Smoking & Sleep

Smoking before going to bed is one of the worst things you can do - just when your brain is preparing for its much needed rest. The nicotine that you inhale goes straight to the sleep centres of your brain, and then everything goes haywire. The result is that you have a bad night's rest.

The National Sleep Foundation reports (2002) that America is on the verge of a poor sleep epidemic, characterized by the following eye-opening statistics:

• 64% of American adults get less than the eight hours of sleep that experts recommend are required to maintain optimal physical, mental, and emotional health.
• One-third of the US population says they get less sleep now than they did five years ago.
• One-half of Americans have experienced insomnia.
• Drowsiness due to lack of a proper night's sleep interferes with the daily activities of 37 percent of all adults.

The following is an excerpt from "Sleep: Essential for Optimal Health" by Drs. Robert Goldman and Ronald Klatz.

"Don't slight sleep. It's when you're tired that you tend to overwork. When you're rested you can finish the work without strain and still have energy and time left over for the rest of your life. Research shows that workers who get less than six hours of sleep a night are prone to costly accidents, poor concentration and poor performance. Without sleep depression, anxiety and anger increase. The quality of sleep is just as important as number of hours. If you have trouble sleeping, try going to bed earlier, before 10:00. This usually creates a deeper sleep. Prepare for deep sleep by avoiding TV and computers in the evening."

Most people believe that sleep is something that the body will take care of by itself. They feel that their bodies will give them signals when it wants sleep. That may be true, but the question is, do these people know how to read or sense these signals that the body is trying to give them?

Let us learn from animals. Look around you, and you will find that most animals are sensible enough to get the sleep that they want. You won't find a dog sitting up half the night to watch a ball game, nor will you find a cat surfing the net all night long. An important point that many people do not know is that our bodies are influenced by what experts call circadian cycles. These are cycles of sleep, rest and activity that are governed by sunlight and darkness.

Experts tell us that adults need 8 hours of good sleep to become fully functional. If you cannot manage 8 hours, try to have at least 7. Anything below that is not good for your body, and is going to take its toll at some time or another.

We often use the brain or the muscles as a measuring stick. When these parts are tired we decide that we need to rest. And so we relax with a book, or plant ourselves in front of the idiot box, or listen to some music. Ah, but that is just rest. It is not sleep, and when the body needs sleep, you should give it proper sleep.

The next section is: Problems Falling Asleep