For World Sleep Day, an expert in Fresno tells why rest is so critical to good health | Opinion

On Friday, March 17, it is World Sleep Day 2023, and the slogan is “Sleep is essential for health.”

Sleep is a vital function. Without sleep, many biological processes are altered, including cardiovascular, hormonal, inflammatory and neurocognitive functions. As co-chair of World Sleep Day and director of the World Sleep Academy, I must emphasize the importance of a good night’s sleep for good health.

Unfortunately, Fresno ranks poorly as a place to get healthy sleep. A recent study put the city in the bottom 10 of 48 U.S. communities for healthy sleep (39 out of 48).

Hormones that temper our appetite signals are blunted when we do not get enough sleep, leading to excessive eating.

Similarly, the regulation of sugars and lipids improves with healthy sleep.

An orchestrated balance between heart rate and blood pressure is achieved during sleep.

Healthy sleep is important in building enough immune response to fight infection and building a strong immune response after immunizations.

Sleep is also essential for our mental health. Healthy sleep patterns have proven to improve mood, neurocognitive function, and overall well-being. During sleep, memories and learning processes are consolidated and prepared for long-term storage.

Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to lack of sleep, irregular sleep, or disordered sleep. The developing brain needs of all the healthy mechanisms of sleep to achieve maximum potential. Sleep disturbances during crucial developmental stages can result in various unwanted delays in growth and development. Growth hormone is produced during sleep.

Older adults are not free from the adverse consequences of poor sleep, as research has shown that even a single night of insufficient sleep can adversely affect our well-being and have a negative impact in the control of several chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension. Research has also shown that irregular sleep, such as varying bedtime schedules from weekdays to weekends, can produce structural changes in our brain, affecting the amount of gray matter or white matter in specific areas. Furthermore, recent findings are showing that during sleep important waste products are cleared from our brain, and when sleep is compromised, these waste products can accumulate and contribute to dementia.

So, sleep is essential for health. How do we achieve good healthy sleep that leads to an overall healthy life? As sleep doctors, we recommend for adults to sleep at least seven hours a night. For adolescents we recommend an average of nine hours of sleep, and more hours are required for younger children.

Regularity is important: do not drastically change your bedtime and wake up time from weekdays to weekends. Keep a consistent bedtime routine. Some common healthy bedtime practices include dimming lights about an hour prior to bedtime, keeping a quiet and cool bedroom environment, engaging in relaxing activities (like yoga or meditation), and using the bed only for sleep and sex.

When sleep is disrupted despite healthy routines and regular schedules, we start thinking about other causes of disordered sleep. Medical conditions such as pain, eczema, and gastroesophageal reflux, among other medical problems, can disrupt sleep and need to be treated adequately. Psychiatric disorders like anxiety or depression often affect sleep and need to be identified and treated promptly.

Lately, there has been increased awareness about sleep disorders. There are six main groups of sleep disorders. The most common one is insomnia, with a worldwide prevalence of 30% to 40%. Insomnia is characterized by the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep despite adequate opportunity to sleep. Sleep-disordered breathing is characterized by a spectrum of breathing problems during sleep. Most common is obstructive sleep apnea, which is characterized by snoring and breathing pauses. There are various treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea, and early detection can prevent adverse cardiovascular and neurocognitive consequences.

When someone has a sensation of urge to move the legs that is worse in the evening or during periods of rest and is relieved by movement, we highly suspect restless legs syndrome. I am involved in research that has helped identify a new disorder in children, “restless sleep disorder,” and its treatment with iron supplementation.

Circadian rhythm disorders include shift work and jet lag, but also advanced or delayed sleep-wake circadian cycle. Sleepwalking, night terrors, nightmares, and confusional arousals belong to the group of parasomnias. Finally, the disorders of hypersomnolence like narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia can cause excessive daytime sleepiness that is significantly debilitating and dangerous.

Today and every day, sleep is essential to health. Implementing healthy sleep routines, identifying and treating medical conditions that affect sleep, and early diagnosis of sleep disorders can contribute to a restful night of sleep and to a healthy, happy, and successful life.

This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 10:37 AM.