The Balancing Act Between Sleep and Your Overall Health

Does this scenario sound familiar? It's 3 in the morning and you're tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling with eyes wide open and there's seemingly nothing you can do to shut down.

If you're struggling to get the restful sleep you need night after night, you're not alone. The Sleep Foundation recently reported that more than 35 percent of adults in the United States say they average less than seven hours of sleep per night, and almost 50 percent report daytime sleepiness during three to seven days each week.

Let's be clear here and set some ground rules. As an adult, you need at least seven hours of sleep every night so your body can recover from the day and you wake up in the morning refreshed and ready to start a new day. If you think you can cheat and have four hours a night for a few days but then sleep in on the weekend, you're out of luck. Sleep experts tell us you can make up sleep, but they suggest that it takes up to four nights of quality sleep to recover just one hour of sleep debt and they recommend you do that as soon as possible and not wait for a Saturday.

In some cases, people may be unable to get quality sleep because of underlying physical or mental health conditions, and that can lead to a vicious cycle where a lack of sleep can worsen these same health conditions or exacerbate other medical concerns.

Sleep specialists across the country can help you determine if you're getting quality sleep and can offer a multitude of strategies to help you feel rested and healthy each morning.

Your health impacts your sleep

Lauri Leadley, who is certified in clinical sleep health and the founder and president of Arizona's Valley Sleep Center, noted several health conditions that leave an impact during waking hours can also prevent you from getting a restful night's sleep. These range from short-term illnesses and circumstances to long-term medical conditions such as chronic pain, cancer or depression.

"There are a good handful of common illnesses such as the flu, colds or viruses that impact sleep," she added. "Even being premenstrual or having a period can disrupt sleep. Depression and anxiety stemming from a current home, work or life situation can keep one up at night, too. Pregnancy is another one; the sheer discomfort of it and hormonal imbalance can either make you feel fatigued or provide a second wind."

Leadley and Chelsie Rohrscheib, Ph.D., neuroscientist and sleep specialist at Wesper, a New York company that produces wearable sleep diagnosis tools aimed at helping people improve their sleep, discussed other health conditions commonly associated with poor sleep hygiene, such as:

• Addiction. Leadley noted that addiction can contribute to poor quality sleep. "Drugs and alcohol have disruptive effects on sleep because they interfere with the ease of falling asleep, increase the difficulty in maintaining sleep and alter the cycling of sleep stages from non-rapid eye movement sleep to rapid eye movement sleep," she explained.
• Cancer. Rohrscheib described cancer's impact on sleep as being often complex and multilayered. "Most cancers will affect sleep by damaging various areas of the body," she added. "We tend to sleep more when the body is diseased, or we sleep less when there is pain associated with the disease. Drugs used to treat these diseases may also impact sleep."
• Chronic pain. "Chronic pain injuries or diseases like arthritis make sleeping uncomfortable and cause poor sleep quality," Rohrscheib said.
• Mental health disorders. Rohrscheib noted that most mental health disorders affect a person's quality of sleep, but depression, in particular, is known to cause both insomnia and oversleeping.
• Neurological conditions. "Like mental illness, any number of neurological conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson's disease, directly affect the areas of the brain that control sleep," Rohrscheib explained.
• Sleep disorders. "Any of the more than 80 recognized sleep disorders will affect the quality of your sleep," Rohrscheib said. "Most are very rare, but sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea are extremely common. Most people will experience at least one bout of insomnia during their lifetime. We currently estimate that approximately 20 percent of the population has some level of sleep apnea, and 80 to 90 percent of those individuals are undiagnosed and untreated."

How your sleep impacts your health

Just as your physical and mental health affect your ability to get some quality shut-eye, the inverse can also prove true. If you're not getting the restful sleep your body needs for vital biological processes, your physical health can suffer.

Michael Pelekanos, M.D., medical director of Valley Sleep Center in Chandler, Arizona, said everyone should be cognizant of the impact that poor quality sleep has on their life before it becomes chronic.

"If poor quality of sleep starts impacting the day-to-day life of a person or leads to any kind of emotional and physical distress, it's a red flag," he advised. "When sleep is interrupted, it can lead to irritability, depression or general fatigue throughout the day. Sometimes daily tensions and worries can affect the quality of sleep and trigger insomnia. However, chronic sleep deprivation is the bigger threat, as it can lead to health risks such as hormonal imbalance, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes."

