HEALTH & WELLNESS
Why is sleep so important?
In today’s society, we have a sleep crisis. Phras-
es like “You snooze, you lose” and “I’ll sleep
when I’m dead” glamorize sleep deprivation. It
is emphasized that success can be achieved only
through burnout and stress, and this — com-
bined with the distractions of our 24/7 wired
world — has hurt our ability to sleep and even
DR. MICHAEL diminished the value of rest.
DR. DOBLIN
MICHAEL
It is imperative that you don’t get caught up in
DOBLIN
the 24/7 all-work-no-rest scenario, for it causes
many medical problems. It can cause Type 2 dia-
betes and obesity, as it throws off our metabolism.
By not allowing your body to rest and recoup, you’re subject to
hypertension, stroke, chronic depression, dementia and even
certain types of cancer, as our immune system needs rest in
order to function at peak performance.
Sleep is like a dishwasher: It cleans toxic proteins from our
brain that are the cause of dementia or Alzheimer’s and even
forgetfulness. Lack of sleep is also responsible for decreased
job performance, the most obvious being recent train acci-
dents and, most recently, the two naval accidents in the Pa-
cific that were directly attributed to the crew’s lack of sleep.
If we don’t get enough rest, our hormones are not balanced,
and this can cause sexual dysfunction, marital discord and
irritability.
We need seven to eight hours of solid, undisturbed sleep.
Some basic rules of sleep hygiene:
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