Sleep is essential for brain health and for the efficiency with which we can carry out our daily activities. Although many people ignore this aspect, postponing sleep hours can negatively impact the quality of life and even mental health, experts draw attention.

Do you go to bed at the same time every day and wake up in the morning just before the clock strikes? Or do you not have a clear sleep time and fall asleep with the remote control in your hand or your head on the computer keyboard, and in the morning you wake up with difficulty and feel tired all day? If you answer yes to the first question, experts say that you have found your balance between sleep and wakefulness. If you answer yes to the second question, then you are part of the category of those who have sleep problems, and in the future you have every chance of facing other health problems.

"Sleep debt" is paid with health

The importance of sleep for humans, but also, in general, for beings in the animal kingdom, has long been recognized by specialists. They say that adults need 7-9 hours of sleep for the entire body to function in a balanced way. Sleep deprivation occurs when we sleep less than our body needs. Any repeated sleep deficit accumulates and becomes a kind of “sleep debt”. This “debt” is not always realized, since our brain has a great capacity to adapt to a state of overload and perceives it as normal, after sleep deprivation becomes something “usual” in our lives. Here, however, is the problem. The brain learns to cope with overload and sleep deprivation, but with some consequences.

There are two types of sleep deprivation: acute and chronic deprivation. Acute sleep deprivation occurs when we lose a night of sleep for various reasons, and the so-called "sleep debt" can be recovered by resting the next night. Chronic sleep deprivation, however, extends over long periods and cannot be recovered with a simple weekend of rest.

The importance of quality sleep - REM sleep

Sleep deprivation does not only mean sleepless nights for long periods of time, but also restless sleep. The person may be sleeping, but the quality of sleep is affected and influences their performance during the waking period, when they feel tired, distracted and unable to perform certain tasks. Usually, a dreamless sleep is a sleep that does not provide proper rest and recovery of the brain. Dreams are the sign that we are sleeping deeply, and our brain has entered the so-called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep period characterized by: rapid and irregular movements, indicating intense eye activity behind closed eyelids, intense dreams - which we often retain and can tell the next day. The REM phase is the essential restorative phase for mental health, memory consolidation and emotional regulation. Without the REM phase, sleep is not restorative and restful.

Factors that disrupt sleep

• Significant fluctuations in bedtime and wake times, as well as alternating between nights with too much or too little sleep. Fluctuating sleep hours caused by frequent changes in sleep schedule, from one day to the next or between weekdays and weekends, can prevent the establishment of a good sleep pattern.
• Exposure to light, especially artificial light – computer, television or smartphone screens late at night or shortly before going to bed, sends signals to the brain associated with wakefulness, and sleep does not come, or comes very hard.
• Traveling between different time zones can disorient the biological clock, making it difficult to adapt to the new day-night cycle;
• Social or academic activities (night outings on the town, or studying for exams all night) that involve late waking hours can negatively affect the sleep routine.
• Consuming energy drinks or coffee disrupts the body's ability to fall asleep and maintain restful sleep.
• Issues related to stress, anxiety, and depression influence sleep quality and the ability to fall asleep.     

The impact of sleep on the brain and overall health

Lack of sleep or insufficient and poor-quality sleep can seriously affect our health, leading to problems such as:

1. Impairment of higher cognitive functions. Neurotransmitters (the chemicals that make communication between neurons possible) are disrupted, thus affecting memory and emotional regulation. Neuroscientists have found evidence that working night shifts is linked to loss of brain volume in key areas of the brain, poorer memory, and poorer emotional regulation. Lack of sleep affects memory so much that doctors say that the brain is actually unable to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory. And this problem can occur at any age. Students, for example, who study all night before an exam perform worse than those who sleep 7–8 hours after a normal study session.

There is a strong link between sleep and mental health. Insufficient sleep worsens anxiety and depression, and anxiety and depression in turn make it difficult to sleep.

2. Cardiovascular and metabolic problems. Sleep deprivation leads to increased blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, and the possibility of developing heart disease. Glucose metabolism also changes due to lack of sleep, leading to insulin resistance and an increased risk of diabetes.

3. Endocrine system disorders Insufficient sleep disrupts the body's hormonal balance. The production of cortisol, the stress hormone, increases, while the secretion of growth hormone and testosterone decreases. Melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle, is unbalanced, leading to disruptions in the circadian rhythm. These hormonal changes can affect growth, reproduction, and metabolism. Changes in the levels of hormones that control hunger and satiety caused by lack of sleep can lead to obesity.

Tips for good sleep hygiene

Learning techniques to adjust your sleep routine can help stabilize it and improve the quality of your rest for better body function. Here are some useful tips to build a good sleep routine:

• Establish regular bedtimes and wake-up times and stick to them every day, including weekends.
• Get enough sleep: making sure you get at least seven hours of sleep a night to benefit from restful and revitalizing sleep;
• Align your sleep schedule with your natural day-night cycle. That is, go to bed at night and wake up when daylight comes. Furthermore, keep the lights dim/off in the evening to facilitate the transition to sleep and expose yourself to natural light in the morning to synchronize with your circadian rhythm.
• Ensure an optimal temperature in the room where you sleep, neither too high nor too low (16-22 degrees C), the space must be ventilated before going to bed, so that the induction of sleep comes naturally.
• Follow a bedtime ritual every night that involves reducing the light in the room to nothing, giving up the light of the screens of various devices, a warm bath, not hot, in which you may have slipped some natural essential oils of lavender, valerian, lemon balm, linden, passion flower or practicing some relaxation exercises.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, coffee, energy drinks, especially in the evening. Alcohol can induce drowsiness, but fragments the REM phases and deep sleep, affecting memory consolidation and neurological recovery. Coffee and energy drinks make it difficult to fall asleep and produce melatonin.
• Do some physical exercise daily and avoid the midday siesta as much as possible, or at least reduce it to no more than 30 minutes of sleep, so as not to affect your night's sleep.

Recommended sleep hours by age:

● 0-3 months: 14-17 hours total

● 4-12 months: 12-16 hours total

● 1-2 years: 11-14 hours total

● 3-5 years: 10-13 hours total

● 9-12 years: 9-12 hours total

● 13-18 years: 8-10 hours total

● 18-60 years: at least 7 hours per night

● 61-64 years: 7-9 hours per night

● 65 years and older: 7-8 hours per night

Ideal bedtime and wake-up times:

• Bedtime: 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM
• Wake-up: 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM