The Science of Sleep: 4 Steps to Get Better Rest

If “Good morning, sunshine” is the last thing you’re thinking at 6:15 AM, you’re like so many adults—sleep deficient. Sleep deficiency and sleep deprivation are different, by the way. If you’re sleep deprived, you don’t sleep long enough. But Americans spend an average of 8.76 hours a day sleeping, according to the 2016 American Time Use Survey.

So sleep deprivation may not be why your alarm makes you feel so unhappy. Sleep deficiency, on the other hand, could mean several things in addition to lack of sleep.

• You’re sleeping at the wrong times

• You have a sleep disorder

• You’re not sleeping deeply enough

If you’re tired all the time—and who isn’t, really?—you could be sleep deficient.

A Good Night’s Sleep

Hormones in your brain signal that it’s getting close to bedtime. You’re done making adenosine and you start making melatonin. If you took a picture of a good night’s sleep, it would look like four tall waves. When you fall asleep, you start off at the crest of a wave and ride it all the way down into a valley. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is at the top, and Stage 3 and 4 (slow-wave) sleep is at the bottom.

Your sleep will rise and fall every 90 minutes or so, stretching up into REM and dipping down into very deep sleep about four times a night. Each time you get back to REM sleep, which is when you dream, it lasts a little longer, beginning with about 10 minutes and ending with 45 or more minutes.

Depending on your age, more or less REM sleep might be normal for you. At the end of the night, you have your last REM sleep and then wake up. Ideally, this happens naturally because your body’s done resting. But it often doesn’t.

Sleep Deficiency

Sleep is needed for physical and emotional health. A whole bunch of systems in your body benefit from sleep. So if you’re suffering from sleep deficiency, something’s probably going wrong somewhere.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) tells it like it is: sleep deficiency has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and stroke; insufficient production of human growth hormone; and a weaker immune system.

Sleep also boosts emotional health—concentration, memory retention, mood stability, and controlling stress—according to the NIH. Sleep deficiency is a safety risk, too.

If you fall asleep while driving, you can injure or kill yourself or someone else. If getting a good night’s sleep is so extremely healthy (and, let’s face it, enjoyable), why are so many of us walking around like zombies? It just makes sense to fight back against sleep deficiency.

Everyone’s at Risk

No matter who you are, your sleep is important. All humans need to sleep, so anyone’s sleep can be compromised. Certain people are more prone to sleep deficiency than others, for example:

• People who work overtime, irregular shifts, or nights
• People who do not follow a sleep schedule
• People who have undiagnosed medical problems

P.S.: The medical issues don’t have to be directly related to sleep to cause sleep disruption.

Here are four first-step, no-brainer tips for protecting your good night’s sleep.

1. Plan enough time for yourself to sleep—and to wake up naturally
2. Go to bed and get up as close to the same time each day as you can manage
3. Don’t stare at a bright light a whole bunch right before trying to sleep (yeah, that means screens)
4. Avoid huge meals, alcohol, caffeine, or strenuous exercise right before bed

If you’re already doing the basics and still suffering from excessive sleepiness during the day, talk to your doctor about sleep or participating in a sleep study. You deserve all the health benefits of a good night’s sleep.

Sweet dreams!