Denton County Living Well Magazine March/April 2019 | Page 32

SLEEP YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH By Brandon Allen, PharmD A ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, upwards of 30% of Americans don’t get enough sleep. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but the average American sleeps only 6.8 hours per night, according to a recent poll. Lack of sleep can lead to health problems, cognitive issues, and just makes us all a little crabby. Why We Don’t Get Enough Sleep Our current lifestyle factors into this a lot. Little or no exercise, high stress levels and poor nutrition can all wreck our sleep. hormone pumps more glucose into our blood so that we can have quick ener- gy. It ramps up our heart rate and gets our muscles ready to fight or run. This is great when a bear is chasing us, not so great when we have worked eight to 10 hours and are trying to go to sleep that night. Poor nutrition can lead to sleep prob- lems. Too much sugar and caffeine can make sleep very difficult. Typical- ly, these foods and beverages are not high in nutrients we need to maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle. Other factors can be at play here too, but these are the main culprits. What Happens Just 10 minutes a day of low-intensi- When We Don’t Sleep ty walking can help promote healthy sleep, but unfortunately, most Ameri- cans get very little exercise and spend most of their time sitting at a desk or at home. When your body is under stress, we create a hormone called cortisol. This 30 A lack of sleep can lead to low ener- gy, lack of concentration, poor memo- ry, weight gain, and overall poor cel- lular health. Getting an appropriate amount of sleep can help improve our memories. Sleep protects new memories from dis- DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2019 ruption and sleep consolidates memo- ries according to their relative impor- tance and the learner’s expectations for remembering. It might seem obvious, but the biggest factor affecting concentration is rest. If you aren’t well-rested your mind will be scattered and lethargic. Adequate sleep can also lead to better muscle and tissue health. Your tissues require additional sleep and recovery time after illness, injury or surgery. In addition, muscular recovery is re- quired after intense exercise, particu- larly strength and endurance training. The amount of rest you get each night affects your metabolism. Sleep-de- prived individuals have a decreased ability to manage blood sugar levels and also may find themselves hungri- er (particularly for high carbohydrate foods). What You Can Do About It There are a number of things that you can do to help improve your sleep.