Profile
The case for
SLEEP
H
Story by Shannon Holbrook
Photos provided by Baptist Health Richmond
as sleep become more of a luxury
than a necessity? The Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-
tion (CDC) reported that 38% of
Madison County residents weren’t getting
enough sleep each night, and approxi-
mately 84 million American adults are
tossing and turning regularly.
In Kentucky and other Appalachian and
Southeastern states, short sleep, defined
as less than seven hours of sleep in a
24-hour period, is more common than in
other parts of the country.
But what’s the harm in missing a few
hours here and there?
“Sleep deprivation can lead to multiple
issues including but not limited to motor
vehicle accidents, poor attention span,
decreased productivity at work, increased
irritability, possible detrimental health
effects on cardiovascular health, among
others,” said Dr. Muhammad H. Iqbal,
MD, of Baptist Health Medical Group
Pulmonology.
The CDC also reported that the rate
of chronic conditions in Kentuckians for
heart attack and disease, stroke, asthma,
COPD, arthritis, depression and diabetes
were higher for those experiencing short
sleep.
Dr. Matthew Walker, Professor of Neu-
roscience and Psychology at the Universi-
ty of California, Berkeley, and the founder
and director of the Center for Human
Sleep Science, notes that sleep depriva-
tion can distort your genes, disrupt the
creation of sex hormones and leads to
premature aging, too.
Drowsy driving is another issue. It’s like
driving drunk, impairing reaction times,
attentiveness, alertness and decision-
making skill. The AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety states that 16- 24-year-olds
are 80% more likely to be in a drowsy
driving accident.
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Madison Magazine F E B R UA RY- M A R C H 2 02 0
Why We Aren’t Sleeping
The Institute of Medicine notes that
insufficient sleep is mostly caused by in-
consistent bedtimes, using technology late
at night, shift work or long work hours.
Some medical conditions, medications,
and sleep disorders like sleep apnea affect
sleep, too.
One demographic that could benefit
from improved sleep is students. With
overpacked course loads, part-time jobs,
extracurricular activities and social lives,
sleep can become a low priority. Children
should sleep 9-11 hours per night, with
teens getting 8-10 hours of shut-eye.
According to the American Academy of
Sleep Medicine, lack of sleep can severely
hurt grades, impacting memory recall
and concentration. In fact, many students
who pull an all-nighter often end up with
lower GPAs.
Berea couple Matt and Meg Wilson face
a double whammy. Meg is a full-time
student at Berea College, Matt works full-
time, and they have two elementary-aged
children, whose public school starts at
7:40am.
“We take them to school, so they don’t
have to get ready earlier than necessary
in order to catch the bus,” said Meg.
Meg says she often begins her home-
work after her kids are asleep around
9pm. “My sleep habits have changed since
I’ve become a full-time college student,”
Meg said. “I get less sleep!”
The family works hard to make sure
everyone gets their Zzzz’s, though.
“We usually are able to get 7 hours of
sleep as long as we don’t stay up to watch
a movie after the kids are asleep,” said
Meg. “We try to wind down after the kids
are in bed by dimming the lights in the
house and drinking hot herbal tea. We
both limit our caffeine intake after noon
so our brains are ready to sleep when we
are.”
How Much Sleep
Do We Need?
The National Sleep
Foundation released new
sleep recommendations
in 2015.
Newborns (0-3 months):
14-17 hours
Infants (4-11 months):
12-15 hours
Toddlers (1-2 years):
11-14 hours
Preschoolers (3-5):
10-13 hours
School age children (6-13):
9-11 hours
Teenagers (14-17):
8-10 hours
Adults (18-64):
7-9 hours
Older adults (65+):
7-8 hours
Dr. Muhammad H. Iqbal, MD, of Bap-
tist Health Medical Group Pulmonol-
ogy works with The Sleep Center at
Baptist Health Richmond.