I was a happy camper, last night. I was cozy on the couch with my dogs and we were watching three hours of House. Okay, I was watching House. The dogs were snoozing as they fought for real estate on the couch with my legs. I felt exhausted during the first episode. My body felt heavy and I found it difficult to get off the couch to do anything. I closed my eyes during the commercial breaks throughout the second episode. I knew I needed to get off the couch to start getting ready for bed – wash face, brush teeth. It was the third episode where the signs of age started showing. I had a difficult time staying awake and found myself drifting in and out of slumber during the last half hour. It wasn’t even 11 p.m. and I had to make an exit plan for my bed.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, my sleep schedule has been somewhat erratic. I had a couple of nights that lasted until 5 a.m., and others that ended at midnight. I had many mornings that started early. I got up at 5 a.m. on Tuesday to take an 8 a.m. exam. Yesterday, I woke up at 7 a.m. to get to a 10 a.m. exam. You may wonder why I take three hours before a class, but my schedule is unique in that I have to take the time to start a fire, coax stubborn dogs to go potty in the proper place, and deal with lots of fresh snowfall. It makes for an interesting morning.

Lifestyle Adjustments for Better Sleep

I have been sleep deprived. I need at least eight hours of sleep, and I haven’t been meeting that quota on a regular basis. I decided to start with last night. I went to bed at 11:30 and didn’t get out of bed until 8:45 a.m., except for some potty breaks of my own. I’ve decided that it is time for reevaluating my sleep and making the appropriate changes to maximize this extremely important activity. The following are tips that are commonly given, and to which I most often do not adhere, that help promote a successful night of rest:

• Go to bed at a regular time. Life is about cycles, and sleep is no exception. Adhering to a regular schedule will help the body to readily fall asleep and wake.

• Eat several hours (2-3) before going to bed. Eating before bedtime may discourage sleep. I find one exception to this rule. I need to eat every three hours, so reserving larger meals for several hours before bedtime does help, but I need a small meal before bedtime to quiet a growling stomach. I can’t sleep on a hungry stomach.
• Reserve caffeine use for the early hours of the day. This wasn’t as much of an issue when I was younger, but I’ve found that caffeine will keep me from sleeping all night long. It is very frustrating to reach a point where you feel tired, but it takes several hours to doze, and that is immediately followed by waking. Before you know it, you have memories of the night, and they are overly exciting complete with images of your alarm clock.
• Avoid alcohol before bedtime. Considering many of us drink before bed, this probably isn’t going to change too much, but there are very important things to consider. Many of us do go out with friends and drink. Unfortunately, this can lead to excessive drinking. Instead of the body properly shutting down for restorative sleep, it has to deal with toxic levels of alcohol. In this light, this piece of advice could be altered to lessen the frequency of alcohol intake. Sure, afternoon and early evening consumption shouldn’t be a problem, but how often does it stop there? How often does it even begin there?
• Avoid fluids 60-90 minutes to two hours before bedtime. This is typically how long it takes water to reach the bladder. If you frequently wake up to answer nature’s call, then withholding your beverage intake before bedtime may be a good idea.

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

I said, earlier, that I need eight hours of sleep. It hasn’t always been that way. When I was a teenager, I needed ten hours of sleep. I needed a lot of sleep. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed that eight hours is that magic number for me. That may very well change over the next decade and throughout my life. It is known that people of different ages need different amounts of sleep. For example, a four-year-old may need as much as 13 hours of sleep per night.

I’ve heard different people insist that six hours is all one needs, and seven, and nine, but they’re all wrong. The best way to find out is to follow good habits and allow yourself to sleep as long as you need over the course of a week. Go to bed regularly, and take note of how long you really sleep each night. The body will settle on that magic number after a few days. I take note of how long I’ve been asleep every morning when I wake up. That’s how I know eight hours is a good number for me. I also know whether I am going to be at the top of my game that day based on how much sleep I got.

Does It Matter When I Sleep?

One of the observations I’ve made over the last three years is the timing of my sleep throughout the seasons. I have noticed that I tend to go to bed earlier and wake-up earlier in the winter, when daytime hours are generally from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In contrast, I stay up quite late and sleep in late in the summer, when daytime hours can last as late as 11 p.m. in my area. The reason for this is the effect of light on my circadian rhythm, the schedule my body keeps. The circadian rhythm is controlled by hormones that are given off in response to different stimuli. Light plays a huge factor in this process. One important example of the effects of light on the chemical processes of the body is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is, generally, a wintertime depressive disorder. Light, in a nutshell, can keep one happy.

Light dictates when we will naturally sleep. Although there are people who keep third-shift schedules – working at night and sleeping during the day – it has been found that there are important negative health effects to keeping this kind of schedule. Even though a person may be used to this schedule and seem to function well, this cycle contrasts that which is dictated by his or her natural circadian rhythm. Third-shift workers have been found to have shorter life spans than traditional sleepers.

Why Did Di Devote So Much Space in Her Blog to Sleep?

Throughout my life, I have observed that sleep was the first thing to suffer when things got difficult. Focusing on sleep and establishing a normal cycle has always been the first step to getting things back on track. As an athlete, I have found that sleep is paramount in the workout recovery process and has a huge effect on my performance.

Healthy sleep is essential to fighting disease, maintaining a healthy weight, and memory, among other things. These are things that the average American pays a lot for, but never achieves for one important reason: the average American suffers from poor sleep habits.

For More Information

• National Sleep Foundation: How Sleep Works

• Medical College of Wisconsin’s HealthLink: Sleep Vital to Health and Longevity, Especially for Third-Shifters