Proper sleep raises our body’s immunity against viral infection and protects against higher risks of cardiovascular disease [heart attacks and strokes], type II diabetes, obesity, cancer, early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, depression, irritability, stress and anxiety.

Restful sleep also enhances cognitive performance, including memory, creativity, reaction-time, critical thinking and even athletic performance. That is a pretty good bargain for a pleasurable healthy experience with little effort on our behalf!

One way to ensure good sleep is to try sleeping with your best friend—your pet dog, cat or  any other four legged being. How many of us enjoy sharing our bed with a 4-legged family member? A good way to ensure good sleep is to sleep with your best friend, whether it is your dog, cat, or any other four-legged creature. Please do not forget to provide our furry companions with the loving care they deserve, and secure pet insurance for when necessary.

Benefits of Sleeping With Your Dog or Cat

Statistics show around 41 percent of surveyed pet owners who allowed their pet to sleep in the bedroom or on the bed said that they did not find their pet disruptive, and they even reported sleeping better. Here is why:

• A big advantage of sleeping with your 4-legged family member is they help with your emotional wellbeing. A pet offers you a feeling of companionship leading to decrease in feelings of loneliness.
• Pets lower your stress level, and ease depression. Studies suggest that the presence of pets increases the flow of oxytocin, the love chemical.
• Sleeping with your dog gives you an increased sense of security, especially for women.
• Pets promote coziness and warmth, and not just for humans. Our pets love to be next to their human companions and it reduces their anxiety that might be triggered by seeing animals on your TV screen [scores of TV commercials show pets], hearing environmental noise and having reactions to thunder and lightning. Win-win for both you and your faithful animal companions.

A Few Disadvantages

One disadvantage of sleeping with your fur baby is that it could negatively affect your love life, so you will probably want to have an alternative plan in place for them to sleep where they feel safe and you aren’t distracted. Thank god most animals can’t talk [beware the smart observant parrot!]

If you have allergies, co-sleeping with your pet might trigger or aggravate your condition.

While some people sleep better with a dog or cat because they feel calmer and more secure, others might have their sleep interrupted by pets moving around or snoring. So If you are a light sleeper, you might not enjoy your pet sleeping on your bed next to you.

Some pets—a large dog, for instance—may cause disruptions to your rest just by simply taking up a large space in your bed or trying to sleep on top of you.

Ideal Setting for Sleeping With Your dog or Cat

The ideal bedroom temperature for you and your pet is between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Also your sleeping quarters should be quiet and dark. A white noise generator can be peaceful and mask a noisy environment, but make sure the gadget is one that generates white noise rather than just playing a tape recording [which can interrupt sleep].

Keeping an air purifier in the bedroom will cut down on dust, dander and dog hair. Spraying lavender on pillows and sheets will aid your sleep and mask pet odors.

While there some sleep disturbances to humans, dogs and cats are just as much at risk when it comes to co-sleeping with their owners. People readjust and move around in their sleep without fully waking, so it could be dangerous to your 4-legged friends if you were to roll over on them or smother them with your blankets and comforters.

On the other hand, if your dog has some jerky leg movements, eye movements and maybe even some whimpering or barking, and cats show whisker twitching, rest assured they might be in REM sleep, the stage in which dreams most often occur in humans and animals.

Sleep well and sweet dreams!

The post Should You Be Sleeping With Your Dog or Cat? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

1. Establish a regular sleep-wake schedule

The single most effective strategy for improved sleep is establishing a consistent schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Pre-deadline days, weekends, birthdays, and holidays are no exception; your circadian rhythm does not, unfortunately, accommodate your social life or your professional obligations. It is vital to maintain consistency despite the occasion.

Inconsistent sleep schedules correlate with poor sleep quality, increased sleep latency [time it takes to fall asleep], and shortened sleep duration. To establish consistency in your sleep routine, start by determining your sleep need. The majority of the adult population requires 7.5 to 9 hours each night for optimal performance and alertness the following day. However, this need fluctuates with age and activity level, and is largely specific to the individual.

Studies show that most people overestimate their actual sleep and underestimate their sleep need [you would have thought it’s the other way!], so choose a realistic schedule that fulfills your true sleep need and stick to it. Adding one to two more hours can dramatically change your health, your mood, and your daytime performance.

2. Ditch the snooze button

If you’re getting enough sleep and keeping a regular schedule, you should have no use for an alarm, much less the snooze button. It’s not an issue of mind over matter, it’s a physiological necessity. If you’re not getting enough sleep or if you’re waking up in the middle of a sleep cycle, you’re going to feel drowsy, but pressing the snooze button won’t help.

Pressing it affords you only a few minutes of fragmented rest, which leaves you feeling more groggy than you would otherwise. Either set your alarm later to maximise quality sleep or bite the bullet and wake up on the first alarm and plan for a power nap or an earlier bedtime.

3. Expose yourself to bright light every morning

Your body’s physiological [circadian] rhythm is a symphony of physiological and behavioral patterns conducted by the suprachiasmatic nuclei [SCN], a 20,000 neuron area in the brain’s hypothalamus. Through electrical impulse, the SCN controls the crescendos and decrescendos of body temperature, hormone production and release, neural activity, and resultant patterns of drowsiness and alertness. These cycles maintain a pattern that is nearly 24 hours in length, but they depend on external stimuli, namely light, to keep the cycle in sync with the 24 hour progression of the external world.

Start your day by exposing yourself to bright [ideally natural] light for at least 15 minutes first thing in the morning to “sync” your circadian rhythm and activate the systems that keep you awake and active.

4. Avoid light exposure within one hour of sleep

Melatonin is a hormone chiefly responsible for coordinating your circadian rhythm. Its release is dependent on the absence of light. The absence of light triggers melatonin release, which initiates the onset of sleep and is integral to every stage of sleep thereafter.

Electronic devices like TV and iPads emit daylight spectrum light. As long as you’re in front of a screen or under bright household lights, you’re inhibiting melatonin release and sleep onset. It’s important to avoid light exposure for an hour before going to sleep or wear blue light blocking glasses to prevent retinal stimulation. This cues your body to release melatonin and ready itself for sleep.

5. Cut caffeine from late afternoon to bedtime

It takes at least six hours to metabolise caffeine, so it’s a good idea to stop drinking energy drinks, sodas, coffee, and tea from late in the afternoon until bedtime. Also avoid other caffeine sources, including chocolate or java flavoured desserts and protein bars, and more surprising sources including some weight-loss pills and pain relievers.

