Sleep is essential for survival and good health. There are several explanations for why we need to sleep, including conserving energy, restoring cellular and brain function, maintaining emotional well-being, as well as a healthy weight, proper organ function, and a strong immune system. (1)
What happens while we sleep?
- the body rests, digests, and restores energy
- the body repairs and regenerates cells
- the brain stores new information, memory is built
- proteins and hormones are released, regulating processes such as growth and appetite
- toxins are cleared out
These processes are critical for our overall health. Without them, our bodies can’t function correctly.
When we wake up in the morning, we need to eliminate bodily waste. We should feel well rested and be ready to engage fully in our daily activities, enjoying life to the fullest.
What we may not be aware of
- Children who go to bed later take longer to fall asleep than those who go to sleep earlier. When children are sleep-deprived, their bodies release hormones that make them appear to be wound up. They also wake up more frequently in the middle of the night, then don’t sleep late enough to make up for their deficit. (2)
- Sleep earlier in the night is more restorative than sleep later at night and in the early morning hours. Our sleep is composed of a series of 90-minute cycles during which our brain moves from deep, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep to REM sleep. Non-REM sleep tends to dominate in the early part of the night and REM dominates later in the night. Both offer important benefits, but non-REM sleep is deeper and more restorative than lighter, dream-infused REM sleep. (3)
- It’s not a good sign to sleep in on weekends since extra weekend sleep is a sign of chronic weekday sleep deprivation.
- Of the various factors that influence our sleep-wake cycle, light exposure to the eyes is the strongest. Our bodies are built to follow the day-night cycles of nature. We have a built-in-clock in our brains, the circadian clock that regulates our 24-hour behavior, the circadian rhythm. When an organism is exposed to a light stimulus, the hormone melatonin which regulates wakefulness is suppressed. With artificial light, we send signals to the brain that it is not time to sleep yet when the body actually needs to rest.
- Hunger hormones secretion varies during sleep-wake cycle. Ghrelin, which increases appetite, and leptin, which increases the feeling of being full after eating, control our weight. During sleep, ghrelin decreases since we need less energy. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, increases ghrelin and decreases leptin levels, making us more hungry, and leading to potential weight gain.
- A healthy and strong immune system depends on sleep. Sleep deprivation can weaken the immune response and make the body more susceptible to germs.
When we sleep, our bodies make proteins, called cytokines, that fight infection and inflammation. They also produce antibodies and immune cells which attack harmful germs. (4)
As parents, we are well aware that we behave quite differently when we are well-rested than when we are sleep-deprived. Nonetheless, unfortunately, many children and adults don’t get enough sleep.
Babies, children, and teens need significantly more sleep than adults to support their rapid mental and physical development. Research shows that an early bedtime (between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.) works best for babies and children through school age, and a consistent, soothing, wind down routine with no screen time, such as TVs, tablets and other electronics—will lead to better sleep.
The CDC suggests the following durations (5) based on age
- birth to 3 months: 14 to 17 hours
- 4 to 12 months: 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours, including naps
- 1 to 2 years: 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours, including naps
- 3 to 5 years: 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours, including naps
- 6 to 12 years: 9 to 12 hours
- 13 to 18 years: 8 to 10 hours
- 18 to 60 years: 7 or more hours
- 61 to 64 years: 7 to 9 hours
- 65 years and older: 7 to 8 hours
What we can do:
- Remember the adage: “Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight.” Go to bed early. Find our regular and natural sleep-wake cycle and follow it.
- Take our children camping and feel the signals of the body when it gets dark. It will become very hard to stay awake without artificial light, in front of our computer or TV.
- At home, turn off devices ahead of time to let the body produce melatonin and get us ready for sleep.
- Make sure all the odds are in our favor and boost our immune system with plenty of restorative sleep, especially nowadays…
So, get plenty of good, energizing, and immune boosting sleep and stay healthy and happy! Prevention is better than cure!
Ressources:
(1) https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-sleep#amount-of-sleep
(2) Marc Weissbluth, pediatrician and author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
(3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXflBZXAucQ
(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5768894/
(5) https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html
