I have a problem with going to bed at night, which means I’m usually pretty interested in any sleep-realted study.
So I was all over an article that Anahad O’Connor at The New York Times recently wrote about the connection between activity and sleep latency in children, Really? The Claim: Exercise More During the Day, and You Will Sleep Better at Night.
Apparently a longitudnal study was published this year that shows a correlation between a child’s activity during the day and how long it takes to fall asleep at night.
The findings: It takes an extra three minutes for kids to fall asleep, per every hour of sedentary activity during the day. This can lead us to believe that physical activity leads to better sleep.
So how do you get more physical activity? Here are some things I’ve started doing:
Walk more — Walking is easy and free. When it’s nice outside, I walk around the neighborhood with my kids. When I go to work everyday, I walk from my car to the office. I even like to get up and just wonder around the office throughout the day. The point is to just get up move around.
Play more — My daughter is three now and can play games inside like hide and seek and tag. We also like to play loud music and dance around together. Follow the leader is an easy game to play, and we can end up spending a good half hour marching around the kitchen table together to the funky beat.
Exercise more — This may sound offputting but it doesn’t have to be hard work. I now spend 30-45 minutes three times a week watching TV on an eliptical machine. I’ve found that watching football, basketball or even MMA while being active makes it easy to keep going psycologically.
Those are my tips. What are yours? How do you stay active during the day to fall asleep easier at night?
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
I used to subscribe to the theory that I could pay off a week of getting four hours of sleep per night by sleeping late on the weekends. Not anymore. This New York Times article: The Claim: A Person Can Pay Off Sleep Debt by Sleeping Late on Weekends shows that sleep debt isn’t that easy to pay off.
What Is Sleep Debt
Wikipedia calls sleep debt: the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. A large sleep debt may lead to mental and/or physical fatigue.
I first learned about the term while in college, where I would routinely get four hours of sleep or less each week night and try to find ways to supplement my sleep in between classes and on weekends. The habits I developed there have carried over into my professional life, and I’m now finding out just how unhealthy it is to not sleep.
How Much Sleep Do You Need
The consensus seems to be that sleep needs vary by age and by person. Although data can not link sleep deprivation directly to chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity, there seems to be some kind of a connection. This New York Times article: At Every Age, Feeling the Effects of Too Little Sleep talks about the perils of not getting enough sleep and how the vicious cycle starts in most adults when they hit puberty.
What Can You Do?
The best answer seems to be to listen to your body, although I realize how hard that can be. The Internet is a strong influencer in my personal struggle with getting enough sleep. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I am unable to fit everything that needs to be done into my day. That makes it very hard for me to pull myself away from the computer late at night… which leads to worry and consternation from my better half.
Setting bedtime goals, as funny as that sounds, and making a lights out commitment is the path that I’m currently headed down. The key I think will lie in consistency over time.
How Much Sleep Do You Get?
Is it hard for you to keep your eyes open at night? Do you find yourself dozing off throughout the day? What have you done to change your sleep habits? Please share with us in the comments below.
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
