This Year, Sleep Your Way to Better Health

By Stephanie Guler - Senior Content & Social Media Developer | January 27th, 2012

There’s a good reason why doctors recommend adults get 8 hours of sleep each night: the amount and quality of sleep you receive on a daily basis directly correlates with your overall health.

Despite this well-known fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that American adults were averaging less than 6 hours of sleep per day. The CDC also estimated that 50 to 70 million adults in the United States have a sleep disorder, which might explain the increased incidence of obesity, depression, diabetes and other health conditions plaguing society today.

Because of the very clear sleep-health connection, the CDC said that sleep is “increasingly recognized as important to public health.”

Although poor sleep can lead to some potentially life-threatening health concerns, good quality sleep has the opposite effect; studies have shown that taking steps towards better sleep can dramatically improve your health, your looks, your mood and even your sex life!

As reported in a recent article by The Huffington Post, here are 4 reasons why you should make sleep a priority for this year, and hopefully, the rest of your life:

1. Sleep Affects Your Sex Life

According to a recent scientific review out of Brazil, sleep and sexual function go hand in hand. The scientists reported that sleep deprivation actually lowers testosterone levels in men, which could contribute to sexual dysfunction and even some

male infertility factors. Sleep experts, like Huffington Post blogger Dr. Michael J. Breus, agree that lack of sleep can also affect women’s sexual function as well.

What to Do About it: If sexual dysfunction is affecting your life, Dr. Breus suggests men and women have their health and sleep assessed by a certified sleep specialist.

2. Poor Quality Sleep Equals High Blood Pressure

A study by the American Heart Association concluded that a long-term lack of deep, restorative sleep increases your odds of developing high blood pressure, which can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems.

What to Do About it: Study author and professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, Susan Redlline, MD, told Health Magazine that good “sleep hygiene” is essential to improve sleep quality. Scheduling sleep and avoiding alcohol and tobacco before bed are just two things you can do to get a better night’s rest.

Dr. Redlline also added, “Probably the most important thing is to make sure that there is not a sleep disorder like sleep apnea or periodic leg movement that is causing disruptions.”

3. Sleep Helps Prevent Diabetes and Obesity

A National Sleep Foundation study discovered that sleep deprived children are more likely to be obese. WebMD reported, “Compared to children who slept about 9 hours a night, children who slept an average of 7 hours and had the most irregular sleep patterns had a fourfold greater risk of being obese.”

Another study, published in the Diabetes Care Journal, found that getting the recommended 8-and-a-half hours of sleep can help obese teenagers stave off diabetes, because a regular sleep schedule is necessary in order to maintain healthy insulin and glucose levels within the body.

These findings may not be limited to just children. A lack of sleep also seems to promote weight gain in adults too, which can lead to type-2 diabetes.

What to Do About It: Exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and allow you to get the much needed deep sleep cycles every night. Exercise also helps to maintain good physical and mental health, which are directly connected to good quality sleep.

4. Sleep Problems Wreak Havoc on Mental Health

Studies have shown that when women don’t sleep enough, it can cause marital problems. Tension between spouses, however, is just the beginning when it comes to sleep problems affecting your psychological well being.

According to Harvard Medical School, sleep disorders are common in patients with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While some mental health doctors believe that sleep disorders are a symptom of these mental illnesses, it might just be the other way around.

Harvard Medical School researchers conducted a review of sleep and mental health studies and concluded that, “sleep problems may raise risk for, and even directly contribute to, the development of some psychiatric disorders…treating a sleep disorder may also help alleviate symptoms of a co-occuring mental health problem.”

What to Do About It: Some experts believe treating the sleep disorder and the mental health problem simultaneously might be an effective solution. Implementing sleep-friendly lifestyle changes, exercise, relaxation techniques, along with behavioral therapy (and sometimes medication), may increase the chances of improving sleep and mental health disorders.

While you might have brushed off a bad night’s sleep in the past, these scientific studies really show the importance of sleep in terms of your health. Getting good quality sleep each night can greatly improve your life, causing you to look and feel better than ever.

Make this year the start to a life with better sleep, and you’ll reap the benefits a lot faster than you might think.

To learn more about sleep tips and sleep disorder treatments, find a doctor near you.