Sleep

Sleep 

By: Marisol Diaz  

One of the things that many people have heard is the statement that sleep is important. It is repeated to us over and over again, "You need to sleep," "You need at least 8 hours of sleep." And while we may know that it is true, what exactly are sleep's benefits? Are they short-term? Are they long-term? Why is it necessary that we always get enough sleep? Aside from this, what are the consequences of not getting enough sleep? What affects sleep? What disorders exist? As a result, I felt that I needed to look more into sleep and inform those around me. 

Sleep Disorders 

While some people choose not to sleep, there exist disorders that affect sleep and life overall. In America, there are 50 to 70 million adults who seem to have a type of sleeping disorder. While many people think that they will never have a sleep disorder, that is incorrect, at least 1 out 3 individuals will be affected by a sleep disorder. For this blog, I will be focusing on three disorders; insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy

Insomnia: 

Insomnia is defined as having difficulty falling or staying asleep. When people cannot get enough sleep, they suffer from paranoia and hallucinations; those with insomnia end up suffering worsening paranoia and hallucinations. In America, there is a total of 30%-40% of adults complain about having insomnia symptoms. Insomnia has many symptoms, some being anxiety, sleepiness, and difficulty paying attention. 

There is such thing as short-term insomnia and chronic insomnia, meaning that while one may not have it for long, one might suffer with it for a long time or even forever. 

More information: 

An article titled Insomnia and the risk of depression: a meta-analysis for prospective cohort studies, conducted a research about the connection between insomnia and depression. This research concluded that their was a positive relationship between them. That as a result of insomnia, the probability of depression increased.

Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea is defined as having abnormal breathing while being asleep. Sleep apnea is a disorder more common than insomnia, and produces a lot more risk simply because many people go diagnosed. Not only is it more common, it can affect anyone at any age, including small children. Symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, gasping for air while sleeping, waking up with a headache, and irritability. There exists two different forms of sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea. Each apnea has different  factors. (some examples below ↓) 

Factors of central sleep apnea: 

• family history 
• smoking 
• being male (men are more likely to have central sleep apnea) 
• excess weight (women have a higher risk if they are overweight or have already gone through menopause) 

Factors of obstructive sleep apnea: 

• being male 
• having had a stroke 
• being older
• heart disorders 

Narcolepsy: 

Narcolepsy is defined as a condition that causes extreme sleepiness throughout the day and results in causing someone to fall asleep suddenly during the day. As a result of having extreme sleepiness and suddenly falling asleep, people who have narcolepsy end up having problems with their daily routine. This is more problematic knowing that narcolepsy is a long term condition. Symptoms of narcolepsy include sudden loss in muscle tone, sleep paralysis, hallucinations and changes in one of the sleep patterns, rapid eye movement sleep (REM). People who have narcolepsy typically can be diagnosed between the age of 10 - 30, but can still happen at any age. 

Benefits of sleep 

Sleep has many benefits. Sleep helps the body produce proteins, restore, reduce stress, and help in memory and performance. While our body is sleeping cytokines are produced. Cytokines are proteins that have immune-boosting effects and serve as fuel for our white blood cells. Aside from this, while our body is sleeping our muscles repair, our tissue grows and hormones are released.

An article titled, Cognitive benefits of last night's sleep; daily variations in children's sleep behavior are related to working memory fluctuations, looks at the performance of children. They studied 110 elementary school children and their sleep habits. The results concluded that their cognitive performance, was affected through sleep quality, time in bed, and daytime tiredness. Children who have a low performance level, show that they had low sleep quality. 

While sleep plays a part on the performance of individuals, quality also plays a part. While someone may get 8 hours of sleep, they might not have been comfortable or had nightmares, as a result it could make them reckless or affect the way they wake up. Those two things then play a role on how they feel for the rest of the day. For example, if I woke up feeling tired or irritated, I might feel irritated at the people around me and snap for what others might see as nothing. As a result a relationship could be strained. 

Hours of sleep 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this is the amount of hours that each age should get. (newborn to adults) 

Community Members: 

⮜ Michael       

⮜ Cynthia  

Personal: 

One of the reasons I chose to talk about sleep is because I noticed how my sleep schedule changes throughout the year. Sometimes I feel like I have gotten enough sleep, and other times I feel I do not need sleep. Although I hear a lot of the time that I need sleep, I wanted to look more into what the benefits of sleep are. Another reason I decided to investigate sleep is that, as a student, I prioritize my work more than I do sleep, and I know that my friends do as well. As a student, I wanted to inform myself and others of the benefits of sleep, especially for our studies. I wanted to know if other things affected our sleep, which could then affect our interactions and overall lives. 

Sources: 

Julia, N. (2023, February 17). Sleep Statistics: Facts & Latest Data in America (2023 Update) - CFAH. CFAH. https://cfah.org/sleep-statistics/

Könen, T., & Schmiedek, F. (2015). Cognitive benefits of last night’s sleep: daily variations in children’s sleep behavior are related to working memory fluctuations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(2), 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12296

Li, L., Wu, C., Gan, Y., Qu, X., & Lu, Z. (2016). Insomnia and the risk of depression: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1075-3