The final caffeine caveat is to mind your decaffeinated beverages. The FDA designates decaffeinated coffee as containing 2-5mg of caffeine per 5oz cup. This concentration alone can disrupt sleep and considering that most retailed decaf coffee contains levels far exceeding this limit, it’s wise to completely cut coffee consumption from mid afternoon.

6. Avoid alcohol consumption within three hours of bedtime

If you’re one to partake, you know that alcohol, being a depressant, can make you drowsy. But don’t let this sensation fool you into believing that alcohol consumption aids sleep. Alcohol, in fact, does just the opposite. It disrupts your circadian rhythm, causing mid-night awakenings and preventing restorative REM sleep.

Aside from disturbing your physiological sleep rhythm, alcohol can increase snoring and sleep apnea by decreasing muscle tone and it will likely cause disruptive trips to the restroom [not the kind of rest you want or need].

Avoiding alcohol consumption within three hours of bedtime ensures a restful and uninterrupted snooze.

7. Exercise regularly

Regular exercise reduces the incidence of insomnia, decreases snoring and sleep apnea through weight loss, and improves overall restfulness through improved respiration and circulation.

Body temperature is an important component of circadian rhythm. Core body temperature spikes during exercise, then plummets approximately five hours later. Coordinating this with the natural rise in body temperature in the morning or the natural drop in body temperature preceding sleep optimises the onset, quality, and duration of sleep.

Morning and afternoon exercise are therefore optimal, while evening and late night workouts are likely to delay the onset of sleep. However, if you opt for a morning workout, be sure not to compromise your nocturnal sleep requirement.

8. Eat a balanced, anti-inflammatory diet

When it comes to diet, the major aim is stabilising blood sugar, obtaining necessary micronutrients, and balancing consumption of protein, fibre, and healthy fat. Doing so will promote healthy hormone production and release, avoid inflammation, equip your body with adequate fuel, and ultimately contribute to optimal sleep latency, quality, and duration.

Stabilise blood sugar by eating meal low in glycemic index every five hours. Avoid processed foods and added sugar. This will help regulate cortisol levels, preventing disruption of REM sleep.

Build your meals up from a base of vitamin and mineral rich veggies, clean proteins, and healthy fats. This will provide the necessary precursors for sleep inducing hormones, while minimising inflammation and spikes in blood glucose.

Begin curbing difficult-to-digest foods three hours before bedtime. This includes spicy, fried, and high protein foods. Instead, opt for fruits such as cherries, kiwis, and bananas, which are readily digestible and packed with potassium and magnesium for muscle relaxation.

9. Quit smoking

Cigarette smoke is a multifaceted sleep thief. Nicotine, a stimulant, inhibits the onset of sleep and causes insomnia and increased awakenings. Individuals who smoke cigarettes are also 2.5 times more likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea due to inflamed tissues in the nose and throat.

Smoking alters the expression of genes that facilitate circadian rhythms and may permanently hamper the quality of your sleep. Quitting relieves symptomatic sleep problems and avoiding cigarettes altogether places you among the soundest sleeping demographic.

10. Practice mindfulness

Maintaining a prayer life or cultivating a meditation or yoga practice has been linked to healthier sleep habits and sounder sleep. These practices maintain stress hormone levels during the day that otherwise accumulate to disrupt the onset and depth of sleep come nighttime.

Meditation enhances neural plasticity and network synchronisation, which allows for seamless transitions into and out of deep sleep.

The post Daytime strategies to help you sleep better appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Sleep myth 1: During sleep, your brain rests completely

Most people think of sleep as a passive, dormant part of their daily lives. Wakefulness contains only a single brain wave. To be physically, psychologically, and emotionally at your best, you have to experience five different types of brain waves every night during sleep. That’s how much work your brain does while you are asleep. The sleeping brain regulates endocrine, immune, and hormonal functions essential for healthy living. It is also a critical period for memory consolidation.

Sleep myth 2: Sleeping longer makes you gain weight

The opposite is true. Lack of sleep can stall your weight loss efforts. By adding one extra hour of sleep every night, you can lose up to half kg per week. Sleep deprivation causes leptin levels to decrease and ghrelin levels to increase, leaving you craving for sugars and junk food. That’s how, contrary to popular belief, regular and sound sleep can actually help you lose weight.

Sleep myth 3: You can condition yourself to need less sleep

You may want to believe that but you cannot convince your body of it. You can condition yourself to wake up after just a few hours of sleep, but it does not change your need for adequate sleep. Your sleep requirement is hard-wired! Determine the amount of sleep that will permit you to be energetic and alert all day long. You must condition yourself so that the hours in bed correspond to the sleeping phase of your circadian rhythm and the hours out of bed correspond to the waking phase. Therefore, establish a regular sleep/wake schedule, Monday through Monday, including the weekends.

Sleep myth 4: A boring meeting, warm room, or low dose of alcohol helps you fall asleep

Not true, unless you are sleep deprived. These factors simply unmask the sleepiness that is already in your body. If you are not sleep deprived, you may be restless and fidgety, but not sleepy.

Sleep myth 5: Snoring is not harmful

If left untreated, heavy snoring can lead to a higher risk of high blood pressure [heart attacks and strokes]. Heavy snoring with repetitive pauses in your breathing, followed by a gasping for air, is indicative of sleep apnoea. This life-threatening breathing disorder is commonly treated non-surgically by wearing a mask at night that delivers continuous, positive airway pressure through the nose to keep the airway open. Without the mask, these individuals may stop breathing up to 600 times a night and must wake up for a microsecond each time to resume normal breathing.

Sleep myth 6: Not everyone dreams at night

All of us dream every night, although many do not remember having done so. Most dreams occur during rapid eye movement [REM] sleep that occurs every 90 minutes. If you sleep for eight hours, approximately two hours will be spent dreaming.

Sleep myth 7: The older you get; the lesser sleep you need

As you age, the ability to maintain sleep becomes more difficult. This is due to hardening of the arteries or the result of taking medications for rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, or type II diabetes that may interfere with sleep. We need almost as much sleep in our senior years as we needed when we were of middle age or younger.

Sleep myth 8: Most people know how sleepy they are

The majority of sleepers overestimate the amount they actually have slept by about 47 minutes.

Sleep myth 9: Raising the volume of your radio, air conditioning or drinking coffee will help you stay awake while driving

None of these “remedies” will help prevent drowsiness or falling asleep at the wheel for a person who is sleep deprived. Drowsiness is a red alert—get off the road and take a 20-minute power nap in a safe area. At best you will have another 30 minutes of driving.

