Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

This time around we'll take a look at what is considered proper sleep requirements, and introduce you to some of the more common disorders. The contents of this article are meant to be informative, and should not replace any medical advice or be used in lieu of seeking medical advice.

The requirements of sleep are quite varied across the lifespan of the individual. Generally speaking

• newborn babies require a minimum of 16 hours (or 70% of the day) of sleep per day for proper development (1).
• By the age of 10, that minimum amount of sleep has drastically reduced to around 10 hours per day, and adolescents typically need around 9 hours a day of sleep (1).
• Adults require even less, as the average adult requires anywhere from 6.5 - 8.5 hours (1). 

Most adults know the average amount of sleep they need every night in order to wake up refreshed the next day. Occasional periods where less sleep is achieved can be sustained, but only if any 'sleep-debt' incurred is repaid by a period of longer than normal sleep (2). However, a sustained increase in sleep requirement (after the debt, if any, has been repaid) suggests a problem with sleep quality and may be indicative of a sleep disorder (1), and you may need to consult your doctor for more information. Having said that, not only is there a threshold of the quantity required sleep for normal function, the is also a minimum threshold for the quality of sleep required as well.

There are five stages of sleep; stages 1 - 4 are non rapid-eye-movement (REM) periods, followed by the fifth stage that is a deep, dreaming, REM sleep period (2). Many people still consider a proper night's sleep to include one cycle through the above mentioned cycles, however, this is a rather antiquated view. We now know that a proper sleep cycle consists of as many as four of these cycles (each cycle lasting approximately 90 minutes), with the first cycle achieving the deepest sleep (REM) and each cycle beyond that decreasing in 'deepness' as the night continues (3).

As we mentioned in the previous article, there are high levels of self-reported sleep issues in the Australian community, and over 1.2 million diagnosed sleep disorders in any given year (2). And whilst the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) has listed over 80 different clinically diagnosable sleep disorders (4), they can be generally classified into four categories: Voluntary Sleep restriction (VSR), insomnia, obstructive or other breathing problems, and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) (1).

VSR occurs when a person does not allow themselves enough time in bed to achieve sufficient sleep for their needs. That is, they sacrifice their sleep in order to accommodate other priorities (1). Individuals that are diagnosed with insomnia can have difficulty falling asleep, or falling back to sleep after having woken, or even awaking too early (1). Generally, they feel as if they are not gettin enough sleep for their needs. The obstructive and other breathing problems associated with sleep disorders include snoring, obstructive sleep apnoea, and central sleep apnoea (1). RLS is characterised by an uncontrollable desire to move the legs, and may only be relieved if the person gets up and moves around (1).

In our next article, we will discuss these sleep disorder categories in more detail, and the final instalment of this sleep series will consider ways for you to implement good sleep hygiene practices into your sleep time routines.

References

1. Australasian Sleep Association. Healthy Sleep and Sleep Disorders(n.d.). Retrieved from www.sleep.org.au
2. Fact Sheet: Interesting Facts and Statistics About Sleep (n.d.). Retrieved from www.chiropractors.asn.au
3. 'Adult Insomnia'; Lack, L (2010). International COngress of Applied Psychology, Melbourne, Australia
4. Accommodation and Compliance Series; Employees with Sleep Disorders. Job Accommodation Network (2010). Retrieved form www.askjan.org

Blooming Minds provides group training and individual consultancy services to assist organisations to understand the impact of mental health problems in the workplace and to minimise the human and economic impacts of employee stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses. We are based in Perth, Western Australia and deliver services throughout Australia and internationally.

 Copyright Blooming Minds 2011. All rights reserved.

SLEEP!

One of the most important things we need is often the fist thing we are willing to sacrifice in the name of productivity, namely, sleep. You know you have said it, or at least thought, "I can sleep when I'm dead". Ironically, restriction of daily sleep requirements (either voluntarily ie. choosing to prioritise activities over sleep; or non voluntarily ie. inadvertently loosing sleep due to shift work, or caring for an ill child) to get more done in a 24 hour period actually costs the Australian Government $10.3 billion annually in lost productivity (1). Over 1.2 million Australians experience sleep disorders. In general, an occasional late night is no problem for most people, provided there is an equal amount of 'sleep-debt' repayment time to offset the deprivation incurred. However, in today's society, where we have unprecedented access to information and each other through text messaging, email and the like, coupled with a wide range of tempting after hours activities, we often find it difficult to set boundaries around our work and social lives.

The implication of sleep deprivation, both voluntary and non-voluntary, are numerous and well documented. Excessive sleepiness, difficulty with memory and concentration as well as coordination problems can arise due to insufficient sleep (2). Additionally, performance on complex tasks, and mood disturbances (as well as increasing the risk of depression (8.3% (1)) and anxiety related mental illnesses (2)) are significantly impacted by a chronic lack of sleep. Accident risk increases as sleep disorders underlie 9.1% of work-related injuries (1), and has been found that seventeen hours of wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol reading of 0.05% (1). Importantly, insufficient sleep significantly contributes to 2.9% of diabetes diagnoses (1), and can nearly double the risk of developing heart disease (3), a disease that annually kills 1 Australian every 11 minutes (4).

So the need for getting enough sleep cannot be overstated. In the next few Blooming Minds blogs, we will discuss the different types of sleep deprivation including shift work related issues, insomnias and ways to improve your sleep hygiene (the term used by clinicians to talk about your activities relating to sleep).

References

1. Fact Sheet: Interesting Facts and Statistics About Sleep www.chiropractors.asn.au

2. Australasian Sleep Association. Healthy Sleep and Sleep Disorders. www.sleep.org.au

3. Researchers say a lack of sleep doubles risk of death..... but so can too much sleep (2007) www.warwick.ac.uk

4. Data and Statistics. www.heartfoundation.org.au

Blooming Minds provides group training and individual consultancy services to assist organisations to understand the impacts of mental health problems in the workplace and to minimise the human and economic impacts of employee stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses. We are based in Perth, Western Australia and deliver services throughout Australia and internationally.

Copyright Blooming Minds 2011. All rights reserved.