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I N B R I E F :

Healthy SleepYour Guide To

When youre in a rush to meet work, school, amily, orhousehold responsibilities, do you cut back on yoursleep, thinking it wont be a problem? Like manypeople, you might think that sleep is merely a downtime when the brain shuts o and the body rests.Think again.

What Is Sleep?

Sleep was long considered just a block o time when

your brain and body shut down. Thanks to sleepresearch studies done over the past several decades, it isnow known that sleep has distinct stages that cyclethroughout the night in predictable patterns. Yourbrain and body unctions stay active throughout sleep,but dierent things happen during each stage. Forinstance, certain stages o sleep are needed or us to eelwell rested and energetic the next day, and other stageshelp us learn or make memories.

In brie, a number o vital tasks carried out during sleephelp people stay healthy and unction at their best.

On the other hand, not getting enough sleep can bedangerousor example, you are more likely to be ina car crash i you drive when you are drowsy.

How Much Sleep Is Enough?

Sleep needs vary rom person to person, and they changethroughout the lie cycle. Most adults need 78 hourso sleep each night. Newborns, on the other hand,sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day, and children inpreschool sleep between 11 and 12 hours a day.School-aged children and teens need at least 10 hourso sleep each night.

Some people believe that adults need less sleep as theyget older. But there is no evidence to show that olderpeople can get by with less sleep than younger people.As people age, however, they oten get less sleep or theytend to spend less time in the deep, restul stage osleep. Older people are also more easily awakened.

Why Sleep Is Good for Youand Skimping on It Isnt

Does it really matter i you get enough sleep? Abso-lutely! Not only does the quantity o your sleep matter,but the quality o your sleep is important as well.People whose sleep is requently interrupted or cut

short might not get enough o certain stages o sleep.In other words, how well rested you are and how wellyou unction the next day depend on your total sleeptime and how much o the various stages o sleep youget each night.

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Crash in BedNot on the Road

Most people are aware o the hazards o drunk

driving. But did you know that driving while drowsy

can be just as deadly? Like alcohol, a lack o sleep

makes it harder to react quickly enough to a suddenly

braking car, a sharp curve in the road, or other

potentially dangerous situations.

Watch or these warning signs that you might be too

sleepy to drive saely:

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Trouble keeping your eyes open or ocused

Continual yawning

Inability to recall driving the past ew miles

I you eel sleepy while driving, pull o the road to a

sae place and take a nap or 1520 minutes.

Tips To Avoid Drowsy Driving

n Be well rested before hitting the road. Keep in

mind that i you skimp on sleep or several nights

in a row, it might take more than one night o good

sleep to be well rested and alert.

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Avoid driving between midnight and 7 a.m.

This period o time is when we are naturally the

least alert and most sleepy.

Dont drive alone. A companion who can keep

you engaged in conversation might help you stay

awake while driving.

Schedule frequent breaks on long road trips.Dont drink alcohol.

Dont count on caffeine. Although drinking a

cola or coee might help keep you awake or a

short time, it wont overcome extreme sleepiness.

Remember, i you are short on sleep, stay out o the

drivers seat!

Performance: We need sleep to think clearly, react

quickly, and create memories. In act, the pathways inthe brain that help us learn and remember are veryactive when we sleep. Studies show that people whoare taught mentally challenging tasks do better ater agood nights sleep. Other research suggests that sleep isneeded or creative problemsolving.

Skimping on sleep has a price. Cutting back by even1 hour can make it tough to ocus the next day and canslow your response time. Studies also fnd that whenyou lack sleep, you are more likely to make bad deci-sions and take more risks. This can result in lower

perormance on the job or in school and a greater riskor a car crash.

Mood: Sleep aects mood. Insufcient sleep can makeyou irritable and is linked to poor behavior and troublewith relationships, especially among children and teens.People who chronically lack sleep are also more likelyto become depressed.

Health: Sleep is also important or good health.

Studies show that not getting enough sleep or gettingpoor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risko having high blood pressure, heart disease, and othermedical conditions.

In addition, during sleep, your body produces valuablehormones. Deep sleep triggers more release o growthhormone, which uels growth in children and boostsmuscle mass and the repair o cells and tissues inchildren and adults. Another type o hormone thatincreases during sleep helps the immune system fghtvarious inections. This might explain why a good

nights sleep helps keep you rom getting sickandhelps you recover when you do get sick.

Hormones released during sleep also control the bodysuse o energy. Studies fnd that the less people sleep, themore likely they are to be overweight or obese, todevelop diabetes, and to preer eating oods that arehigh in calories and carbohydrates.

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Could You Have a

Sleep Disorder?I you are spending enough time in bed and still wake

up tired or eel very sleepy during the day, you maybe one o the estimated 40 million Americans with a

sleep disorder.

The most common sleep disorders are insomnia

(trouble alling or staying asleep), sleep apnea (pauses

in breathing during sleep), restless legs syndrome,

and narcolepsy (extreme daytime sleepiness).

Although sleep disorders can signifcantly aect your

health, saety, and well-being, they can be treated.

Talk to your doctor i you have any o these signs o a

sleep disorder:

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You consistently take more than 30 minutes each

night to all asleep.

You consistently awaken several times each night

and then have trouble alling back to sleep, or you

awaken too early in the morning.

You oten eel sleepy during the day, you take

requent naps, or you all asleep at inappropriate

times during the day.

Your bed partner says that when you sleep, you

snore loudly, snort, gasp, make choking sounds,

or stop breathing or short periods.

n You have creeping, tingling, or crawling eelings

in your legs or arms that are relieved by movingor massaging them, especially in the evening and

when trying to all asleep.

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Your bed partner notices that your legs or arms

jerk oten during sleep.

You have vivid, dreamlike experiences while alling

asleep or dozing.

You have episodes o sudden muscle weakness

when you are angry or earul, or when you laugh.

You eel as though you cannot

move when you frst wake up.

Keep in mind that children canhave some o these same signs

when they have a sleep disorder,

but they oten do not show

signs o excessive

daytime sleepiness.

Instead, they may

seem overactive

and have

difculty ocusing

or doing their

best in school.

Its About Time

How sleepy you are depends largely on how wellyouve been sleeping and how much sleep youve beengetting. Another key actor is your internal biologicalclocka small bundle o cells in your brain thatcontrols when you eel sleepy and your sleep patterns(based on responses to internal and external environ-mental cues, such as light signals received through youreyes). Because o the timing o the biological clock and

other bodily processes, you naturally eel the most tiredbetween midnight and 7 a.m. and again in the ater-noon between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Night shit workers oten fnd themselves drowsy atwork. They also have trouble alling asleep or stayingasleep during the day, when their schedules requirethem to sleep. Being sleepy puts them at risk orinjuries on the road and at work. Night shit workersare also more likely to have conditions such as heartdisease, digestive troubles, and inertility, as well as

emotional problems. All o these problems may berelated, at least in part, to their chronic lack o sleep.

Adapting to new sleep and wake times can also be hardor travelers crossing time zones, resulting in whatsknown as jet lag. Jet lag can lead to daytime sleepiness,trouble alling asleep or staying asleep at night, poorconcentration, and irritability.

The good news is that by using appropriately timed

cues, most people can reset their biological clock, butonly by 12 hours per day at best. Thereore, it cantake several days to adjust to a new time zone (ordierent work schedule). I youll be moving acrosstime zones, you might want to begin adapting to thenew time zone a ew days beore leaving. Or, i you aretraveling or just a ew days, you might want to stickwith your original sleep schedule and not try to adjustto the new time zone.

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Get a Good Nights Sleep

Like eating well and being physically active, getting agood nights sleep is vital to your well-being. Here are13 tips to help you:

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Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up atthe same time each dayeven on the weekends.

Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to

exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but notlater than 23 hours beore your bedtime.

Avoid caffeine and nicotine. The stimulating eectso caeine in coee, colas, certain teas, and choco-late can take as long as 8 hours to wear o ully.Nicotine is also a stimulant.

Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. A nightcapmight help you get to sleep, but alcohol keeps you inthe lighter stages o sleep. You also tend to wake upin the middle o the night when the sedating eectshave worn o.

Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A

large meal can cause indigestion that intereres withsleep. Drinking too many uids at night can causeyou to awaken requently to urinate.

Avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep, ifpossible. Some commonly prescribed heart, bloodpressure, or asthma medications, as well as someover-the-counter and herbal remedies or coughs,colds, or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns.

Dont take naps after 3 p.m. Naps can boost yourbrain power, but late aternoon naps can make itharder to all asleep at night. Also, keep naps tounder an hour.

Relax before bed. Take time to unwind. A relaxingactivity, such as reading or listening to music, shouldbe part o your bedtime ritual.

Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in bodytemperature ater the bath may help you eel sleepy,and the bath can help you relax.

Have a good sleeping environment. Get rid oanything in your bedroom that might distract yourom sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncom-ortable bed, or a TV or computer in the bedroom.Also, keeping the temperature in your bedroom on

the cool side can help you sleep better.Have the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key toregulating daily sleep patterns. Try to get outside innatural sunlight or at least 30 minutes each day.

Dont lie in bed awake. I you fnd yoursel stillawake ater staying in bed or more than 20 min-utes, get up and do some relaxing activity until youeel sleepy. The anxiety o not being able to sleepcan make it harder to all asleep.

See a doctor if you continue to have trouble sleep-ing. I you consistently fnd yoursel eeling tired or

not well rested during the day despite spendingenough time in bed at night, you may have a sleepdisorder. Your amily doctor or a sleep specialistshould be able to help you.

Clinical Trials

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)supports research aimed at learning more about healthy

sleep and sleep disorders. NHLBI-supported researchhas led to many advances in medical knowledge andcare. Oten, these advances depend on the willingnesso volunteers to take part in clinical trials.

Clinical trials test new ways to prevent, diagnose, ortreat various diseases and conditions. You can takepart in a clinical trial to gain access to new treatmentsbeore theyre widely available and help add to scien-tifc knowledge.

For more inormation about clinical trials related to

sleep disorders, talk with your doctor. You also canvisit the ollowing Web sites to learn more aboutclinical research and to search or clinical trials:

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www.clinicaltrials.gov

http://clinicalresearch.nih.gov

www.nhlbi.nih.gov/studies/index.htm

To Learn More

Contact the NHLBI or inormation on healthy sleepand sleep disorders.

NHLBI Health Information CenterP.O. Box 30105Bethesda, MD 20824-0105Phone: 3015928573TTY: 2406293255Fax: 3015928563E-mail: nhlbiino@nhlbi.nih.govWeb site: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/sleep

NIH Publication No. 11-5800

Originally printed April 2006

Revised September 2011

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/http://clinicalresearch.nih.gov/http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/studies/index.htmmailto:nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.govhttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/sleephttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/sleepmailto:nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.govhttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/studies/index.htmhttp://clinicalresearch.nih.gov/http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/