Sleep myth 10: Sleep disorders are mainly due to worry

There are 89 known sleep disorders whose causes range from neurological issues to biochemical imbalance and physiological problems. Examples are sleep apnoea, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, nocturnal myoclonus, enuresis, sleepwalking, sleep talking, and REM sleep behaviour.

Sleep myth 11: Most sleep disorders go away without treatment

Sleep disturbances that last for more than three weeks typically require professional treatment, ranging from learning good sleep hygiene practices to medicines and psychotherapy.

Sleep myth 12: Men need more sleep than women

On the contrary, women tend to need more sleep than men, especially during premenstrual, pregnancy, and premenopausal stages. Women sleep lighter than men and are more susceptible to bouts of insomnia.

Sleep myth 13: By playing audiotapes during the night, you can learn while you sleep

If you are asleep you cannot acquire new knowledge. However, sleep enables you to process and retain information learned during wakefulness and recall it better the next day.

Sleep myth 14: If you have insomnia at night, you should make up by sleeping in the day

If you wish to cure your nocturnal insomnia you should never nap during the day.

Sleep myth 15: The best time to exercise is early in the morning when you are most alert

Exercise is good for promoting the quantity and quality of sleep whenever done during the day. However, early morning exercise is only suitable for people who have met their nocturnal sleep requirement. Furthermore, it’s best to avoid heavy aerobic exercise within an hour of bedtime.

Sleep myth 16: Sex at night will arouse you and keep you up, delaying sleep onset

Satisfactory sex might help you to go to sleep fairly quickly. However, concerns about performance and unsatisfactory sex can delay sleep onset and make sleep more fitful.

Sleep myth 17: A sound sleeper rarely moves during the night

Most people move 40 – 60 times during the night although they might be unaware of having done so.

Sleep myth 18: A glass of wine before bed helps you fall asleep

A nightcap might put you to sleep but any alcohol within three hours of bedtime is likely to disrupt ensuing REM sleep. Alcohol in large amounts is a stimulant, not a sedative.

Sleep myth 19: Sleeping in late on the weekends is a good way to catch up on lost sleep

You have one biological clock—not one for the workweek and one for the weekends. You must go to bed and get up at the same time Monday through Monday. To do otherwise would have the same effect of dieting or exercising only on the weekends—it doesn’t work.

Sleep myth 20: It is not normal to awaken several times a night

It is rare that people can sleep uninterrupted for long periods of time. However, if you wake up during the night and cannot get back to sleep within 20 minutes, this is indicative of insomnia. Often such awakenings will last for an entire 90-minute wake period before you will be able to resume sleep.

Sleep myth 21: Cozying up under heavy blankets will make you go to sleep faster

An ideal sleeping room temperature is between 65 – 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Being too warm may lead to awakenings and emotionally laden dreams.

Sleep myth 22: You are a good sleeper if you can fall asleep within five minutes

The well-rested sleeper will take about 20 minutes to fall asleep. Going to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow is a sure sign of sleep deprivation.

Sleep myth 23: Sleeping pills are absolutely safe if taken in correct dose

Many sleeping medications can be harmful, causing memory loss, daytime grogginess, depression, cancer and even death. Cognitive behaviour therapy for solving sleep problems is a much better long-term treatment for insomnia.

Sleep myth 24: Sleep cannot help you improve your athletic skills

In the last quartile in an 8-hour night, the brain secretes calcium into your motor cortex. This permits well-rehearsed good athletic moves to be consolidated into motor muscle memory, improving athleticism, reaction time, and situational awareness.

The post 24 surprising sleep myths and facts appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Why do we persist in thinking that it’s efficient, effective, and macho to function on as few hours of sleep as possible?

For one, we simply don’t understand the importance of sleep and the serious deleterious consequences of sleep deprivation on health and performance. These include a significantly higher risk of high blood pressure [heart attacks and strokes], type-2 diabetes, depression, influenza, skin and allergy conditions, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and obesity. Furthermore, sleep deprivation disrupts cognitive processing, including acquisition, retention and recall of information, as well as diminishing our creativity, and critical thinking skills.

Along with not understanding sleep’s importance, many of us suffer occasionally from one or more of the 89 known sleep disorders and are unaware of the proper treatments. In a culture that devalues sleep, we think we can accomplish more if we sleep less. Nothing could be further from the truth. After 16 hours of being awake, we are incapable of performing efficiently and effectively; mistakes are made and accidents and illness often follow. The bottom line is that most of us have no clue as to what constitutes good sleep hygiene and how to obtain a great night’s sleep for a better tomorrow.

Here are five golden rules of sleep:

1. Determine your personal sleep requirement

How many hours of sleep do you get per night? The majority of us are moderately to severely sleep deprived. In fact, 71 per cent do not meet the recommended 7.5 – 9.25 hours per night.

Determine and meet your sleep requirement every night. It’s hard-wired, not adaptable! There are individual differences that are genetically determined. For example, if both of your parents are short sleepers, you may be one of the lucky five per cent of the population who can perform satisfactorily on less than six hours of sleep per night.

An adequate night’s sleep should leave you feeling wide-awake and energetic all day long, with little to no need for an afternoon nap. If you experience daytime sleepiness, start by adding 15 minutes to your normal routine each night until you feel fully rested all day long. This is your set point for a great night’s sleep.

The majority of us are moderately to severely sleep deprived

To test your finding, you should subtract 15 minutes of sleep for a night to see if it affects your energy levels the next day. If you are a bit sleepy, you’ll know that you are not quite meeting your required amount of sleep. Most people will find they should add at least one more hour to their current sleeping time. If that’s you, you’ll quickly realise that you never really knew what it’s like to be fully alert and at your best physically, emotionally and cognitively. We need to value sleep. To be healthy and a peak performer, sleep is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

2. Establish a normal sleep/wake schedule

While you may be tempted to make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping longer on the weekends, this can be very disruptive to your circadian rhythm. Instead, try to go to bed and get up at, or near, the same time every day. We only have one biological clock that determines our wakefulness and sleepiness, not one for the weekday and one for the weekend.

We must synchronise the sleepy phase of our biological clock with the hours we spend in bed and the waking phase for the hours we are out of bed. If we vary our sleep/wake schedule, it has the same effect of eastbound jet lag. We will have daytime sleep inertia, feel drowsy and lack mental clarity throughout the day.

Take a hot bath, do some easy stretching, yoga, or meditation before sleeping to help you relax

3. Use these proven strategies for great sleep

Get plenty of exercise everyday, even if it’s just taking the dog for a 20-minute walk after dinner. Avoid heavy cardio workouts within an hour of bedtime. Eliminate caffeine after 2pm. Even decaffeinated coffee contains small amounts of caffeine, so avoid that too if possible. Refrain from drinking alcohol within three hours of bedtime. Alcohol in large amounts is a stimulant, not a sedative. Therefore, while you may feel that alcohol helps you fall asleep, it actually disturbs your sleep every 90 minutes thereafter.

