We Americans are a group of groggy people — just ask the National Sleep Foundation.
According to the foundation, 63 percent of American adults don’t get the recommended eight hours of sleep each night.
Are you one of them? Experts say good indicators that you’re sleep deprived are mood swings, irritability and the fact that you simply can’t wake up without the alarm. And they agree — sleep deprivation is not a good place to be.
Sleep deprivation can cause you to lose your focus on the job and behind the wheel. And scientists have also found that it increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full, which can lead to overeating and weight gain, according to USA Today.
Researchers at Columbia University in New York found that people who sleep two to four hours per night are 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who get seven to nine hours, according to USA Today.
Those who get five hours or more are 50 percent more likely to be obese, and those who get six hours are 23 percent more likely to fall into the obese category.
In addition to obesity, you could be at risk for cancer, heart disease or depression if you don’t sleep enough.
“We don’t take sleep seriously enough,” Dr. Michael J. Sateia, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Service at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., said on WebMD.com. “Getting enough sleep should be considered just as important as eating a healthy diet and exercising.”
So how do you log a few more hours plus make the hours you do get count?
- Address your stress.
“Trying to juggle work, family, chores, and recreation, it’s no wonder many of us think, ‘I can’t waste time sleeping,’” said nutritionist Madelyn Fernstrom on NBC’s “Today.” “We also live in stressful times, and often our mental stress prevents sleep, even when we set aside seven to eight hours.”
De-stress by walking or doing some other form of exercise to promote a restful sleep, Fernstrom said.
And get structured, too, she added. “Eat regularly — at least three to four times each day. Aim for seven hours of sleep. [Create] some structure in your life,” Fernstrom said. “And make sleep a priority.”
- Identify sleep obstacles.
Realizing and changing some of the things that keep you from sleep can help ensure you get a good night’s rest, said Patricia Hart Terry, chairwoman of the department of nutrition and dietetics at Samford University in Birmingham.
And when it comes to obstacles, the TV might just be the worst, she said.
“Most research (about televisions in the bedroom) has centered on the effects of TV on children, but for teenagers and adults, having a TV in the bedroom will likely result in resisting going to bed, having trouble falling asleep, not sleeping as long and daytime sleepiness.”
Don’t have one, Terry said — and if you do already, then get it out.
Other obstacles are having the room too hot, too much caffeine near bedtime or bright light in the bedroom.
- Don’t eat junk to wake up.
Fernstrom suggested taking a power nap of 15 to 20 minutes, if possible, instead.
If you have to eat, then “eat a piece of fresh fruit, a half a sandwich made with lean protein (such as turkey, chicken or tuna), some low-fat cheese or low-fat yogurt, a 100-calorie protein bar or a 100-calorie pack of crackers,” she said.
- Oversleep a little on the weekends.
You should aim for getting enough sleep during the week, but if you do log a sleep deficit, then try sleeping in on the weekends.
Dr. Nancy Collop, director of The Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, said in FITNESS magazine that you only need to make up half of the week’s “sleep debt” by sleeping in. For instance, if you’ve slept six hours less than you should during the week, then you only need to sleep in three extra to make it up.
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