HOW DOES SLEEP IMPACT YOUR WELLBEING?
Sleep-related accidents are a major cause of injury and death; inadequate sleep raises the risk of chronic disorders such as high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, cancer, heart attack, and stroke. Sleep deprivation is related to obesity in both children and adults thus reducing their quality of life and eventually caused early death.
For older people, sleep deprivation may lead to cognitive problems. According to the studies done, four out of ten individuals are not getting enough sleep, and one in five sleeps poorly most nights, marking the second most prevalent health complaint after pain and potentially having a significant influence on the nation's health. Sleep is important for the public’s health
The purpose of sleep is not entirely understood, but it most likely involves energy conservation, body, and brain restoration, and/or network organisation in the brain, such as for learning and memory. A theory proposed that sleep will reduce the energy used by brain functions when we are awake and utilise the energy for essential purposes in survival such as tissue growth and the function of the immune system.
People are more at risk for infection and respond less to vaccination when sleep is reduced. Longer periods of sleep deprivation can dramatically impair learning and cognitive processing in younger children and older adults. Those who persistently do not get enough sleep are at an elevated risk of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, incident stroke, and all-cause mortality.
The table shown below shows the relationship between sleep and effect on physical health, mental health, behaviour, and performance, respectively.
| Physical | Physical | Physical | Physical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possibility of… | Possibility of… | Possibility of… | |
| Bodily sensations of pain | Anger and frustration | Alcohol and drug dependency | Compromised attention and concentration |
| Cancer | Anxiety and hyperarousal | Earlier admission to long-term care | Decreased memory |
| Cardiovascular disease and stroke | Chronic fatigue | Falls and fractures | Impaired decision-making |
| Disorders of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary- Adrenal (HPA) | Delirium | Increased sedative and stimulant use | Less likely to be employed |
| Metabolic abnormalities | Depression | Less likely to attend appointments | More likely to be on benefits |
| Reduced immunity | Higher risk of suicide | Longer stay in hospital | Reduced communication |
| Thermoregulatory | Impulsivity | Repeat prescribing | Reduced creativity |
| Vulnerable seizure threshold | Mood fluctuation | Road traffic accidents | Reduced multi-tasking |
| Weight gain & obesity | Psychiatric relapse | Sleepiness | Reduced socialisation |
- POOR DIET & SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE?
- SMOKING
- FREQUENCY OF ACCIDENTS
Obesity is more common in short sleepers, and young children who do not get enough sleep are more likely to become obese as older children and adults. This could be because a lack of sleep affects the hormones that regulate hunger and appetite which are leptin and ghrelin resulting in an increase in food consumption. Negative eating attitudes and binge eating behaviours are linked by poor sleep. Lack of energy due to poor sleep habits caused people to exercise lesser, and lead them to avoid buying healthy food, avoid cooking and opting for processed food and snacks. Poor diet and inactivity both contribute to our obesity epidemic, and sleep plays an important underlying role in both factors.
Although the relationship is complex, a similar link has been proposed between sleep and quitting smoking. Sleep deprivation will impair the attention and cognition, changing cravings, affecting mood of the smoker, therefore it makes it difficult to stop smoking or higher risk to relapse. Smokers may expect cigarettes to counteract feelings of sleepiness, increasing the temptation to smoke, which may explain why young adults who sleep for longer periods of time appear to have greater success quitting smoking.
Transport collisions are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents, and one in every five major road crashes is caused by sleep. 20% of road transport collisions are due to eyelid closures and failure to brake prior to collision. Extended shifts, which are especially common in junior doctors, are associated with an increase in motor vehicle crashes and near-misses, which is especially problematic on the commute home from night-shift work.
- CANCER
- CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
- IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL HEALTH
Studies show that both regular travel across time zones and rotating pattern shift work are risk factors for cancer. Circadian misalignment and sleep disturbance are due to night-shift and rotating shift patterns. For example, flight attendants who have been flying for five years or more have nearly double the risk of breast cancer as those who have been flying for less time. According to the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, "shift work involving circadian disruption is probably carcinogenic in humans.". Disruption in the circadian rhythm due to occupational factors is equivalent to having a first degree relative with cancer and it is being linked as the biggest killer for women between the age of 34 and 50, breast cancer. There are also shown some links with risk of getting prostate cancer in men.
According to research, shift work has a negative impact on blood pressure, lipid profile, metabolic syndrome, and possibly body mass index. As the studies done, the combination of insomnia and short sleep is linked to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Sleep was ranked as the second most important activity for health and wellbeing by the public.
Almost four out of five long term poor sleepers suffer have a low mood and are seven times more likely to feel helpless. Stress, anxiety, depression, and poor mental health can all contribute to sleeping difficulty and this will be a chain reaction. Sleep quality has been linked to increased marital conflict and lower relationship satisfaction in the context of interpersonal relationships. The consequences for mental health are severe. Insomnia that persists raises the risk of developing severe depression and suicidal ideation. The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment for depression will be determined by the severity of the insomnia. According to the studies done, sleep disturbances (such as insomnia and nightmares) are linked to a nearly threefold increase in completed suicides. Suicide is four times more likely to occur during the circadian night, according to research on the timing of suicidal injuries. Those who are awake at night are at risk of completed suicide.
- REDUCED PERFORMANCE, DECISION MAKING AND MEMORY
Our vigilance after 17 hours of alertness will reduce to similar as under the effects of a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05% and our alertness is equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1% after 24 hours of not sleeping. The cognitive processes most sensitive to sleep deprivation are vigilant attention, complex attention, and working memory. Sleep deprivation prior to learning weakens the ability to build new memories which is true for all age groups but may have a higher tendency in older people. Sleep is also important for memory consolidation, which is negatively impacted by insufficient sleep.