Sleep is a critically
important component of human existence. On average, humans spend about 25%-35%
of their lives sleeping. Sleep allows both the body and brain to rest and
recover from the stress of daily life. As such, trouble sleeping can cause a
range of health problems, and if left untreated dire consequences.
Longing for more sleep
There is a common misconception
that there is an exact amount of sleep that the body requires. The necessary
hours of sleep can vary, as some people can require as little as five hours or
as much as nine hours to function optimally. In addition, too little or too
much sleep can cause problems. The classic example is someone who sleeps in on
the weekends. Although one may think getting more sleep than usual would leave
a person feeling well rested, sleeping an
extra 2-3 hours can actually cause the person to feel groggy and less rested.
For many migraine patients, both under and over sleeping can serve as
triggers for more migraines. Naps can also be detrimental to sleep hygiene, as
they often lead to poor sleep that evening.
Quality, not just quantity
Even if sleep duration is
good, sleep quality can be quite poor. Sleep interruptions can fragment sleep.
When a person goes back to sleep after an interruption, it can take one
hour to reach the restful part of the sleep cycle. Another interruption before
reaching deep sleep will cause yet another delay in the cycle. People who wake
up many times during the night can have some nights with zero hours of deep,
restful sleep. Poor sleep quantity and/or quality can cause excessive daytime drowsiness (falling asleep while reading,
or even driving), chronic fatigue, headaches, mood issues, irritability, poor
memory, and cognitive dysfunction.
Urine trouble
When discussing sleep
interruptions, many patients will claim that they have to get up to use the
bathroom, which is common, particularly for elderly patients. In reality, the
bladder is rarely waking up a majority of these patients, and they instead are
experiencing a spontaneous arousal. After they wake up, they realize, “Ohh,
there is some urine in my bladder…that must be the reason I woke up.” When
there is disbelief, I suggest that the patient reduce fluid intake, and yet
they still wake up with the same number of interruptions.
Snore in trouble
Sleep
apnea is literally when a person stops breathing during sleep. As a result, the brain
undergoes repeated moments of suffocating. In popular culture, snoring is
viewed as funny, and people often laugh when a snoring person lets out a sudden
explosive snort. The reality is this loud snort is often the person gasping for
air as the brain is not getting enough oxygen. Sleep apnea interrupts sleep for
both the person and their bed partner. It is important to note that younger
brains tend to be more resilient with toxic situations, like alcohol
consumption and sleep dysfunction, than the same brains later in life. If
improvement of headaches, mood, energy, wakefulness, memory, and cognition are
not motivation enough, Note that untreated sleep apnea leads to an increased
risk of stroke, heart attack, and dementia (brain damage).
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