sleep loss, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and a decrease in the immune system’s power…
Chronic sleep loss…I suspect I’m not the only one struggling to get a full night of zzz’s. Most of us know that we can’t actually catch up on sleep just by staying in bed longer on the weekends, but there’s a larger problem with this plan. From lifehacker.com:
We frequently hear about the dangers of too little sleep, but there’s also research to suggest too much sleep is a problem too.
Well, that’s rough. Okay, so we need to all be shooting for our 8 hours every night, right? Hit snooze. From the Wall Street Journal:
Several sleep studies have found that seven hours is the optimal amount of sleep—not eight, as was long believed—when it comes to certain cognitive and health markers…”The lowest mortality and morbidity is with seven hours,” said Shawn Youngstedt, a professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University Phoenix. “Eight hours or more has consistently been shown to be hazardous,” says Dr. Youngstedt, who researches the effects of oversleeping.
So now I just have to make sure I go to bed, fall asleep within 20 minutes, and get up exactly 440 minutes later. That seems reasonable. Precisely 7 hours may or may not be optimal, but the real world doesn’t afford us the luxury to schedule our sleep that rigidly. We can’t always control the amount of sleep we get, but we can take steps to improve it. That 5.5 hours I got was delicious, and that was more valuable than 7 hours of tossing and turning. From the same Lifehacker article:
One study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research concluded that quality of sleep is more important than quantity of sleep when it comes to feeling rested and rejuvenated.
How can we make sure our sleep is quality? Start with something that won’t be a surprise to readers of this blog: exercise.
Exercise regularly. The goal here isn’t to wear yourself out, but The National Sleep Foundation has said exercise in the afternoon can improve sleep in the evening. Specifically, morning or afternoon exercise helps you fall asleep faster with less trouble. Just be sure not to exercise right before bed, as that had the opposite effect.
I played professional baseball for a while, so I should have been a champion at this. Not so much, unfortunately. I’d often follow a long game by a not so prudent training session. Many ballplayers instead unwind with a couple of adult beverages. “It helps me sleep,” they’d spout.
Ditch the alcohol, cut out the caffeine, and watch the cigarettes. This one study, published in 1994, approached all three topics, and concluded that alcohol can be relaxing and help you get to sleep, but it’s damaging to the sleep cycle once you’re out. The end result is a choppy, restless night where you wake more frequently than you would. Caffeine has a different effect. It lengthens the 2nd phase of your sleep cycle (where your brain starts reorganizing itself and processing the day)—which is great for naps, but not for a night of deep sleep. Caffeine shortens phases three and four, where REM sleep and dreaming occur. Cigarettes on the other hand, or specifically nicotine, can be relaxing in small doses, but too much keeps you awake and prevents the onset of sleep entirely.
Right. I enjoy a glass of scotch every now and then, but if my sleep isn’t on point, it’s a no go. If I know I have limited time to sleep, I need to make the necessary adjustments. My coffee is a morning beverage, but I try not to imbibe within several hours of bedtime. For the rest of it…let’s face it, if you’re still smoking cigarettes, you’re probably not reading this blog. In case you’re just here for the pictures, while I have your ear, inhaling smoke is bad for you.
Life is a tradeoff. We can get good sleep and make the adjustments, or we can prioritize other things and suffer the health consequences.
There is a final alternative. You can be that guy or girl who says something catchy, cute and ultimately ignorant like, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Sweet dreams,
Kap
Michelle says
Ironically, this post almost put me to sleep. Lol.
I do come here for the pictures…the food pictures
Ro♜ (@Raynaadi) says
Sleep? Exercise? Huh? I’m still stuck on the mental image of Kap’s bed. Ahem.
Oh and if that smoker IS reading and has tried everything to quit and still can’t, Chantix baby. That’s how I did it. I just made sure to keep an eye on my emotions and tell everyone in my life to do the same since the whole Chantix causes suicidal thoughts thing kinda scared me a little. That little pill made it so easy to quit. There were some nasty stomach side effects but that just made me even more determined never to have to use Chantix again once I’d successfully quit smoking. It’s a wonder drug I tell you! I had been a pack-a-day smoker for nearly a decade!
Richie says
Sleep….! I would love more! I am usually in bed between 9:30-10:00 and up at 4:30, however the last few weeks I have been getting up at 5 am. I am not sure if it is because I am getting old, my meds for Crohn’s disease or just mental exhaustion from work, everyday life and having an autistic son, but the last 6 months I can not crank out my morning workout. I was dedicated to every mornjng before work, yet now I am a few times per week. Sleep restores and repairs the body, yet I do not know too many people that get 8 hours, but I would love it!!
Joel Sproul says
And then there’s my 3-year old that doesn’t usually sleep through the night yet. . . .
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the negative effects of blue light (or regular white light, which has blue in it) on the bodies levels of melatonin, which helps with sleep and is a POWERFUL crime fighter for our bodies. (Lots of studies linking shift work to cancer). Use blue light blocking glasses a couple hours before bed to get the body producing melatonin and you may find it helps your sleep – and your ability fight cancer. Seems there might be something to this.