Be sure to avoid the use of electronics within one hour of bedtime. Television, computer screens, and iPads contain blue daylight spectrum light that blocks the secretion of melatonin, thus making it more difficult to fall asleep when you turn off the lights. If you must watch these screens, be sure to use blue daylight spectrum blocking glasses. Make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool. You can also take a hot bath, do some easy stretching, yoga, or meditation before sleeping to help you relax.

4. Get one block of continuous sleep

To give you adequate nocturnal sleep in one block of time, avoid naps and falling asleep in the reclining chair after dinner. Those with insomnia must avoid any napping. Continuous sleep does not mean totally uninterrupted sleep. It’s completely normal to wake up several times during the night. Don’t worry if you can fall back to sleep within 20 minutes. If you do find yourself awake for longer, you might remain awake for as long as 90 minutes. Get out of bed, keep the lights low and read a book or do some light housework rather than toss and turn in bed.

Sleep loss doesn’t disappear by itself—you have to pay it back

5. Make up for lost sleep

For every hour you are awake, you increase your sleep debt. It takes one hour of sleep to make up for every two hours of being awake. If you are up for 16 hours, you need to sleep eight hours that night to fully restore your energy.

Sleep loss doesn’t disappear by itself—you have to pay it back. Compare your sleep to a bank account; if you make a withdrawal, the balance is reduced until you put money back into your account. Similarly, if you have a sleep debt, your loss accumulates. Therefore, make up for lost sleep as soon as possible. You can’t do it all at once, but after a week of adequate sleep you should be back on track.

Lauren Sietz is pursuing a Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies.
Emily Coolen is a certified personal trainer and sleep educator.

The post The five golden rules of sleep: Ignore them at your own risk appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

What’s healthy?

On your back: Health experts say that the best sleep position is one on your back. Sleeping on your back keeps your head, neck, and spine in alignment. It also reduces acid reflux and aids in digestion, since your head is elevated and your stomach is below your oesophagus. Sleeping on your back is also good for your skin—it helps prevent facial wrinkling and breast sag. On the downside, snoring is more common and severe in those who sleep on their backs.

On your side: The next best position to sleep in is on your sides. Sleeping on your side elongates your spine, preventing neck and back pain. It also reduces acid reflux, and snoring. This position is good for pregnant women. But sleeping on your side can cause wrinkles on your face. This is because, in this position, your face is in the pillow with your head’s pressure on it.

The foetal position is an exception to this. However, it is NOT an ideal way to sleep. Reason being, resting in the foetal position, with your knees pulled up and chin tucked in, can cause back pain in the morning. This position may also restrict breathing, since your spine is in a curved position.

On your stomach: Sleeping on your stomach is the worst way to sleep since it doesn’t keep the spine straight as your head is turned to one side. Sleeping this way puts strain on your joints and muscles [especially the neck], which may cause numbness, pain, and tingling. Sleeping on your stomach is also bad for the skin, but reduces snoring.

Position reveals personality

The relationship between sleep position and personality has been a subject of interest for many years. Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, found that people usually fall asleep in six common positions, depending on their personality type. Back in 2003, the research made headlines everywhere as it was one of the few to give insight into the relationship between sleep and personality. Here are the six common positions and the traits they are associated with.

Foetal position: Those who sleep curled up on their sides with knees pulled towards the chest are said to sleep in the foetal position. They are often people who are sensitive yet put up a tough front. They are shy when you first meet them, but eventually relax. Idzikowski found that two times as many women as men slept in this position.

Like a log: If you fall asleep on your side with your arms down at your sides, you sleep in the log position. People who sleep in this position are likely to have an easy-going nature and like to mix with the ‘in-crowd.’ They also trust strangers easily.

The yearner position: In this position, you sleep on your side with your arms stretched out in front of you. Those who fall asleep in this position are of open nature. However, they can sometimes be cynical. Such people find it difficult to arrive at a decision. But once they do decide, they rarely change their minds.

Like a soldier: These are people who sleep on their backs—looking like soldiers standing at attention, with their arms pinned to their sides. These individuals are found to be quiet and reserved. They set high standards and dislike making a fuss.

In a freefall: In this position, both arms are by the head. They may be around the pillow or on it. The head is turned to one side with the weight of the body on the stomach, and the back exposed.

Traits associated with this position are brashness and gregariousness. However, such people can be thin-skinned on the inside and dislike criticism and extreme situations.

Starfish: In this position, people sleep on their backs with their arms up and around the pillow. Such people are usually good listeners, because of which they make good friends. They are also helpful. These people are happier being away from the limelight.

 Your sleep buddies

This was first published in the September 2011 issue of Complete Wellbeing

The post Taking sides in your sleep? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Napping can be healthy. Research in Greece showed that napping lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke, while other studies have yielded similar findings for obesity and diabetes. Napping benefits the mind, too—enhancing creative thinking, boosting cognitive processing, improving memory recall, and clearing the cobwebs.

Even a few minutes of napping helps

Most napaphobes assume there’s no way they can relax, doze off and get any amount of sleep in just twenty minutes. But remember that a nap is not the same type of sleep you get at night. It’s something different, and it must be approached as such.

Think of it this way: Your body is hungry for sleep, but you can’t give it a full-course meal during the day. You can, however, serve up a pretty tasty snack—one that replenishes its energy store, takes the edge off its appetite, and allows it to continue functioning without distraction. Viewed this way, it’s easier to see how even a 20-minute nap can satisfy the body.

For the sleep-deprived, naps that are long enough to include some REM sleep have the ability to increase motor skill performance by 16 per cent.

Is a nap right for me?

If you’re one of the lucky few who gets adequate sleep every night, you may not need [or be able] to nap. However, for the rest of us, life happens. When sleep is curtailed at night, a nap can be a stop-gap measure to get through the day. Naps can also be part of a well-rested person’s normal routine, serving as a natural, mid-day pick-me-up.

Our bodies are programmed with a biphasic sleep pattern, which means they cycle through two periods of drowsiness every 24 hours. One is between 2 – 4pm, and the other is in the late evening before bed.

The corporate world’s answer to the mid-afternoon energy dip has traditionally been a coffee or a cola break. However, these caffeinated quick fixes often interfere with the night-time sleep cycle. A better remedy, when possible, is to get a short nap.

