The dangers of not enough sleep

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According to most reasonable estimates, Modern life One third of New Zealanders suffer from a lack of sleep or sleep deprivation. This is according to a series of studies here and abroad.

This is an inconvenience, a disadvantage that often leaves people tired, cranky and a little unproductive, is not it?

It's more than that. Professor Matthew Walker, director of the Center for the Science of Human Sleep at the University of California at Berkeley, said in an interview with the Guardian last September: "There is a catastrophic epidemic of sleep loss [affecting the world] . " There are powerful links between sleep loss and, among others, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and poor mental health. It counts less than seven hours as sleep deprivation (other experts say that six is ​​the tipping point). Last year, Walker published a book (Why We Sleep) designed to explain health risks and encourage people to fight for eight hours of sleep.

These warnings may also apply to New Zealanders. In recent years, successive polls have consistently shown a picture of sleep lost among much of the kiwi audience.

In 2015, a Southern Cross Health Society survey found that nearly a quarter of Kiwis felt tired or tired each day. In 1965, a poll by Colmar Brunton indicated that 60% of them felt tired because of lack of sleep and that 36% received only 4 to 6 hours a night. A separate survey conducted the same year indicates that 35% of New Zealanders are sleep deprived (especially women) and, according to other research published in the Listener, 37% of 30-60 year olds say they never sleep quite rarely. In a report of Britain's National Health Service (NHS), one in three Britons suffers from poor sleep and is at risk of suffering from serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and menstrual problems. health. Diabetes, shortening life expectancy: "It is now clear that a night of solid sleep is essential for a long and healthy life."

According to Walker, after only one night of only four or five hours of sleep, your natural killer cells – those that attack the cancer cells that appear in your body each day – decrease by 70%.

So, what causes sleep deprivation in New Zealand? Modern life is a presumed cause of many new ailments – sleep deprivation among them. Walker says it has become a badge of honor to continue until there is nothing left in the tank

. Stress, anxiety, work and family demands, and links to technology are among the suggested causes. Caffeine, alcohol, eating late and returning late were also mentioned as "sleep thieves".

New Zealand Sleep Expert, Rachel Lehen, of Fatigue Management Solutions, says that the sleep issues she deals with daily include: people struggling to fall asleep, those who wake up and do not go to sleep and have fragmented sleep patterns that are often due to stress.

She says that a lot of Kiwis are just sleeping. "It's a vicious circle, because lack of sleep affects our ability to focus and make good decisions, our food choices and our motivation to exercise and exercise." to keep moving the next day. "

A national business development manager and mother of three Cathy Weck estimates that she takes about five hours of sleep a night:" Who has time to sleep? "My life is too long to cover only 16 of the 24 hours a day." [19659002] His high-pressure work requires long hours. She makes about two hours of travel a day and trains for her marathons: "I am sending text messages or emails at night and it 's not unusual for me to spend the night. vacuum at six in the morning before going to work. "

So, what can be done to promote healthy sleep habits? Southern Cross Health Society gives the following guidelines:
• Keep the screens out of the bedroom.
• Reduce screen time – stay screen-free for the hour before bedtime
• Write down the tasks The next day, you will not lose your sleep worrying about what's going to happen.
• Develop a pre-sleep routine – find out what works for you and stick to it
• Manage stress levels throughout the day. ] • Take soothing activities – such as meditation, mindfulness, reading or yoga.
• Know where to find help – sleep.org.au is a good place to start, but there are many other resources to find online.