Sleep and Our Health
This post was written by Milla Collins. Milla is an independent blog writer and intern with the Alhambra US Chamber and the Global Impact Initiative, and her own page is linked here.
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together” – Thomas Dekker
Sleep has always been mysterious. Philosophers from before the Common Era have wondered about what it means and why we do it, and we still are not fully aware of why we have to rest for nearly a third of our lives. However, despite still not coming close to knowing everything there is to know about sleep, in the last 20 years or so doctors and sleep scientists have made huge strides in the study of this state and its crucial importance to our mental and physical health.
One of the foremost sleep scientists is Matthew Walker, Ph.D. He has written the definitive book on the topic: “Why We Sleep” Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. In the book he traces the history of our views on sleep and the often inaccurate science behind them. He dives deeply into the science of the important regulatory functions our bodies perform while sleeping.
Most of us already know caffeine disrupts sleep, and many of us will avoid coffee after a certain time. Alcohol is also known to disrupt the quality of our sleep–we may feel sedated after drinking, but our brains will not go into REM, which is a particularly important phase of sleep. We also know that if we do not sleep enough, our reflexes and memories may be slower, and we might have a harder time performing at work. And we are all familiar with the subjective feeling of sleep deprivation–that dull, aching lethargy that makes the whole day an uphill battle.
Walker’s book contains other insights, like the surprising link between sleep and cardiac health. The relatively dry topic of sleep becomes immensely interesting when illuminated by such a knowledgeable expert that has spent the better part of his professional career studying why sleep is so important. He found that
“Over a fourteen-year period, those sleeping six hours or less were 400 to 500 percent more likely to suffer one or more cardiac arrests than those sleeping more than six hours…the relationship between short sleep and heart failure remains strong even after controlling for other known cardiac risk factors.”
― Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Other studies confirm that poor sleeping habits have an impact on our hearts and other aspects of our health–one study found that Greeks who take siestas have lower rates of death from heart disease than those who do not snooze after lunch. This is in contrast with the prevailing wisdom that afternoon naps are lazy and cut down on sleep quality at night.
Our bodies are designed to operate in sync with day and night cycles. A small part in our brain – a part of the hypothalamus colloquially known as the circadian pacemaker – regulates arousal based on the amount of light our eyes receive. Since the invention of electricity, our retinal receptors have been receiving the erroneous signal to be alert much more often than they did before artificial light. Westerners tend to have a conscious or unconscious belief that sleep is for the weak, working late into the night because they think it makes them virtuous. But when we work or scroll social media later than we should, we are causing our bodies harm and making ourselves less productive in the long run.
The corporations that care about employee health are paying attention to research on sleep and how it affects productivity. Over 11 days every year are lost due to insomnia, and sleep deprivation also increases health costs for companies. That statistic is eye opening, no pun intended, and some companies are taking note of the science behind productivity studies.
For example, Google has installed sleep pods in its headquarters, and if there is any company that is focused on growth and competitive advantages, it is Google. Uber, Facebook, Zappos, and Ben & Jerry’s have all caught on as well and are trying to prioritize employee well-being and productivity by giving them spaces to nap in.
Our culture has not traditionally revered sleep, but rather has idealized the workaholic that brags about only getting a few hours of sleep each night. There are a plethora of books and articles, like The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma and The Early to Rise Experience by Andy Traub, that promote starting the day before the crack of dawn, but very few that espouse the virtues of sleeping enough to take care of our health.
We all play a crucial role in taking care of our own sleep health and constructing the culture surrounding sleep. Although it is almost inevitable that we will need to deal with late nights and early mornings occasionally, our sleep needs to be given a higher priority than it has been given in the past. We all know how dreadful it feels to start the day without enough sleep, and now the research is backing up what our bodies already know. So, take the advice that the sleep experts agree on. Avoid alcohol, excessive caffeine, get outside and enjoy natural daylight and embrace the power of a midday nap.
If this blog post interested you, be sure to check out our other blogs and if you are interested in other Alhambra-US Chamber projects and events, stay up to date by connecting with us on our other media platforms:
Instagram: @alhambra_us
Facebook: @alhambrauschamber
Twitter: @alhambraUSC
LinkedIn: Alhambra US Chamber
YouTube: Alhambra US Chamber
