Happy Sleep Awareness Month!
by Amanda Cammalleri
According to the National Sleep Foundation, March is Sleep Awareness Month. Many of us are well aware of the feeling a day after a night of very little sleep. Many of us have experienced the feeling of exhaustion or fatigue at some point in our lives. Sleep is important for your mental and physical well-being. Sleep can impact our learning and memory, stress responses, pain perception, emotion regulation, immunity, and more! Below are some fun facts about sleep, followed by resources.
Stress response: Many people know the impact that stress can have on their sleep cycle, but what is less known, is how increasing sleep quality and duration can actually improve our response to stressors. One of the body’s major stress hormones, cortisol, is inhibited during sleep. When we do not get enough sleep, daytime cortisol levels can be elevated. Elevated cortisol over time can be linked to cardiovascular problems and weight-gain. Getting more sleep can decrease cortisol levels; thereby reducing levels of perceived stress (Hirotsu et al., 2015).
Pain perception: Studies show that a night of sleep deprivation can increase sensitivity to pain (Staffe et al., 2019). For individuals who get under their recommended dose of sleep, sleeping longer can improve pain tolerance (Roehrs et al., 2012).
Emotion regulation: While studies show that sleep deprivation can cause ‘negativity bias’, the negative interpretation of emotional stimuli, the opposite has also been shown to be true. Even a single night of increased sleep can help people appreciate positive events more the following day, with even an extra hour making a positive difference (Sin et al, 2020).
Immunity: Getting a high-quality sleep of ample duration can help immune defense. During a night of sleep, components of the immune system “rev-up” and before waking, they ramp down. This process assists with balancing the immune response. Increased sleep quality and duration has also been shown to assist with the immune response to vaccines, making vaccines more efficacious. For more information, visit: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/how-sleep-affects-immunity.
10 Simple Sleep Tips
Maintain a regular sleep routine - wake up time and bedtime should remain the same from day to day
Avoid long daytime naps - if you need a nap, try to nap shorter and earlier in the day
Do not stay in bed awake for a long time before going to sleep - move to a chair in the dark and no TV or internet at this time
Do not watch TV or read in bed - your bed is for sleep
Caffeinate with caution - consume any caffeine before noon
Be mindful of substances that may interfere with sleep - alcohol, chocolate, medications
Clean fresh air - open a window or use an air purifier
Exercise - exercise regularly and earlier in the day, not before bed
Create a comfortable quiet bedroom - eliminate light and noise
Calming rituals and pre-bedtime routine - bath, meditation, breathing exercises, etc.
Curious to learn more about how to improve your sleep and the benefits of doing so? Here is a list of resources to help:
Sleep Tips: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/healthy-sleep-tips
How Sleep Works: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works
COVID-19 and Sleep: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-guidelines-covid-19-isolation
Mental Health and Sleep: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health
How Aging Affects Sleep: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/aging-and-sleep
References:
Hirotsu C, Tufik S, Andersen ML. Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions. Sleep Sci. 2015;8(3):143-152. doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002
Roehrs TA, Harris E, Randall S, Roth T. Pain sensitivity and recovery from mild chronic sleep loss. Sleep. 2012;35(12):1667-1672. Published 2012 Dec 1. doi:10.5665/sleep.2240
Sin, N. L., Wen, J. H., Klaiber, P., Buxton, O. M., & Almeida, D. M. (2020). Sleep duration and affective reactivity to stressors and positive events in daily life. Health Psychology, 39(12), 1078–1088. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001033
Staffe AT, Bech MW, Clemmensen SLK, Nielsen HT, Larsen DB, et al. (2019) Total sleep deprivation increases pain sensitivity, impairs conditioned pain modulation and facilitates temporal summation of pain in healthy participants. PLOS ONE 14(12): e0225849. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225849