In Greece, southern Italy, and throughout Latin America, the siesta is used to counteract this dip and escape the hottest part of the day. Yet even in Spain, only 7 per cent of the population naps. Unlike every other mammal on the planet, we increasingly fight the urge because we’re too busy, too stubborn, or too ashamed to admit that we need rest. But it’s time we tuck that thinking away.

How long should I nap?

In theory, you have two options. Depending on how much time you have, a nap of 20 or 90 minutes will leave you feeling refreshed. Why these specific times? While sleeping, your body progresses through five distinct sleep cycles ranging from light [stages 1 and 2] through delta or slow-wave sleep [stages 3 and 4] to REM, the deepest of all [stage 5]. A successful nap is one that either takes you through just the first two stages [generally 20 minutes] or one that goes through one complete sleep cycle and awakens you during stage 2 of the next cycle [usually about 90 minutes].

The key is to wake up during a lighter sleep stage in order to feel rejuvenated. Otherwise, you’ll feel more groggy than before. That’s why a one hour nap is usually not a good idea.

Won’t napping make it harder for me to fall asleep at night?

Only if you break the rules we just outlined and wake up four hours later in a pool of drool. Be careful, however, if you have a history of insomnia. If so, napping may not be a good idea. Experiment with a 20-minute nap first to see if it has any effect. Some insomniacs actually find that napping reduces their sleep anxiety and allows them to doze off more easily at night. Incidentally, people who skip naps don’t sleep any better or longer at night than those who do nap.

Does napping help make up for lost sleep?

Yes, but it should be considered an alternative—not an antidote—for bad sleep habits. While it’s nourishing and even luxurious to nap, there are many times when we can’t turn off the world for even 20 minutes. That’s why consistent, night-time sleep is so important and the reason it should be your priority.

I tried, but I just can’t nap…

Nobel Prize winners, presidents, distinguished scientists, and athletes all nap: John Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Lance Armstrong—there’s no reason you can’t, too. If you’re having trouble napping, you might be too caffeinated, there may be too much light or noise in the room, or you may harbour subconscious fears of getting caught. Or, more positively, you may be sufficiently rested and not need a nap.

Close the door, turn down the lights, and put in some earplugs. If you don’t have the luxury of privacy, consider a bathroom stall, your car, a corporate nap room [if you’re so lucky]. Whenever you nap, you should set a small alarm in order to wake up at the prescribed time.

Most important, try to forget about the to-do list in your head. Write everything down if it’ll help clear it, and tell yourself that although you may feel overwhelmed now, when you wake up you’ll be better prepared to start crossing things off.

What ingredients are necessary for a perfect nap?

Time: If you don’t make time to nap, you won’t have time to nap. Don’t blame your lifestyle, job, or the number of hours in the day. If you have time to run to the coffee shop for a latte, you have time to nap. Just as with anything else, it’s a matter of prioritising.

Clear mind: Sweep your head of ‘nap blockers.’ Put your cell phone on silent, set an alarm that you can trust, and put your computer into sleep mode. If you have to, make a list of things you need to handle as soon as you wake up.

Darkness: Do everything you can to block the light in your napping place, or simply use an eye mask.

Quiet: Noise, unless it’s white noise, will ruin your chances of taking a quality nap. Use earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones; turn on a fan, an air conditioner, or something else that generates ambient noise.

Comfort: You may not be able to get into your PJs and hop into bed, but get as close [and as comfortable] to that scenario as you can. Lie down. Otherwise, use a mat or just sit back in your chair. Support your head and limbs so you won’t jerk yourself awake once you get past Stage 1 sleep [which lasts two to five minutes]. Your body associates certain positions with sleep, so anything you can do to trick it into thinking it’s bedtime will help.

Cool temperature: Sleep researchers recommend a chilly 18 – 20 degrees Celsius for optimal night-time sleeping. This is because good nocturnal sleep is triggered by low body temperature. Naps, however, usually occur at a time of the day when our core body temperature is at its highest, so try to cool down a bit. You should be comfortable—not too hot or too cold.

Guiltlessness: Feel safe. Feel peaceful. Feel entitled to take this small amount of time for yourself.

Adapted from the book Sleep for Success by James Maas and Rebecca Robbins

This was first published in the July 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders that can be embarrassing and cause uncomfortable for your bed partner. These include syndromes such as sleep walking, sleep talking, sleep terrors, sleep eating, bruxism, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, REM sleep behaviour disorder, and sleep-related penile erections.

Walking and talking in sleep: Although sleep walking, sleep talking, and sleep terrors are associated with children, they are also found in adults. They are characterised by a motor activity during a partial arousal from sleep. It’s difficult to wake up a person while s/he is in the midst of an episode and if they do wake up, they suffer from some disorientation. If you suffer from a parasomnia as an adult, it is often caused by sleep deprivation and lack of good sleep hygiene, such as following a regular bedtime schedule and avoiding caffeinated beverages and alcohol.

Treatment in adults may be by prescribed medication and/or psychotherapeutic intervention.

Sleep eating

Remarkable as it sounds, some people have the habit of eating in their sleep. Patients have been known to eat entire bags of potato chips, raw pork chops, and cigarettes with partial or no awareness before morning. Using the bed as a restaurant isn’t often enjoyed by your partner.

Treatments may include medications, reducing stress, and undergoing psychotherapy. Consult an accredited sleep disorder centre in your area as most general physicians are not trained in sleep disorder medicine.

Teeth grinding

A relatively common disorder consisting of repetitive and sometimes violent teeth grinding during sleep, bruxism can be annoying and even scary for your bed partner. It could be caused due to genetics, jaw malformation, central nervous system dysfunction, and certain psychological disorders that are exacerbated by anxiety and stress.

Wearing dental devices, and muscle relaxation exercises, including hypnosis, proves helpful.

Jerks

Almost all of us make jerking movements at sleep onset. These hypnagogic jerks [not referring to your bed partner] are often accompanied by sensations of falling, and are quite normal. And since the jerks are violent, they might even rouse you or your bed partner. Although usually not a problem, if these are a sleep impediment for either of you, consider sleeping on adjacent beds.

There are sleep disorders wherein jerking movements can be of longer duration and strength.

Moving limbs

Restless leg syndrome [RLS] is characterised by an irrepressible urge to move your limbs and is often accompanied by tingling and itching sensation that may be painful. By moving your legs, you can relieve the discomfort, at least temporarily. These movements, also characteristic of people with periodic limb movement disorder, disturb your ability to sleep at night and will typically rouse your partner. This drives couples into different bedrooms and will often put a severe strain on relationships. Medical treatments such as dopamine agents, benzodiazepines, opioids, and anticonvulsants, are used to alleviate or eliminate symptoms.

