Sweet Dreams, The sleep Factor, part II

Source: www.speakup.com.br

SWEET DREAMS 

“Sleep has its own world, “Said the poet Lord Byron. We all sleep. We all dream. We spend around a third of our lives doing it, but still we know little about this strange other world circadian rhythm and the cycles of darkness and light. It is something that humans have in common with most living things: plants, birds and animals. However, what has gone almost unnoticed until recently is that human sleep patterns have undergone significant change.

“Our society has seen a steady decline in the number of hours that people sleep,” says professor Francesco Cappucio head of sleep research at the University of Warvick in England. “Our ancestors used to sleep probably nine hours a night and now we hardly sleep six or seven hours a night.”

THE EDISON DISEASE

The cause, he explains, is not physiological, but a result of changes in our society longer hours at work, more shift work the 24/7 society and what is sometimes called the Edison Disease changes to our biological clocks caused by electricity and artificial lighting.

Sleep is regulated by two key factors. The first is our biological clock, which is located in the centre of the brain and controls the chemicals telling us when to get up and go to sleep. The second is light. Light stimulates the brain and limits the release of melatonin, which goes up when it is dark and triggers falling asleep.

TOUR GOOD HEALTH

No one knows exactly why we need to sleep, but it is clear that it acts as a form of restoration for the functions of the brain and body. Most of us need between six and eight hours sleep pr night to remain healthy. Older people frequently manage with less. However, those getting short sleep, or those oversleeping consistently, risk ill health and a variety of diseases. Major new research carried out by the University of Warwick is collaboration with the Federico II University Medical School in Naples has found that people who sleep for less than six hours each night are 12 per cent more likely to die prematurely six to eight hours.

“Fatigue is the best pillow,” said US founding father Benjamin Franklin. But just being tired doesn’t mean you will sleep, of course. As much as one third one of the UK population suffers from some form of insomnia, a prolonged inability to obtain adequate, uninterrupted sleep Street is a major contributor.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

Sleep loss affects the higher “executive” functions of the human brain and can lead to behavior such as rigid thinking, reduced verbal fluency, impaired working memory and an inability to react to the unexpected. Watch politicians toward the end of long election campaigns and you may recognize some of these symptoms!

Tiredness causes accidents and some of the worst disasters in recent history have been linked to fatigue. The Bhopal gas tragedy in December 1984, the Challenger space shuttle disaster in January 1986, Chernobyl in April, the Exxon Valdez in March 1989 and the Selby rail accident in February 2001 have all been linked to shift work and lack of sleep.

So if the importance of a good night’s sleep is clear, what’s the best way of getting it? “Prepare properly”, says Professor Francesco Cappuccio. Good sleep hygiene includes avoiding heavy meals, cigarettes, caffeine or alcohol late at night it also helps to create a soothing environment. To keep TVs and computers out of bedrooms and to dim the lights before bedtime. Sleep is a vital part of life. Or, as the American author and social commentator Fran Lebowitz once said: “Life is something that happens whey you can’t get to sleep.

THE PROFESSOR

Professor Francesco Cappuccio is a cardiovascular physician and gained his medical degree in Naples before moving to Britain. He heads a multi-disciplinary research group into sleep and its impact on society and has worked at the University of Warwick Clinical Sciences Research Institute since 2005.

Sleep, Health and Society (ISBN 978-019-956659-4 1) by Professor Francesco Cappuccio and others, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010 http://ukcatologue.oup.com/category/academic.do http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/staff/cappuccio