University of Virginia Health System

This article comes from the Winter 2006 issue of Vim & Vigor, UVa's free consumer health magazine. Receive a free subscription.   

ZZZs for Your Health

Here's a resolution for the new year that may be one of the healthiest things you do-get more sleep. Research confirms that a good night's rest-not just on weekends but every night-helps boost your immunity, improve your mood, and over a lifetime, helps prevent high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, obesity and even diabetes.

"Chronic sleep deprivation and untreated sleep disorders contribute significantly to many of the most widespread illnesses. Fortunately, people are becoming more aware of sleep disorders and are seeking out treatment," says Steven Koenig, M.D., a nationally board-certified sleep medicine specialist at the University of Virginia Health System's Sleep Disorders Center. Because there are many causes for more than 70 sleep disorders (including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy), the UVa Sleep Disorders Center has assembled a team of experts to provide the most effective treatments. Patients at UVa's Sleep Disorders Center can access, when needed, the expertise of physicians in internal medicine, sleep and pulmonary medicine, dentistry, neurology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry and behavioral medicine, and plastic surgery.

Getting Enough ZZZs?

In a 24/7 world, chronic sleep deprivation is taking its toll. Many of us mistakenly think we can get by on less than 6 hours a night with no adverse consequences. Research suggests, however, that adults need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily so that our bodies can carry out many vital tasks. School-aged children and adolescents need at least 9 hours. Children in preschool sleep between 10 and 12 hours and newborns sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, here are the health benefits you're not receiving if you're not getting a good night's sleep.

Protect Your Heart

A good night's sleep reduces your heart rate and blood pressure by about 10 percent. Without this dip, several studies show, you are more likely to experience stroke, an irregular heartbeat, heart attack or congestive heart failure. A lack of sleep also puts your body under stress, potentially triggering the release of more adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones during the day. Some studies also find that people who chronically do not get enough sleep have higher blood levels of C-reactive protein that may suggest a greater risk of developing hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).

Boost Your Immune System

A lack of sleep can reduce your ability to fight off common infections because it is while you're sleeping when your body creates cellular hormones that boost your immune system. Interestingly, sleep-deprived volunteers given the flu vaccine in a research study produced less than half as many flu antibodies as those who were well rested and given the same vaccine.

Control Your Weight

The current epidemic of diabetes and obesity appears to be related, at least in part, to a chronic lack of sleep. Sleep is a powerful regulator of appetite, energy use and weight control. During sleep, the body's production of the appetite suppressor leptin increases, and the appetite stimulant grehlin decreases. Studies find people who report an average total sleep time of 5 hours a night, for example, are much more likely to become obese compared to people who sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. Another study found that women who slept less than 7 hours a night were more likely to develop diabetes than those who slept between 7 and 8 hours.

"Quality sleep every night is really the closest thing we have to a panacea," Koenig says.

Sleeping Sound Again

Getting a good night's sleep was always a struggle for Ann Ridgeway of Madison County, Va. It was even harder to come by after a car accident in 2003 left her in pain. Although she had coped with little sleep for so long, she knew it was finally taking its toll when she was driving to visit her elderly mother and woke up on the wrong side of the road.

Fortunately, a University of Virginia Health System allergist referred her to UVa's Sleep Disorders Center. An overnight stay in the Sleep Lab uncovered sleep apnea- a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. During her sleep test, UVa sleep technicians fitted Ridgeway with a nasal mask to provide continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The mask enabled her to get the first good night's sleep she had had in years. "I thought I would have a hard time falling asleep during the testing but I was very comfortable. My room was so dark," Ridgeway recalls.

"I love my CPAP machine," she adds. "I can't imagine what my life would be like without it. It's wonderful to wake up in the morning now. I'm clearer. I can think straighter. I have more energy." A better night's sleep is also helping her better manage the pain that flares up when she over does it. She's also had a much easier time losing the weight she had been trying to take off for years.

Ridgeway knows firsthand what science now confirms: "You have to have your eight hours of sleep a night."