Nightmares

We experience REM sleep every 90 minutes and it can last from 9 – 60 minutes at a time. It involves muscle paralysis, and is the stage in which 85 per cent of our dreams occur. Memory consolidation also takes place during REM sleep, as do nightmares [and related yelling], which can awaken sleepers and subsequently their bed partners. Nightmares are often experienced as a result of the bedroom being excessively warm. To avoid having bad dreams, you need a quiet, dark and cool ambience. You also need to reduce stress and avoid eating spicy foods before bed time.

Weird actions

There is a rather rare syndrome, called REM sleep behaviour disorder [RSBD], which is marked by active movements during dreaming sleep, sometimes resulting in hitting of a bed partner, jumping from bed, running into walls, and crashing out of windows. It is most often seen in males over 70 years of age, and you certainly don’t want to share a bed with anyone suffering from this disorder. Treatment of RSBD by drugs such as clonazepam has often proven effective.

Erections

Women are often disturbed, if not shocked and amused, by noting penile erections in their male sleeping partners. This tumescence is a common byproduct of REM sleep, which occurs every 90 minutes. The erections may be completely unrelated to sex. Treatment is not warranted.

Sex in sleep

There is a newly discovered sleep disorder called sexomnia, wherein people engage in sexual activity in their sleep. This can range from loud sex talking to intercourse and orgasm.

Cases have been reported where people are making love while snoring, or having sex with unwilling people while completely asleep. Typically, people are completely unaware of their sleepsex behaviour and can be subjected to criminal charges without any motivation. Forced sex can lead to relationship distrust, guilt, shame, and pregnancy. Alcohol and sleep deprivation have been indicated as major triggers to unwanted sleepsex experiences. Treatment by medication such as benzodiazepine clonazepam has shown 90 per cent effectiveness in controlling sleepsex.

Sleep apnoea

It occurs when respiratory passages become too constricted during sleep and airflow is completely shutoff, causing breathing to stop for up to a minute or longer. Gasping for air, people awaken suddenly in order to resume breathing. This can happen up to 700 times a night, seriously disturbing both bed partners. Often sufferers of sleep apnoea are unaware of the raucous noise, which is more than just a case of loud snoring. People with this disorder should seek treatment because it can lead to fragmented sleep, and in severe cases, death.

Treatment involves wearing a CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] machine during the night, which maintains steady airflow to open the respiratory passages. As the sound this machine makes may be irritating to a sleep partner, alternative options focus on strengthening the upper airway muscles so that they don’t collapse during the night. It has been reported in the British Journal of Medicine that playing the didgeridoo [an Australian aboriginal instrument] can be effective in mollifying sleep apnoea. Because sleep apnoea is most often observed in obese individuals because of excess fatty tissue in the neck, cutting down excess body weight is also recommended.

Bedwetting

While more commonly seen in children, at least 2 per cent of adults report suffering from the embarrassing disorder of bedwetting. As this involuntary voiding of urine during the night can be humiliating, most people turn to behavioural therapy as a remedy.

Decreasing liquid intake in the afternoon and evening also can be effective in reducing the amount of urine produced during the night.

Also, bladder volume training is suggested to help increase the bladder capacities of bedwetters. This involves drinking lots of fluid throughout the day, and then waiting as long as possible to relieve yourself so that over time, the bladder capacity increases. Use of a moisture-sensitive mattress pad can also be used to condition the sleeper to awake before voiding occurs. And there are medications that help reduce enuresis.

Passing gas

You might have enjoyed a delectable dinner, but others around you don’t enjoy it much if you share it by passing gas at night. Vibration of your anal sphincter or your buttocks produces unwelcome noises and unpleasant smells, which disturb others, even in their sleep.

Although you do it unawares and can always blame it on your family dog sleeping near your bed later, you might want to avoid foods at dinner time that are high in polysaccharides, such as beans, dairy products, onions, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Remedies include eating certain spices such as cumin, coriander, caraway, yoghurt, and medicinal activated charcoal tablets.

Other irksome habits

Habitual coughing and sneezing, night sweats and bad breath can disturb bed partners. If they aren’t resolved in a few days, medical counsel should be sought. Also, watching late night television or using iPads, cell phones, or playing computer games and surfing the web in the bedroom or on the bed can disturb your partner.

Using electronic gadgets within an hour of bedtime can affect your sleep. They emanate blue daylight spectrum lighting that blocks the secretion of melatonin in your brain, thereby delaying sleep onset. Also, partner disagreement over room temperature or the number of blankets preferred may disrupt sleep [as in the case of a famous American television couple, where the husband prefers to sleep under a heavy blanket while the wife prefers sleeping in nothing but her wedding ring]. Having frank discussions with your bed partner to seek solutions can often help resolve these discrepancies.

As it is most of us are sleep-deprived because of work and family pressures, environmental disturbances, and the sense that sleep is just not that important. And these embarrassing habits further affect our sleep. Consequences? Drowsiness, moodiness, irritability, anxiety, poor cognitive processing and diminished creativity.

Poor sleep also affects critical thinking and puts you at risk of hypertension, type-2 diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Instead of pushing these problems under the cover due to embarrassment, consult an expert about them to resolve them at the earliest so that both you and your partner can sleep in peace.

This was first published in the May 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Why exercise needs sleep

When we sleep, our body produces the human growth hormone [HGH], which allows for muscle growth and repair. Sleep improves reaction time, muscle memory, motivation and energy. Researcher Cheri Mah of the Stanford University found that varsity female tennis players were able to run sprints significantly faster and hit better shots with extended sleep.

The different stages of sleep strengthen our brain connections that control muscle memory. Rapid eye movement [or REM] sleep is the stage of sleep responsible for dreaming and promoting learning. This stage helps lay down in long-term “muscle memory”, the skills we practise in a day.

Another important component of sleep, the “sleep spindles”, occurs only between the sixth and eight hour of sleep. These spindles represent cascades of calcium in our brain. The calcium [which cannot be taken from pills] causes the melding of a step-by-step athletic motor sequence into an automatic, fluid and fast movement.

Consider a golf swing; you can never hit the ball perfectly if you focus on each step in the process—the swing needs to be rapid and automatic. If you truncate your sleep, you will miss those last important two hours of sleep in the eight hour sleep-cycle. You will therefore miss the opportunity to be a better athlete. So, many sports heroes, like cyclist Lance Armstrong and Olympic gold medallist Sarah Hughes, have found that extended sleep contributes greatly to their performance. It is often the key to obtaining that “extra edge” that significantly improves what your body can achieve.

