1. Sleep
Thursday, October 7, 2010

2. Focus on your sleep
42% of college students say they don’t feel rested most days of the week
Things keeping students awake:
Internet
Academic pressures
Anxiety
Use of drugs
Underlying sleep disorder
Chronic pain
stress

3. Focus on your sleep
The most recent Sleep in America poll from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) found that nearly a third (32%) of Americans get a good night’s sleep on only a few nights per month.
Reasons for less sleep among working adults
Working longer hours
Taking work home
Internet and other technology

4. Why do you need sleep? Sleep maintains your physical health
Immune system
Reduces risk of cardiovascular disease
Sleep contributes to a healthy metabolism and body weight

5. Why Do You Need to Sleep? Sleep Affects Your Ability to Function
Sleep contributes to neurological functioning.
Sleep improves motor tasks.
Sleep Promotes Your Psychosocial Health
A person is more likely to feel stressed out, worried, or sad when sleep deprived.

6. What Goes on When You Sleep?
Circadian Rhythm- “internal clock”
Regulated by the pineal gland
Releases a hormone called melatonin that induces drowsiness
Non-REM Sleep Is Restorative
Your body temperature and your energy use drop; sensation is dulled; and your brain waves, heart rate, and breathing slow down while digestive processes speed up.
REM Sleep Is Energizing
Dreaming takes place.
Most muscles are paralyzed, except for respiratory muscles and the tiny muscles of your eyes.

7. The Nightly Sleep Cycle

8. How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
Sleep Need Includes Baseline Plus Debt
The standard for “average” sleep time is 7 to 8 hours.

9. How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
Need to consider body’s physiological need plus current sleep debt.
Sleep is also not a “one size fits all” proposition. Individual variations do occur according to age, gender and many other factors

10. How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
Do Naps Count?
Naps can help to improve your mood, alertness, and performance.
Never nap in the late afternoon.
Keep your naps short.
Naps of more than 30 minutes can leave you in a state of sleep inertia, which is characterized by cognitive impairment, grogginess, and a disoriented feeling.

11. How Can You Get a Good Night’s Sleep?
To Promote Restful Sleep, Try These Tips
Let there be light.
Stay active.
Create a sleep “cave.”
Condition yourself into better sleep.
Sleep comfortably.
Breathe.
Don’t toss and turn.

12. Bedding Down in Green Make Healthier Environmental Choices
Conventional cotton is grown with synthetic pesticides and other environmentally harmful chemicals.
Use organic cotton and bamboo.
Polyurethane foam used in conventional mattresses can emit volatile organic compounds that have been associated with poor respiratory function.
Synthetic chemicals (formaldehyde, fire retardants, and stain repellants) are known to “off-gas,” affecting indoor air quality.
Use mattress materials such as organic cotton, wool, and natural latex.

13. How Can You Get a Good Night’s Sleep?
To Prevent Sleep Problems, Avoid These Behaviors
Don’t nap in the late afternoon or evening, and don’t nap for longer than 30 minutes.
Don’t engage in strenuous exercise before bed.
Don’t read, study, watch TV, use your laptop, talk on the phone, eat, or smoke in bed.
Don’t try to sleep if you’re starving or stuffed.
Don’t drink caffeinated beverages before bed.
Don’t drink alcohol before bed.
Don’t drink large amounts of any liquid before bed.
Don’t take sleeping pills or nighttime pain medications.
Don’t get triggered before bed

14. What If You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
See Your Health Care Provider
It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans have a clinical sleep disorder.
Try keeping a sleep diary.
Participate in a sleep study.

15. Sample Sleep Diary

16. What if You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
Insomnia
Difficulty in falling asleep quickly, frequent arousals during sleep, or early morning awakening
More common among women than men
Prevalence increases with age

17. What if You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
Sleep Apnea
A disorder in which breathing is briefly and repeatedly interrupted during sleep
Two Types
Central sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

18. What if You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
Central Sleep Apnea
Occurs when the brain fails to tell the respiratory muscles to initiate breathing
Contributors include alcohol, certain illegal drugs, and certain medications.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
When air cannot move in and out of a person’s nose or mouth, even though the body tries to breathe
Contributors include being overweight or obese.

19. Gender and Health
Women are much more likely than men to suffer from sleep disorders.
70 percent of menstruating women reported sleep disruptions during their period.
Men are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea and prostatism.
Prostatism is an enlarged prostate and can cause frequent bathroom trips through the night.

20. What if You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
Parasomnias
Disorder in which undesired events occur while sleeping
REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) occurs when a person acts out vivid dreams during REM sleep.
Sleepwalking occurs when a sleeper gets up and walks around all the while entirely asleep.
Narcolepsy
Excessive, intrusive sleepiness
The person affected can fall asleep suddenly, anywhere.
It is the result of a dramatic reduction in the number of nerve cells containing hypocretin.

21. What if You’re Still Not Sleeping Well?
Clinical Treatments Are Available
Medications
Melatonin
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
Cognitive behavioral therapy