Paybacks for Lost Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? Do you have sleep debt? Lack of sleep, or "sleep debt," can leave you feeling tired, listless and sleepy on a daily basis.

Until your body starts getting the sleep it needs every night -- most people need 8 hours, say the experts -- it won't function as efficiently, your health will be at risk and even your job may be in jeopardy.

We've been searching for what Shakespeare called "sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care" for centuries. As time passes, though, we get less and less. Over the last hundred years, our average nightly sleep has dropped from 9 to 7.5 hours, with a third of adults now getting an hour less than that. And, says the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), almost half of adults admit they sleep less so they can work or play more.

What's wrong with that?

Everything. Sleep is not simply a passive activity. It's one of the most important elements in a healthy lifestyle, as important as good nutrition and exercise, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Researchers know that a lack of deep sleep -- as opposed to irregular or fragmented sleep -- undermines the body's ability to fight off disease. Sleepiness also reduces the quality and quantity of people's work by a third, according to the NSF. Nearly one in four of people younger than 30 say they're sometimes late to work because they're sleepy.

Sleep debt

And where you find sleepiness, you find "sleep debt."

Researchers have found that people who are deprived of sleep have higher concentrations of sugar in their blood than those fully rested. That could contribute to development of a pre-diabetic condition.

While three out of five Americans told the NSF they have trouble sleeping several nights each week, fewer than half were asked about the quality of their sleep by a physician, and less than 20 percent initiated such a discussion.

A prescription for better sleep

• Try to go to bed at the same time every night.

• Get regular daily exercise

• Don't eat within 4 hours of going to bed. 

• Establish a pre-bedtime routine -- brushing your teeth or reading -- that lets your body know it's time for sleep.

• Avoid caffeine six hours before bedtime. Avoid alcohol and tobacco two hours before bedtime.

• Get up at the same time every day, no matter when you went to sleep.

• Unwind from daily activities early so your mind is clear at bedtime.

• Sleep in a dark, cool, quiet room on a comfortable mattress.