How much should I sleep?

The average adult needs about eight hours of sleep each night, yet the vast majority of us get less than six. Those who exercise need even more sleep because of the physical strain they undergo. To boost our exercise performance, most of us need to add an extra hour to what we usually get each night.

How do I eat for optimal sleep?

Several dietary precautions can be taken to allow maximum sleep and fuel your body for peak performance.

• Avoiding a late dinner can improve quality of sleep because it will catalyse a dip in body temperature and promote sleepiness.
• Alcohol and hard-to-digest foods disrupt sleep when consumed too close to bedtime. While alcohol destroys sleep periods that permit body restoration and muscle memory development, hard-to-digest foods interfere with sleep quality. Examples of foods to avoid include spicy foods, dairy, garlic and meats.
• Some foods actually help us sleep. Carbohydrates cause the release of tryptophan, a chemical that is converted into serotonin in the brain, which makes us sleepy. Proteins have the opposite effect.

They reduce the amount of tryptophan entering the brain, making us more alert. Avoid consuming protein within four hours of bedtime. A night-time snack of carbohydrates can be satisfying following an early high-protein dinner.

The benefits of sleep and nutrition are bidirectional; not only does good nutrition aid sleep, but adequate sleep also helps you make healthier food choices. This maximises athletic performance by providing the fuel you need, when you need it.

Is time of exercise related to sleep?

Yes. Our bodies are designed to perform certain functions at certain times of the day. We have internal clocks that operate on circadian rhythm. Temperature is one indicator as well as a control of circadian rhythm. During sleep, our body temperature drops and slowly increases after we wake up. Jump-starting this warming process with early morning exercise can cause overheating and exhaustion. Hence, it’s best to avoid the early morning exercise routine.

Also, by getting up early, we miss necessary sleep. In addition, a fluid has been building between our spinal discs throughout the night. If we fail to adequately stretch before morning exercise, it is likely that we might cause lower back pain and increase the risk of serious injury such as a herniated disk. However, many of us insist that our only free time is early morning. If you must exercise early in the day, take all the necessary precautions to protect your body.

Exercising from 5pm–7 pm is the best as it does not interfere with our circadian rhythm. Our bodies cool off from 2pm–4pm, resulting in an afternoon dip in alertness. At this time, our internal clocks are not in the process of heating or cooling, allowing for alertness and optimal exercise. If we exercise at night, when our bodies are attempting to cool down, we wake up and don’t get restful sleep after that.

If you want your body to get up and go, fuel it with the food and sleep it needs to get the most out of exercise.

This was first published in the August 2011 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Sleep is one of the two primary sources of energy that our body needs to get through the day [the other being food]. Boosting our energy with sleep makes it easier for us to make healthy decisions throughout the day.

Rest and not just activity is a part of a healthy lifestyle. Francesco P Cappuccio and his colleagues at the University of Warwick Medical School found a correlation between short sleep and a higher body mass index [BMI]. This means that people who slept the least had the highest weight relative to their size and age. In 2005, collaborators including Dr Gangswisch at the Columbia University found that those who reported getting less than seven hours of sleep per night had a higher risk for obesity than their counterparts who caught sufficient ZZZs.

Sleep affects metabolism

Research has found that sleep deprivation has dire effects on our metabolism. Two hormones—leptin and ghrelin—help control how much we eat and influence the hunger we feel. Ghrelin works to modulate how temporarily hungry or satiated we are, while leptin helps with weight loss in the long term. Ghrelin accelerates hunger while leptin inhibits it. Both these hormones are connected to sleep. At the Stanford University, Dr Taheri and his colleagues found that those who slept less than eight hours at night had elevated ghrelin, lower leptin, and significantly higher body fat compared to well-rested participants.

Insulin is another hormone that connects sleep to weight maintenance. Insulin works to keep our blood sugar at normal levels. Van Cauter and colleagues Karine Spiegel and Rachel Leproult at the University of Chicago Medical Center found that healthy individuals who slept less than six hours per night experienced tremendous hormonal changes: their insulin production increased by 30 per cent to maintain blood sugar. Such lack of sleep predisposes people to weight gain, type-2 diabetes and other health issues.

The sleep and eating connection

Imagine it’s close to bedtime. Ask yourself: are you craving something to eat? Most likely it’s something sweet. Dr Eve van Cauter at the University of Chicago subjected healthy male participants to sleep deprivation and found a 24 per cent increase in their appetites. Moreover, the subjects craved sweet, salty and starchy foods like cookies, chips, and pasta the most. When sleep deprived, we crave foods high in fat and sugar. Plus, the longer we sleep, the lesser time we get to eat.

“Stress eating” is not just an excuse we use to eat how we like. This type of eating is an effect of stress on our biology and eating behaviour. When we don’t get enough sleep, our levels of the stress hormone cortisol are higher. And high cortisol levels trigger hunger.

Consumption of “comfort food” is another eating behaviour linked to sleep. When we don’t get enough sleep, the part of our brain that governs emotions like anger is more active. We have less control over our emotions and might find ourselves turning to food for comfort. This proves to be dangerous to our diets and health. Dr Brian Wansink at the Cornell University found that of the respondents he surveyed, only 40 per cent’s favourite comfort foods were ‘somewhat’ healthy.

Nutrition and sleep are not only connected by physiology, but also by psychology. Eating is a behaviour; one that nutritionists and psychologists alike have argued is heavily influenced by the food environment we are in. Our eating behaviour is often dependent upon external cues, sometimes regardless of how hungry we are. For example, researchers Van Ittersum K and Wansink B found that the size of our plate unconsciously determines how much food we put on our plate and therefore how much we consume. These environmental influences are problematic to our health and nutrition because we live in an obesigenic environment.

We are constantly surrounded with cheap, convenient, and high-calorie foods begging us to taste them. But if we want to lead a healthy lifestyle, we often have to ignore these cues. When we are exhausted from inadequate sleep, we may be even more susceptible. Mark Blagrove at the University of Wales found that subjects who had been awake for 21 hours were significantly more suggestible than their well-rested counterparts. So when we are passing advertisements for poor food choices, being well-rested may help us not only physiologically to make better food choices [by reducing our craving], but mentally as well.

A major factor that influences the daily decisions we make about food, is convenience. After a long, tiring day, it is appealing to eat something quick rather than take the effort to cook. Those who change their sleep habits, however, find it easier to manage time effectively—giving them more energy to spend on things that often fall by the wayside, such as a wholesome meal. By boosting energy with added sleep, we can be less reliant on convenience and make healthier decisions.

