World Sleep Day

There’s NOTHING like good sleep! Bringing attention to its importance is the recognition of Sleep Awareness Week, March 12-18, 2023. And Friday, March 17th was World Sleep Day! This year’s slogan is “Sleep is essential for health”.

On March 14, 2008, the National Sleep Foundation observed the first World Sleep day. Sleep Awareness Week and World Sleep Day serve as reminders for the public to acknowledge that sleep is a crucial part of their health and well-being.

Just like eating well and exercising, sleep is a behavior that is crucial to one’s physical, mental, and social well-being.

Reports by the CDC show that adults aged 18-64 who sleep less than 7 hours per night are more likely to report chronic health conditions such as depression, arthritis, and asthma, compared to those who sleep more than 7 days.  (Quality, continuity, and depth of sleep play important roles in receiving a truly restorative sleep.)

Facts about sleep

Here are some facts you may not know about sleep (or lack of it), according to the Cleveland Clinic and the Sleep Health Foundation:

• Tiredness peaks twice a day. This is usually at 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. This is why you are less alert after you eat lunch.

• Being awake for 16 hours straight decreases your performance as much as if your blood alcohol level were .05% (the legal limit is .08%).  

• Sleep changes across the night in cycles of about 90 minutes. There is REM (dreaming) sleep in every cycle, even if only for a short time.  

• The first three hours of sleep have the deepest stages of sleep (Slow Wave Sleep. Later on in the night, we have more of the sleep stage with vivid dreams (Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep).

In conclusion
Your body does a lot of important work while you’re asleep.  Good sleep is vital for your physical and mental health, so talk to your doctor if you are having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, not feeling rested after waking, or if you’re feeling tired during the day.