A Nod To Sleep
Caves and Sleep
Have you ever heard about Michel Siffre? He spent two months underground in a cave without access to clocks or sunlight. What did they find with his sleep/wake patterns? He wound up staying awake for 36 hours and sleeping for 12 to 14 hours.
Why in the world do we need to sleep? (Warning! Dad joke coming . . .) Because God knew that at some point humans would need time to charge their phones. Okay, who knows; all I know is that one of the little joys in my life is not needing to set my alarm clock for the next day. Sleep is great.
Sleep is Medicine
One thing doctors agree on is that sleep is medicine. Good quality sleep can prevent heart attacks.
Questions about your Sleep
If you answer yes to any of the following three questions about sleep, you’re more likely to have a heart attack.
Ready?
1). Do you constantly have difficulty going to sleep?
2). Do you often wake up feeling unrested?
3). Do you constantly have difficulty staying asleep?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions you’re probably also like a bicycle . . . two tired. (Not fair, I didn’t warn you about the other dad joke.)
The Link Between Sleep and Heart Attacks
Poor sleep is connected to stress; you can read more about stress and heart attacks here. Stressed people don’t sleep well, and people who don’t sleep well are stressed.
Poor sleep leads to other things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and being overweight. One study even showed that healthy bodies that are sleep deprived begin to behave like they have diabetes.
You have to admit when you’re really tired you crave certain comfort foods; the most common starts with an “I” and ends in “CE-CREAM.”
Poor sleep directly leads to plaque buildup – the stuff that causes heart attacks, at least in mice.
One Harvard study showed that mice with interrupted sleep had more plaque in their blood vessels and inflammation in their bodies than mice that slept through the night (How’d you like to be that research guy nudging sleeping mice every couple hours!). The moral of the story is don’t be a mouse in a Harvard research lab! Just kidding; it’s actually that you should stay away from researchers at Harvard if you want to sleep.
Sleep Apnea Causes Heart Attacks
Seriously though, many of us have something nudging us awake all night. That nudger is called sleep apnea!
Sleep apnea is where your airway (trachea) is blocked by your neck tissue and you actually stop breathing while you’re sleeping. When you stop breathing, your body releases stress hormones that keep you from getting deep sleep.
Try this experiment at home if you can: put a pulse oximeter on your finger to see how much your oxygen drops when you hold your breath as long as you can. You’ll find that your oxygen won’t drop that much – maybe down into the low 90% range. Would you believe that testing shows people with sleep apnea can drop their oxygen levels down into the 60-70% range when they sleep? If you have sleep apnea, you’d probably breathe better on Mt. Everest than you would falling asleep at sea level!
1 in 5 adults in the United States suffers from at least mild sleep apnea.
Screening for Sleep Apnea May Save your Life and Your Marriage
If you can answer yes to four or more of the following questions, you should be screened and likely treated for sleep apnea to reduce your risk of a heart attack.
1). Do you often feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the daytime?
2). Has anyone ever observed you stop breathing during sleep?
3). Do you have (or are you being treated for) high blood pressure?
4). Is you body mass index >/=35?
5). Is your age >/=50?
6). Is your neck circumference >15.5 inches?
7). Are you a man?
The Right Amount of Sleep
One study showed that people who slept seven hours a night had the youngest blood vessels. Another study showed that people who get about 6 to 7 hours of sleep per night have the lowest amount of heart attacks and strokes
A study from England showed that about 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night also was associated with the least amount of heart failure.
How many people get < 7 hours of sleep a night? About 1 in 3 people. Looks like my kids tuition is secure!
Naps are Good for You
Especially if your name is Pedro Lopez from Spain, who at 62 years of age won the first Siesta National Championship in 2010 and took home 1,000 Euros! It’s also worth it if you want to prevent a heart attack. Napping 1-2 times per week for less than an hour at a time prevents heart attacks. For more about napping, check out this napping article.
Going to Sleep Tricks
1). For me, most books will cause me to doze off if I’m tired. Try reading any article from the this unbelievable website and you’ll be out before the first paragraph.
2). Avoid blue lights from screens in bed or right before bed (smart phones, computers, and televisions). Avoid listening to the radio too.
3). Get sunlight during the day
4). Don’t nap for more than 20 minutes during the day
5). Near bedtime, avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, vigorous exercise, large meals, and stressful conversations. Remember – don’t go to bed angry – stay up and fight!
6). Use the bed only for the two things that start with “S” (Hint: one is sleep).
7). Keep your room quiet, dark, and COOL. People sleep better when the room is cold.
8). Be consistent about bed/wake up times. (Good luck if you’re a doctor on call!)
9). Do muscle relaxation techniques.
10). Be physically active during the day
Also remember when you wake up to have a positive attitude for the day. One thing you can do is say to yourself three times: “It’s going to be a great day because I’m going back to bed in 16 hours!”
What Should You Do?
Sleep about 7 hours a night. Take a few naps a week. Treat your sleep apnea if you have it. Your heart will thank youzzzzzzzzzzzz.
