If the longer days of summer are throwing off your sleep routine, it’s time to get back on track. Staying up later with expanded daylight means less time to unwind and prepare for rest, relaxation and ultimately good sound sleep.
Most of us spend a third of our lives asleep, but one in three Americans doesn’t get enough rest, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality are responsible for very serious health issues.
“Lack of sleep, or sleep that’s interrupted frequently wherein deep REM sleep doesn’t occur, can be responsible for everything from poor cardiovascular health and obesity to increased stress levels,” explained Dr. Benjamin Springgate, chief of Community and Population Medicine, LSU Health.
Sleep tips
QUICK TIPS
1) Can’t get your sleep space dark? Use an eye mask.
2) No caffeine 6-8 hours before bedtime.
3) Alcohol before bed causes restless sleep, expands blood vessels in your nose, and makes it hard to breathe. Keep drinking to a minimum.
4) If you tend to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, make sure your nightlight is red or orange, not white or blue.
Disrupted sleep is far more common in today’s era of mobile phones, which sit on night tables, and, even when silenced, light up intermittently during the night with a blue glow every time an email or text arrives.
That screen light has far more dire consequences than simply keeping you up at night. The protective hormone melatonin, now known to suppress cancerous tumor growth, thrives only in complete darkness, and the moment a blue screen lights, melatonin production ceases.
“It is critical to sleep in a totally darkened space,” said Dr. David Blask, professor of Structural and Cellular Biology at the Tulane School of Medicine and associate director of the Center for Circadian Biology.
“We know that breast cancer cells, for example, are addicted to sugar and fat,” Blask said. “Through our laboratory studies with rats and mice, we found that when rodents with rapidly growing cancer cells as a result of melatonin suppression (caused by exposure to light at night) were given melatonin in their drinking water, their tumors would stagnate or shrink. That’s because melatonin blocks the ability of the cells to take-up dietary sugar and fat — the very building blocks of and fuel for tumor growth.”
The rats with cancer exposed to light at night not given the melatonin were more likely to have more rapidly growing tumors that spread throughout their bodies.
Knowing how critical sleep is to good health and even protection from cancer may mean making adjustments to optimize your ability to get a good night’s rest.
“We know that exercise in some form on a daily basis will help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, “ said Springgate. “But, don’t exercise right before bedtime, as it’s too stimulating.”
Cool temperatures enhance quality sleep, so if you’re camping over the summer, you’re better off in the high sierras of Yosemite than Death Valley.
Close to 70 degrees is optimal, according to Springgate. At home, he suggests using fans to supplement air conditioning that won’t nosedive to 70 when it’s still 90 outside. And cotton sheets, he explained, stay cooler than the synthetic variety.
And in terms of keeping your sleep space dark, be conscious of your surroundings. If you’re vacationing in Las Vegas, it’s important to remember to use the black-out curtains. Falling asleep with neon lights (no matter how beautiful) coming into your room from all angles will suppress your body’s ability to make cancer-preventing melatonin.
Consistency is also key. Attempt to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day, getting between seven and nine hours sleep, optimally.
Sleeping until noon may seem like a great idea on weekends, especially for kids on summer vacation, but it wreaks havoc with your circadian rhythms, often referred to as your body clock.
“Within the hypothalamus (deep inside the brain) is a clock mechanism, genetically programmed to regulate biological and physiological activities throughout a 24-hour cycle” said Blask. “This includes everything that runs your body. Light and dark cues from waking and sleep periods synchronize this clock.”
Erratic sleep patterns throw off your body’s internal rhythms and confuse your brain. That’s why travelling to different time zones can throw you off kilter.
When traveling, Springgate suggested setting your watch to the arrival time zone and sleeping on the plane, even if that means going to bed very early. That makes adapting to the new time zone easier. Melatonin supplements, available at any drugstore, can be used to induce sleep.
