Sleep is IMPORTANT!

Sleep is IMPORTANT!

William Shakespeare, who always seemed to find the most eloquent way to express simple truths, once made this comment on the importance of sleep to the function of the human brain:

“Sleep….the bath and balm of hurt minds”

I recently attended a conference called “The Ever-Changing Brain,” and learned a few things about sleep that you might find interesting. Americans are now sleeping 1.5 hours less per night than they were 100 years ago.  Some are advocating that sleep deprivation is gradually have serious effects on our society as a whole.  What’s the big deal?  Well, on an individual level, adequate sleep is crucial in the regulation of various hormones and immune system functions.  For example, 95% of the growth hormone release in your body is done so during deep sleep.  So when you aren’t achieving deep sleep for long enough periods, your body isn’t releasing the proper amount of growth hormone.  And growth hormone has widespread effects in your body, like repairing injured tissues, boosting the immune system, and has been linked to regulating blood pressure.  (All important functions after a stroke!)

If you are having trouble sleeping, or just feel like your energy level is low, ask your doctor about ways to improve this.  Here are a few suggestions you might consider, in the meantime:

• waking up at the same time every day, to normalize your body’s circadian rhythm (which influences the timing of all your hormone activity)
• regular exercise (also stimulates endorphin and serotonin activity that helps to achieve deeper sleep at night…….as long as your exercise isn’t too close to bed-time)
• sleep in a cool environment  (a cooler temperature helps the body to achieve deeper sleep than a warm temperature)
• small daily doses of melatonin (0.5 mg about 4 hrs before sleeping).  Ask your doctor before trying this, or before taking any new medications.
• avoiding substances that interfere with achieving deep sleep, like:
  • caffeine (shoot for less than 250 mg per day, and none late in the day)
  • alcohol
  • Some sleeping pills actually decrease deep sleep (although they relax you and help you get to sleep initially)

You might be suffering from mood difficulties, or symptoms of depression, after having a stroke.  These are common problems for stroke recoverers, and can sometimes be improved by regulation of your sleeping patterns, and the positive effects on your body’s hormones that this will bring.