The Magic Power of Sleep (page 3 of 3)

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Photographed by Frank Veronsky

Getting a good nights sleep can improve the way you feel and the way you look.

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The link between sleep and health, and bad sleep and disease, is becoming clearer and clearer

Smarten Up and Slim Down

Magic Power #4. Build a Better Brain
Not only does sleep deprivation lead to poor health, it also affects concentration, problem-solving skills, memory and mood. “Anything that disturbs the quality and quantity of sleep can have long-term consequences for both body and mind,” says Gerard T. Lombardo, MD, author of Sleep to Save Your Life, and director of the Sleep Center at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn.

Lack of sleep can have cognitive and physical effects similar to those brought on by overindulging in alcohol. The performance of someone who’s been awake for 17 hours straight is about the same as if she had a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent (about two drinks in an hour).

And night owls, beware: A new study shows that people with two copies of a gene variant that helps control our body clocks tend toward a “late to bed, late to rise” sleeping pattern. They may suffer worse cognitive deficits after sleep deprivation, such as forgetfulness and trouble concentrating.

Some 1,500 deaths a year result from car accidents caused by people driving while fatigued. And a disturbing new study conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland shows that lack of sleep can affect people’s moral judgment. This finding has obvious implications for people like doctors and soldiers, whose decisions have life-and-death consequences. But think what could happen if sleep-deprived teachers, businesspeople, lawyers, homebuilders and others were more subject to moral lapses. Better sleep may equal better decision making.

Magic Power #5. Lose a Few Pounds
It should come as no surprise that the trend toward shorter sleep duration in this country has coincided with an increasing trend toward obesity. Recent studies suggest that people who get inadequate amounts of sleep are more likely to gain weight. “With sleep deprivation, we see a reduction in metabolism and an increase in appetite,” explains Michael Breus, PhD, author of Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health. Inadequate sleep lowers levels of leptin, the hormone that causes you to feel full, while increasing levels of ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry.

“What’s also fascinating,” notes Breus, “is that sleep deprivation influences your food choices, making you crave high-carb and high-sugar foods.” This is because sleep loss decreases insulin sensitivity, putting the sleep-deprived at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. So sleep more and it may be easier to fight that cookie craving, and wake up a whole new you.

From Reader's Digest - October 2007

• Lose the Weight
• Sleep
• • Sleep Solutions
• • Mind & Body

• How to Deal With Insomnia
• One common problem. Four expert solutions.
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• Sleep and Diet: Eating to Sleep Well
• Do you dream of a good night's sleep? Try our tips tonight and learn how your diet may affect your sleep patterns.
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• Improve Your Sleep
• Expert tips for sleep problems.
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• When You Just Can't Sleep
• A better understanding of the physiology of sleep has led to the development of safer medications. Learn more and print a chart.
• 
• The National Sleep Foundation
• 

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