Sleep Like Lucky

Dogs are excellent sleepers. They seem to naturally know when to sleep and how much to sleep and typically won’t let scheduling problems interfere with getting in enough sleep.

Man could really take a sleep lesson from his best friend. The National Sleep Foundation surveys adults in the United States using the Sleep in America poll. In the 2008 survey, the average amount of sleep people reported needing to feel well was 7 hours and 18 minutes each night. Unfortunately, the average American reported sleeping 6 hours and 40 minutes on average during weekdays and 7 hours and 25 minutes on the weekends. This means that most people aren’t getting enough sleep.

Why is sleep important?

Adults typically need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night for good health. Good sleep is important to help us feel focused, alert, and energized. Sleep is also essential for good general wellbeing. A survey of students ages 17 to 30 years old showed that those sleeping only 6 to 7 hours nightly were 50 percent more likely to report having poor health compared with people getting a full night’s sleep. Those sleeping less than 6 hours nightly were twice as likely to have poor health.

Poor sleep has been consistently linked to a wide range of health disorders:

• Diabetes
• Heart disease and high blood pressure
• Infections
• Migraines
• Obesity

If you’re a woman, take special note of your sleep deficit

In an interesting study just released by the medical journal Brain Behavior and Immunity, the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation were shown to be greater in women. Sleep disturbance results in an increase in chemicals in the body called cytokines. Cytokines result in increased inflammation; inflammation results in increased risks for arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. This latest research proves that sleep deprivation increases your body’s harmful inflammatory response, especially if you’re a woman. So getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone – but especially important for women for whom sleep dysfunction may be an even stronger factor for increasing the risk of disease.

Can dogs really teach people about good sleep?

One look at Fido will convince you that dogs are excellent role models for sleep. Scientists are also learning about human sleep physiology by studying sleep in dogs! Did you know that researchers have found similar changes in brain chemicals with sleep in both dogs and man? A recent report from the Graduate School of Medical Science at Kanazawa University described the importance of orexin neurons for regulating sleep in humans and their canine counterparts. Orexins (also called hypocretins) excite brain regions important for being awake and alert; helping to regulate whether you should be snoozing or active.

Naturally-occurring dysfunction in orexin can result in a sleep disorder called narcolepsy in both humans and some breeds of dogs, like Dobermans, Labrador retrievers, and miniature poodles. Narcolepsy causes excessive daytime sleepiness, with a tendency to quickly fall asleep at inappropriate times. Studies testing the physiology of narcolepsy in Fido may offer insights into better understanding human sleep patterns. Once again – dogs are great teachers for man!
Fill in sleep gaps with a nap

If you’re not getting enough sleep each night, consider filling in your sleep gaps with a nap. Short naps have been shown to improve energy level and reduce the risk for getting heart attacks! Researchers from the University of Athens Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health evaluated napping habits and the occurrence of heart disease in almost 24,000 healthy adults over an average almost 6½ years. After taking into consideration other risk factors for heart disease (like age, smoking, and obesity), people who regularly napped at least three days per week for at least 30 minutes per nap had a 37 percent decreased risk of dying from heart disease. Taking several naps a day or spending a long time napping, however, has  been shown to be bad for your health.

The recipe for healthy napping is:

• No more than one nap per day
• Nap for about 30 minutes
• Take your nap midafternoon, ideally around 3:00 PM
• If you typically want to nap more than 45 minutes or several times a day, you may be having sleep problems at night and should talk to your doctor.
• So take a lesson from Fido, and start scheduling health-restoring sleep into your daily schedule. Sleep’s not a luxury – it’s one of life’s necessities! You can learn more about sleep by visiting these websites: www.sleepfoundation.org, www.worldsleepfoundation.com, www.sleepnet.com

Article contributed by regular guest blogger, Dawn A. Marcus.

About the author: Dawn A. Marcus, MD is a medical doctor and professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She also serves as medical expert to Del Monte’s Power of Paws program, which promotes better human health through pet companionship. She is an internationally-recognized speaker, educator, and author, receiving the National Headache Foundation Media Excellence Award. Dr. Marcus has written nine medical books, including her latest book, Fit As Fido: Follow Your Dog to Better Health. Visit her websites www.dawnmarcusmd.com and www.fitasfido.com.