SLEEP HABITS

Do you easily fall asleep at night in less than 20 minutes? Do you sleep soundly, never waking
throughout the whole night? Do you wake up feeling refreshed, alert and energetic, ready for a
new day? If so, you are getting good quality sleep! If not, you need to adjust your sleep habits.

When you don’t get enough sleep at night, you will feel sleepy during the day because your
body needs a chance to recover. However, sleep deprivation has many other consequences
that you may not be aware of.

How does sleep deprivation affect me?

(“How sleeping”)
1) Decreases your concentration, alertness, memory and academic performance.
If you’re sleepy during the day, you won’t be as attentive and productive in your classes. Your
concentration and memory are impaired, making it difficult to listen, study and understand
information. Frequent periods of microsleep (e.g. nodding off during class, or while watching
TV) are sure signs of sleep deprivation. Chronic lack of sleep quickly leads to a drop in grades.

2) Causes mood swings.

A lack of sleep also affects mood. It’s very hard to be enthusiastic or calm when you’re tired! In
fact, you’re likely to get irritable or even angry over nothing. You have less energy and patience
to deal with life’s stressors and you can easily feel overwhelmed and anxious. This emotional
roller coaster can eventually lead to chronic stress, anxiety and depression.

3) Stresses your body

Excessive stress can cause sleep deprivation and sleep deprivation causes stress on your body.
It becomes a vicious circle affecting your overall health and well being. Your body needs
sufficient rest to repair, restore and reenergize. Cutting out precious hours of sleep reduces
your body’s ability to heal itself, putting you at a much greater risk of chronic illness.
4) Weakens your immune system
Sleep deprivation is often associated with excessive stress. Both stimulate the production of
cortisol, a stress hormone that decreases the production of antibodies. This causes fatigue,
makes you vulnerable to all kinds of infections, and increases your chances of getting sick.
5) Causes weight gain
Sleeping less than 5.5 hours per night is linked to increased snacking and weight gain. Long-
term consequences for health include diabetes and heart disease.
6) Slows your reflexes
Insufficient sleep, even on a single night, reduces your motor and visual acuity, and response
times. You’re athletic performance will suffer and you’ll react slower in an emergency. An
estimated 20-25% of car accidents are attributed to driver fatigue. (Chevalier 258-259)
 What may be causing my sleep issues and how can I fix it?

1. Disruptions to your sleep-wake cycle: your circadian rhythm.

This cycle regulates waking and sleeping times, which in turn is regulated by the degree of
natural light we see outdoors. Exposing yourself to artificial light at all hours of the day/night
greatly affects your circadian rhythm. Bright lights at night may be keeping you from falling
asleep! To also properly function, your circadian rhythm needs a regular schedule. If you
rarely go to bed and wake up at the same time, your internal clock will go awry and it will be
harder and harder to fall asleep and/or wake up. So sleeping in on the weekend will make it
harder for you to wake up refreshed Monday morning! (Chevalier 257)

 Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. This is the most effective sleep
recommendation you can follow to ensure a deep restorative sleep! You will regulate your
circadian rhythm making it easy to fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling refreshed!
 Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. The hours of sleep before midnight are very healing
and restorative. An ideal sleep schedule is 10:30-6:30 give or take an hour.
 Get outside and expose yourself to natural light and lower the lights in your home
when the sun goes down. It will help regulate your circadian rhythm.

 Practice a good sleep routine. Take a warm shower, meditate, do some yoga or
stretching, listen to relaxing music or read a leisure book before bed. This will signal your
body and mind that it’s time to relax allowing you to ease into sleep effortlessly.