Pelekanos warned that having less than stellar sleep health may lead to a decrease in your cognitive abilities, decreasing your reaction times while driving or undergoing physically demanding activities.

"Poor sleep quality can also impact the effectiveness of medications and management of other health conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes," he added. "If a person is suffering from an age-related condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, disturbances in the sleep pattern or a dip in sleep quality can trigger an increase in pain."

Are you getting enough quality sleep?

Though seven hours is generally considered a full night's rest, Pelekanos and his sleep medicine colleagues explained that healthy sleep can look different for each individual.

If you're curious about the quality of sleep you get, he offered some questions for you to consider:

• Do you fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes of lying down?
• Do you have a regular sleep cycle of either seven to nine hours or five to six hours within a 24-hour period?
• Do you sleep uninterrupted or do you spend a large portion of time simply lying awake trying your best to fall back asleep?
• Do you feel completely rested and refreshed when you wake up?
• Do you wake up feeling breathless or unable to breathe?
• Do you feel alert and productive during the hours you are awake?
• Have your family members or a partner noted any abnormal, sleep-associated behavioral changes, such as restlessness, snoring or pauses in breathing?

Pelekanos said the answers to each of these questions may indicate a need for adjustment in your current sleep routine. Many improvements can be made without the help of a medical professional, but if you incorporate some of the techniques listed below and don't receive the results you're expecting, it's best to book a diagnostic appointment with a sleep specialist, who will be able to rule out underlying health problems if they exist.

Breaking the negative cycle

Sleep specialists such as Rohrscheib and Pelekanos offer a host of techniques, products and treatments that can help you fall asleep quicker, stay asleep through the night, and let you wake up feeling rested and ready to take on the day.

Pelekanos noted that instead of worrying about how much sleep you're getting, focus your energy on improving the quality of sleep, no matter the quantity.

Here are five strategies the experts suggested you can try at home:

1. Use sleep hygiene devices

"Eye masks, ear plugs or white noise machines will reduce disturbances in your sleep," Rohrscheib said. "A wearable sleep tracker can monitor your sleep duration and sleep quality."

2. Limit light exposure

"Use low or soft light bulbs at nighttime and blue light-blocking glasses [if you're looking at a screen]," Rohrscheib said. "It's important to limit light exposure in the hours leading up to sleep because too much light can suppress melatonin production in your brain."

3. Transform your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary

"Make your bedroom or sleeping area as comfortable as possible, with a comfortable mattress and pillow, no distracting lights and no noise," Pelekanos advised.

Rohrscheib further recommended a mattress or topper that distributes pressure properly across your body.

4. Create a sleep routine

Pelekanos explained that committing to a few consistent behaviors each night may contribute to a sizable improvement in your sleep health.

"Establish a regular bedtime and try to stick to that time as strictly as possible," he recommended. "Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, carbonated drinks and high-calorie energy drinks before bedtime. The same goes for food; try to avoid eating too late in the evening. Turn off distractions such as the TV, your phone, laptop, tablet or any other connected devices that you use. Once in bed, avoid focusing on work or any other distracting thoughts. More importantly, try to avoid looking at the clock, as it will only make you more anxious."

5. Use medication, if prescribed and monitored by your doctor

Rohrscheib described sleep medications as a "last resort" for treating insomnia and other sleep disorders that lead to chronic sleep deprivation. Before buying any over-the-counter medication to help yourself sleep, Rohrscheib advised learning their proper use and keeping your healthcare provider in the loop.

"Over-the-counter medications, such as acetaminophen [brand name: Tylenol PM] or doxylamine [Unisom], can be used for acute bouts of insomnia but should not be used in the long term," she said. "Over-the-counter supplements such as magnesium, GABA [gamma-aminobutyric acid] and valerian root can aid in better sleep quality. Melatonin can also be used to help maintain your circadian rhythm but should not be used as a sleeping pill or sedative. For best results, take melatonin one hour before you go to sleep. If you are taking melatonin, you should do so only if you are on a strict sleep schedule, as taking it at a different time each night can be detrimental to your sleep. Do not exceed 5 milligrams unless directed by your doctor."