Here’s to a good night’s ‘Shluff’

By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D

SAN DIEGO — “Shluff, now, mamellah.” My mother and grandmother used to say that to me after a few urgings to “Gai shluffen” or, more commonly, “gai shluffie.”

How’d you shluff last night? For about 70 million Americans, yes, even readers of the wonderful, positive, life-enhancing San Diego Jewish World, the answer is, “not that good.” If it took you less than 5 minutes to fall asleep, that’s not good, that’s a sign you may be sleep deprived. Ideally, it normally takes about 15 minutes to fall asleep.

Chronic sleep problems plague so many, that one in five Americans sleep less than six hours a night, affecting health in very serious ways. What’s more, one in 24 American drivers actually fall asleep while driving, at least once a month. Drowsy drivers account for one-third of all fatal traffic accidents.

I want to help the sleepless get some needed sleep with a few simple ABC’s of ZZZ’s. First some facts:

Adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Teens need about 8-9 hours of sleep each night.

School-age children need about 10-11 hours of sleep each night.

Got that? Yet, the average adult sleeps less than 7 hours per night and two-thirds of adults report never feeling well rested. And they pay a price.

When we get less sleep than is healthy, our reaction times slow down, our blood pressure rises, our testosterone decreases (10-15%), and we have a 50% greater likelihood of having a heart attack over time. Our respiratory system is affected and we are more likely to catch a cold. We are more prone to depression and anxiety. And our metabolism gets all out of whack so that our grehlin and leptin hormones, responsible for normal satiated and hungry feelings, reverses—to the point that if we sleep less than 6 hours, we feel up to 25% hungrier and add the equivalent of eating a cheeseburger, 350-500 calories, to our nutrition the next day. By not sleeping we also actually do eat more during those opportune hours we are awake. Sleeping less than 5 hours a night for a year or longer, results in a threefold higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those people who get a healthy amount of sleep. Finally, as if all that isn’t enough, short sleepers have decreased longevity. Just one night of sleep deprivation, according to a small study in the journal SLEEP, was linked to signs of brain tissue loss.

So what’s this mean? Do you have to beat yourself up if you stay out too late on the weekends and get less than 8 hours of sleep on occasion? No, of course not, anymore than you have to thrash yourself for having a wonderful piece of cake once in awhile. But you do have to plan to get past this lapse in a healthy way.

Here are tried and true ways lifestyle medicine experts recommend for getting a good night’s shluff:

Stick to a regular sleep schedule each night—same time to go to bed and wake up

Turn down the heat and keep your bedroom cool

Be sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable for you

Use relaxation techniques before bedtime (bath, meditation, hot tub, massage)

Keep the bedroom dark and quiet

Use your bedroom for sleep and sex only

Read a good book before bedtime

Write in a journal to help get things off your mind (gratitude is best to write about)

Have a cup of herbal, caffeine-free tea

Forgo naps, especially over 30 minutes, and never near bedtime

If you don’t fall asleep within 15-30 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing

Stay away from the caffeinated drinks after 2:00 p.m. at the latest

Avoid spicy foods, sugary or salty foods

Stay away from alcohol before bedtime—it’ll help make you drowsy but give you a lousy night’s sleep and is responsible for 10% of chronic insomnia cases…and worsens snoring since it relaxes throat muscles

Avoid tobacco. Enough said. Nicotine makes it harder to fall asleep.

Exercise regularly, though avoid working out too close to bedtime…it’s the only way we know that healthy people can boost the amount of sleep they get.

Turn off any backlit computers, stay off iPhone/iPad type equipment before bed since it only serves to keep you alert, suppressed much need melatonin, and resets your circadian rhythm

Turn off your cell phone at night

Remove the TV, phone and anything that detracts from a quiet, dark and cool room

Check with your doctor about any medications you take, since beta blockers, diuretics, medications containing caffeine or alcohol, nicotine replacement products, thyroid hormone and others affect sleep.

Sleep medications prescribed to you? They may help but probably only for the short term, probably no more than two weeks. Over the longer run, they become less effective, you adapt and need more, and they can become habit forming. They may cause lasting daytime sleepiness and some bizarre behaviors such as sleepwalking, sleep binge eating, or sleep driving. You read that correctly. The Benzodiazepines (Xanax, Restoril, Ativan) can be habit forming and cause some daytime sleepiness. The non-Benzodiazepines (Lunesta Sonata and Ambien) do have fewer side effects and are probably a bit better for next-day functioning. The third type of popular sleep medication, Melatonin-receptor agonists (Roxerem), leave the body quickly and are not associated with habit forming patterns.

Well, there you have it, the ABC’s of ZZZ’s. Leonardo Di Vinci once said, “A well-spent day brings happy shluff.” Di Vinci probably didn’t say shluff, but you get his point.

Shluff gezunt! For those of you who don’t speak Italian, er, Yiddish, that means sleep in health.

*
Dr Michael Mantell, based in San Diego, is a Senior Fitness Consultant for Behavioral Sciences, American Council on Exercise, best-selling author and international behavior science presenter and keynote speaker. Mantell may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com