Published On: June 23, 2023

Author: Angelina Thng

 

Did you know that according to modern-day research findings, sleep is closely associated with our mortality? The lack of it has been scientifically linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, as well as respiratory conditions and discovered to negatively impact brain health, cognitive function and performance, immune function as well as mental health. Getting less than five hours of sleep daily has even been found to increase one’s risk of developing chronic diseases with age!

 

It isn't as though Singaporeans don’t know that clocking a minimum of seven hours of sleep daily is better for our health or that a sleep deficit accumulated over a long term can take a toll on the body. Most of us are aware that not sleeping results in tiredness in the daytime, higher irritability, in addition to negative effects on memory and our ability to concentrate. Yet, teenagers and adolescents alike continue to neglect sleep, sacrificing it for academics, curricular activities, personal hobbies, or entertainment.

 

Taken to an extreme, an anti-sleep culture forms, where minimal hours of rest or not sleeping at all becomes a competition for who is working the hardest, or even taken to be a badge of honour. Meanwhile, adults, too, do the same thing, getting caught up in a fast-paced and competitive work-oriented environment where the need to forgo rest in order to keep up with peers in the collective rat race is a constant pressure. We are all motivated by the fear of falling behind or missing out (FOMO) and one might put this down to Singapore’s culture. Yet are we willing or even able to pay the price for this in the long run?

 

 

To take the first steps toward better sleeping habits, we need to shift our mindset from thinking of sleep as a luxury or low on the list of priorities to a necessity we cannot do without or compromise on. Understanding sleep requires the dispelling of certain myths and answering of questions, some of which the following can help you get started with!

 

Common Myths About Sleep!

What are the stages of sleep?

We cycle through five stages, known respectively as non-rapid eye movement (NREM)1, NREM2, NREM3, NREM4 and rapid eye movement (REM).

 

Is it possible to make up for lost sleep?

Yes, to a certain extent. You can indeed make up for missed sleep over the weekend or on a day off. While your body will do its best to cooperate, however, doing this in the long term will cause accumulated fatigue, which is suspected to affect memory and one’s chances of developing dementia in later years.

 

How much sleep do we actually need?

Our circadian rhythm i.e., body’s natural clock cycle actually changes with our age and determines when we fall asleep. Accordingly, the recommended hours of sleep for one to be sufficiently energised and refreshed for the next morning can differ for different ages.

 

Do your parents always wake you up for fear of oversleeping? Tell them that’s not possible! Unlike overeating, a fun fact is that it is actually impossible to oversleep!

 

 

Unable to get to sleep?

Here are some tips for getting some Shut-Eye:

• Make sure the only purpose of the bed is sleep. This allows your brain to associate the bed solely with sleep so that it can tell and prepare itself for restful slumber.

 

• Make yourself and your sleeping environment more conducive to rest. You can do this by exposing yourself to natural light during the day, going outdoors in the sun, and then ensuring your surroundings are dark during night-time. Blackout curtains can really help with this!

 

• Follow the recommended hours of sleep, and make sure to set a consistent time to turn in for the night and keep to it!

 

• Nap-taking should be limited to under 20 minutes and isn’t recommended beyond 3 pm. Doing so may confuse your body clock into thinking that afternoon is your bedtime, rather than night. That’s not to say that naps are no good at all, however! Power naps have been known to aid in work productivity as well as memory retention and keep energy levels up!

 

• This is probably common knowledge by now, and yet it’s still important to reiterate given how many people are likely to be guilty of this. The blue light emitted by devices tricks your brain into believing that daytime has been extended. That’s why the advice is always little to no screen time before you hit the sack.

• Avoid caffeine intake closer to your time of sleep. Remember, caffeinated drinks don’t just include tea or coffee but also hot chocolate, carbonated beverages and energy drinks! Alcohol is a no-no too, as though it may help you get to sleep faster, it simultaneously messes with your sleep structure, leading to less REM sleep.

 

• If you tend to think over things at night, worrying about matters even while attempting to fall asleep, moving about a bit, or doing some exercise should do the trick!

 

• If you’ve attempted the above healthy sleep habits without much success, melatonin or magnesium supplements might be worth a try. Taking melatonin before going to bed has been clinically proven to reduce the time it takes one to fall asleep. If you opt for this, note that beginning with a low dose is recommended. Like any medication, however, remember to consult a healthcare professional before taking it! Magnesium, too, improves sleep by relaxing the body and brain as well as by regulating sleep quality. Know that magnesium supplements can interfere with certain medications though, so magnesium-rich foods may be a better alternative!

 

To read up more about how best to get back to sleep, improvements in sleep treatments over the years as well as the lifestyle changes you can make to stop feeling so tired all the time, check out BBC Earth (Asia Edition) Volume 15 Issue 03!

 

Topic:  Science

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