No discussion of good health is complete without addressing sleep. This vital bodily function is so very essential to just about every other aspect of our well-being that we almost always review sleep patterns with our patients. There are many things most of us can do to improve our sleep quality and duration, and vitamins and supplements can play a significant role in optimizing these sleep habits. A personalized vitamin is a method to get those nutrients in the right amounts. Most personalized vitamin assessments will ask questions about sleep and factor your answers into your recommended blend. In theory we should all be spending about one third of our time sleeping, so let us touch on how and why to best make good sleep part of your routine.
First off, let’s touch on what can happen if you don’t sleep enough: bad things. Lots of them. The seemingly harmless habit of shaving off an hour here and there (perhaps to get up early for work or because you have trouble getting to sleep) can ultimately have major consequences. Lack of sleep correlates with the development of and worsening of many chronic health conditions. The best examples of how lack of sleep can lead to illness come from research on common sleep disorders.
Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea have been linked directly to conditions such as obesity, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, and more. In fact, people with severe untreated sleep apnea are actually twice as likely to die prematurely as people who do not have it. You get the picture.
In recent years we have found that optimizing sleep can in fact help treat many of the above-listed conditions. For many people it may not be as simple as spending more time in bed. Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea is something that must be done by a trained medical professional. Treating this condition can help reverse many of the aforementioned associated conditions. However, even if sleep apnea is not a concern, we commonly advise our patients who struggle with weight loss to make sure they are getting enough sleep. So, just sleep more to lose weight! Seems too good to be true, right?
Sleeping too little can in fact promote weight gain, and this may be your worst nightmare! Studies have shown that sleep is in fact inextricably related to weight, because several hormones that your body produces while you sleep, such as ghrelin and leptin, regulate weight and appetite control; and hormones cannot be produced properly with fewer than seven hours of sleep. Research has also shown that people who are sleep deprived tend to crave higher-calorie foods. When you are tired, you are also less motivated to exercise and make the effort it takes to eat a healthful diet. It’s easy to see how the pounds pile on.
In addition to major medical issues, the obvious result of not enough sleep is lack of energy or fatigue. When it comes to fatigue, there is no replacement for sleeping long enough and well enough. How much is enough? Well, as you’ve heard before, we are all different. We each have a different ideal amount of sleep. However, in general it tends to be more than you think. Some experts say seven to nine hours is sufficient for most adults, while some women may need up to ten hours per night. A small minority of people need significantly less sleep than that. Some über-productive examples are Martha Stewart and Bill Clinton.
Given the importance of sleep, it is imperative to find a personalized vitamin routine that will address sleep as part of your plan. A generic multivitamin will not do the trick. Look for online companies that offer personalized vitamin assessments to learn more about your distinctive needs.
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