Health and nutrition are, of course, controlled by many different factors, some of which are out of our control. This includes our genetics, environment, culture, stress and costs. The ties between sleep and healthier eating habits show that part of the solution to weight issues may be in harnessing the power of sleep, and not in avoiding it.

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Have you struggled to stay awake in a business meeting happening seven time zones from home? Have you been excited about a vacation in Paris, only to find yourself dozing off over your Coquilles St. Jacques [a French scallop recipe]?

More often than not, disrupted sleep cycles put a damper on your travel experience. But if you know a few secrets, travelling can be enjoyable, productive, and relaxing rather than stressful and exhausting.

Air travel

Jet lag spells trouble for a traveller. It occurs when you cross multiple time zones in a short period. We’re able to jet over multiple zones in a matter of hours, but our internal biological clocks can’t acclimate that fast, and we feel out of sync. The effects are most pronounced when flying east or west.

The main symptoms of jet lag include daytime sleepiness, insomnia, poor concentration, slower reaction times, and gastro-intestinal problems. Depending on your sensitivity to time change, jet lag starts becoming apparent after you cross three time zones. After that, it usually takes about one day to recover from each zone crossed.

Children under age three seem to be unaffected by jet lag, but the older you get, the more it impacts your body and mind. Outgoing, social people, as well as people who tend to be more flexible, find it easier to adjust to time-zone change than reserved, shy, and tranquil folks.

Here’s how to minimise jet lag:

Pre-flight

• Adjust your biological clock. Start living on destination time before you’ve even left your home.
• Avoid early morning departures.
• Arrive at your destination in time for a full night’s sleep. Reach a day early and get some rest.
• Avoid red-eye flights—flights that depart late in the night, typically after 10pm.
• Pre-select a comfortable seat. Choose one that reclines [those in emergency rows don’t] and one that offers a little extra legroom [any on the aisle]. Steer clear of bathrooms, galleys, and bulkhead seats.
• Arrive at the airport early. This makes things less stressful, plus it betters your chances for an upgrade.
• Pack a sleeping bag. Include an eye mask, travel pillow, earplugs, slipper socks, gum [for equalising ear pressure on takeoff and landing], moisturiser, lip balm, and a nasal decongestant. Wear loose-fitting clothes and dress in layers for warmth and comfort.
• Don’t leave trip preparations until the last minute. Be well-rested, not exhausted, when you start your journey.

In-flight

• As soon as you’re seated, set your watch to destination time.
• Drink lots of water and juice to counter dehydration.
• Avoid consuming stimulants [including caffeine] and alcohol.
• Remove contact lenses to avoid dryness and irritation.
• Use noise-cancelling headphones.
• Use a light-generating gadget to help reset your biological clock. You can simulate daytime during a night flight with a battery-operated, artificial-light gadget such as the Litebook.
• Stroll down the aisle periodically to improve blood circulation. When muscles become tense from immobility, heavy fatigue may set in. Stretch in your seat to help you stay limber and build energy prior to arrival.

Post-flight

• If you fly east and it’s morning at your destination, but still the middle of the night in your head, don’t go to sleep. Even though you’re exhausted, it’s better to push through the day and fall into bed early that evening.
• If you fly west and it’s already evening according to your biological clock, spend time outdoors in the afternoon sun. The light will help you feel fresher and adjust your internal clock.

At the hotel

• Request for an out-of-the-way room. Reserving a room on an upper floor and away from elevators, stairways, and vending machines will limit your noise exposure.
• Pull the drapes at night to block city light and reduce noise.
• Keep the room at 65 degrees [around 18 degrees Celsius].
• Get some exercise. If you need to stay up, even a brisk walk after a long flight will raise your endorphin levels. This will reduce stiffness and pain, relax your muscles, and suppress drowsiness.
• Bolt the door and hang out the “Do not disturb” sign.
• Set the alarm and request a wake-up call.

Car travel

Many drivers insist they can tell when they’re about to fall asleep, but research shows otherwise. Most drivers who nod off do so without knowing it.

Sleep expert William C Dement says many people experience ‘microsleeps’ or ‘uncontrollable and unpredictable bouts of sleep that happen faster than a seizure.’ We may fall asleep only for a few seconds, but, behind the wheel of a car, even that much is enough to do a lot of damage.

Drowsy driving is equal to drunk driving. Here are the drowsy driving warning signs:

• Uncontrollable yawning
• Heavy eyelids
• Loss of focus
• Drooping head
• Wandering thoughts
• Memory loss of how you got from one place to another
• Drifting lanes, tailgating, and missing traffic signals
• Continually jerking the car back into the lane or drifting off of the road.

How can I stay awake when I feel drowsy?

If you experience any of the above-mentioned symptoms of drowsy driving, pull over immediately to a safe area, lock your doors, and take a nap.

A 15- to 20-minute power nap will only supply about 30 more minutes of driving time, though. Drink some strong coffee or cola and take a brisk walk before resuming your trip.

Remember that if you experience one or more of the warning signs, you’re driving impaired and are endangering yourself and others.

Also, opening windows, turning on the air conditioning, or cranking the radio will not prevent you from falling asleep at the wheel if you’re sleep-deprived.

So what can I do to stay safe if I am driving long distance?

• Start well rested. Driving requires total mental and physical alertness. So get adequate sleep the week before you leave.
• Don’t rely on caffeine or medications to stay awake. Although caffeine will give you a short burst of energy, it’s not a replacement for real rest and alertness.
• Stay on schedule. Drive when you’re most alert.
• Avoid driving through the night. Your body craves sleep after dark.
• Don’t put yourself in a time bind. Plan for congestion, bad weather, and unpredictable delays by leaving early.
• If possible, don’t drive alone. Conversation and sharing the driving load relieves tiredness and monotony.
• Be uncomfortable. Adjust the car temperature and environment so it’s not too pleasant. Keep the temperature cool and avoid listening to soft, sleep-inducing music.
• Don’t use cruise control.
• Take frequent breaks. Stop and get out of the car once every two hours. Eat a light, protein-rich snack to facilitate alertness. Chewing gum also helps keep you sharp.
• Exercise during breaks. Move your body briskly to increase heart rate and boost alertness.
• Monitor your medications. Avoid driving if you have used drugs that induce drowsiness.
• Do not consume alcohol. Even one drink, if you’re tired, can severely impair your ability to drive.
• Move eyeballs. Instead of staring straight ahead, scan your mirrors and the road, blinking frequently and naturally.
• Book the roadside Ritz. If you’re driving for consecutive days, make sure you get a good sleep on the in-between nights.

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