BoojieMaw says
I come here for the pictures too. 🙂
True words about exercise helping with sleep as well as energy levels. There are times that my body needs sleep more than exercise. It’s rare that I have to skip exercising, but if anything has to be skimped on it has to be exercise, not sleep. Just the way I’m wired and my current life circumstances…
I’ve tried legs up the wall yoga pose to help relax if I’m having trouble falling asleep.
Thanks for the reminder to get a proper amount of shut eye.
Gabe Kapler says
Nice, BM. Thanks for chiming in.
stanmickus says
Kap, I didn’t seen anything in the blog on how diet affects our sleep, which it undoubtedly does. I agree on the quality aspect. After a long day of workout, getting kids to school, work, dinner, and bedtime, I feel much better with six quality hours than more hours of restless sleep. How do you do it on 5.5? You nap?
Ed H says
I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the topic of food, and specifically foods that promote or deprive sleep. Bananas, almonds, chickpeas (hummus), cherries and many others are on the promote sleep list….. Anyone intersted should google foods that promote sleep or foods that disrupt sleep….
Gabe Kapler says
Ed, why don’t you provide a bit more on this topic, if you don’t mind? Add some links on the foods you mentioned, studies, etc. Thanks.
Ed H says
Believe it or not, that’s quite a homework assignment. There are so many articles on the subject, many of which offer differing views on the subject. I hesitate to provide a single study or article because I’m not an expert only an observer. I’ll share what I’ve observed and provide some links to corroborate some items. The others can be readily found on sites like http://www.livestrong.com and http://www.whfoods.com . I’ll tackle foods that promotes sleep….
First, melatonin is frequently mentioned as a sleep regulator (http://www.livestrong.com/article/384602-benefits-side-effects-of-melatonin/ ). Also similarly mentioned are tryptophan and serotonin, but it appears both of those are precursors for melatonin. Also related here is vitamin B6 which aids in the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin (and subsequently to melatonin). Foods high in melatonin: tart cherries, walnuts, and corn. Foods high in tryptophan: poultry, dairy, nuts and seeds, and legumes. Foods high in serotonin: free range turkey; flaxseed; seafood; bananas. Foods high in B6: sunflower seeds; pistachios; fish; chickpeas.
Second. magnesium relaxes muscles. I read on an obscure blog somewhere (https://kaplifestyle.com/2014/05/sunflower-seeds) that sunflower seeds are a good source as well as bananas, leafy greens, almonds and fish.
Finally, though a little more obscure, selenium supports variety of control related functions including preventing hyperthyroidism and brain enzyme activity affecting sleep (http://www.livestrong.com/article/548091-can-selenium-help-you-sleep/) . Foods high in selenium include nuts (especially brazil nuts), fish and beef.
Richie Ernst says
Thanks for the tips Ed!
Duane says
Great subject! I wish for more sleep. One of rules is ” last one down and first one up” that changes depending on how much homework our daughter has that night. My goal is in the rack by 10(rarely happens) and up at 3 am Monday thru friday however the hounds let me sleep in till 5 on the weekends. I think their stomachs wake them up so they make me. My brain may still be stuck in military mode to get up and get things done. To this day I never have a problem falling asleep. I’m pretty worn out at the end my day.
Paul says
When I was growing up, I always noticed that sleeping more than 8 hours made me feel tired
all day! I wondered how kids could sleep all morning on weekends! (I did a paper route thru high
school- so I was up early.)
I’ve often read advice about keeping a regular sleep schedule. Recently one column argued that
you don’t need an alarm clock- you should wake up around the same time every morning.
I usually DO wake up before my alarm- within 5-30 minutes. But I admit going to bed later on
weekends, alcohol,etc. I also take time-released meds that I need to take about the same time
daily. So I set my alarm- just in case. And as mentioned, I do get much better, REM,sleep on
nights I don’t drink.
darby wright says
5 hour a sleep a night.is about right. Try to take a 15 min nap a day to recharge. Seems to work.know longer than 15min or you become sluggish.
Msquared says
True Confessions:
I haven’t slept good for years. I often sleep in small stretches
I drink way too much caffeine.
I exercise predominately at night.
I’m an idiot.
kbeyazdancer says
I do come here for the pics-Kap’s house looks nicer than mine 🙂
I retooled my sleeping habits after Graduate school because I went through massive bouts of insomnia (at one point I was hospitalized for not sleeping for several days) and then excessive sleepiness. It never mattered how much sleep I got, I could fall asleep standing up (it happened once while I was cooking). Turns out I have been suffering with Narcolepsy for my entire life and didn’t know it. Like Ed, I learned which foods help to promote sleep, cut back my caffeine consumption, and stopped exercising at night if i can help it (I would start working out as late as 10:00pm). Made a huge difference.
Lifestyle changes make all the difference
-Kelebek
Kyle G. says
I’ll sleep in my coma… Then wake up for a bit and sleep some more when I’m dead… Good post Kap.
Paul says
Must be a coincidence. This subject came up at a sports Web site, and they quoted
a Time Magazine report from earlier this month.
Normally I don’t care for Time & its liberal politics.But this has nothing to do with
politics!
http://time.com/3326565/the-power-of-sleep/
What do you think of the report, its arguments, etc.?