2. Stimulating your central nervous system

Caffeine in coffee, energy drinks, teas and chocolate all stimulate your central nervous system.
Consuming caffeine at night may be preventing you from falling asleep and getting good quality
sleep. “Once in the body, caffeine will persist for several hours: it takes about 6 hours for one
half of the caffeine to be eliminated” according to the National Sleep Foundation. Sugar and
nicotine also stimulate your nervous system and delays your sleep if consumed at night.
Drinking alcohol may initially promote sleep, but it disrupts the second half of your sleep cycle
waking you up frequently during the night leaving you feeling exhausted. (Chevalier 258)

 Avoid caffeine after 3 pm to ensure most of it has left your system by bedtime.
 Avoid smoking or snacking on sugary snacks close to bedtime to lower stimulation.
 Avoid or limit alcohol in the evenings. Always drink water between each glass.
 Only have light healthy snacks in the evening. Digesting a heavy meal will keep you from
falling asleep
3. Long hours online
Spending hours surfing the internet and being on social media can seriously affect the quality of
your sleep. Electronic devices emit an artificial blue light that disrupts your circadian rhythm
and lowers the secretion of melatonin (the hormone that promotes sleep) making it harder for
you to fall asleep and stay asleep. Stimulating your mind by seeing something exciting on
YouTube or reading a negative post on social media can make it hard for you to relax your
mind and settle into deep sleep. Also, being sedentary all day in front of a screen means you
have excess energy at the end of the day making harder for your body to relax into sleep.
(Chevalier 258)

 Do at least 30 minutes of physical activity during the day, preferably outside.

Your body will want to relax and rest at the end of the day.
(Do not exercise vigorously within 2 hours before bed)

 Avoid screens before bed time and limit screens to 2 hours a day. Take 15-20
mins health breaks every hour while on media to rest your mind and move your body.
 Apply a blue light filter to your screens especially at night and choose the “natural”
setting on your TV.
 Spend time in nature and engage in creative activities. Just 30 minutes of walking
outdoors everyday calms the nervous system, fights depression and lowers anxiety.
 Create a sleep sanctuary. Keep all screens out of the bedroom, keep the room dark
and cool, and clear all clutter and distractions. Your bedroom should be a place for sleep
and relaxing activities only. Your body will relax and slip into a peaceful sleep easier if
you do not work or watch TV in your bedroom. (Chevalier 261)

Follow these recommendations and you’ll be sleeping like a baby in no time!

(“ProSquad”)
What benefits can I look forward to with good sleep habits?

 You are more alert and have better focus and concentration in class helping your R score.
 You retain more of what you learn and study because memory is improved.
 You get relief from your worries and stresses improving mental wellness.
 You are more patient and less reactive to daily stressors because you’re rested.
 You feel positive, energetic and optimistic of what the future may hold.
 You don’t get sick as often because you’re giving your body time to heal and reenergize.
 Your accuracy, reaction time and speed are improved for better athletic performance.
 You can more easily maintain an ideal body weight and look your best (not tired).

Is it a good idea to take naps?

Naps can be beneficial if you have no difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep at night.
Otherwise, the time you spend napping during the day could take away from your sleep at
night. If you have good sleep habits and feel the need for a little rest during the day, you can
take a 10-20 minute nap. This is enough time to feel rested, yet short enough not to interfere
with nighttime sleep. Do not take long afternoon naps because it will further disrupt your sleep
cycle. Instead, get to bed early and keep a regular sleep cycle. (Cote)

Can I just catch up on sleep on the weekends?

“It is important to understand that you cannot "catch up" on lost sleep, or store sleep for the
future, by getting more on weekends. This is because lost sleep on any given night has
immediate consequences for the very next day, such as work or school performance and driving
safety. Getting the sleep you need is important for optimal learning, productivity, safety, and
health.” (Cote)

Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise for a healthy lifestyle.

Make sleep a priority in your life starting today!
WORK CITED:

“Caffeine and Sleep.” National Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/caffeine-

and-sleep

Chevalier, Richard. Ready, Set, Get Healthy! English Adaptation by Karen Oljemark, Pearson ERPI, 2019.

Cote, Kimberly. “Normal Sleep.” Canadian Sleep Society. https://css-scs.ca/resources/brochures/normal-

sleep

IMAGES:

“How sleeping in could save your teen’s life.” HUFFPOST.

https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/597f928e15000028008b46b7.jpg?ops=scalefit_820_noupscale

“ProSquad: How to get your baby to sleep like a baby.” parentingSQUAD.

http://parentingsquad.com/files/parentingsquad.com/styles/605x340/public/blog-images/baby-
sleeping-Dollarphotoclub_60069507.jpg?itok=bc1cuV9L