Quality not quantity – why sleep is so important
A GCU student has opened our eyes to the benefits of…closing our eyes.
Third year BSc (Hons) Applied Psychologystudent, Dorota Makaruk took part in a module during Erasmus in Denmark, which specifically focused on the impact sleep has on our brain.
So, with National Sleep Day taking place on Friday 18 March, we simply had to sit down with Dorota for a chat:
How important is sleep to us, why do we need it?
“My mum is also a psychologist and always says, ‘sleep = recovery’ and that’s in terms of both the body and mind.
There are four main functions of sleep; energy conservation (metabolism slows down), restoration (muscle repair and tissue growth – really important for children), brain plasticity (growth of brain) and memory consolidation (formulating memories and knowledge).”
How much sleep should we be getting?
“We should be aiming to get seven to eight hours sleep per night, which is common knowledge.
During my module they gave us a study which really stuck with me. In the late 80s, there was a study conducted which showed that there was increase risk of dying with every hour you sleep less or more than seven hours – the risk was actually higher for those who slept longer. They actually confirmed these results again in 2010 and 2017. So, sleeping longer isn’t always better.
Kids do need more sleep though, but that’s because of its importance in helping their bodies grow.
Older people tend to sleep less because they aren’t accessing new information as much as younger people, so their brains don’t need as much time to recover.”
What about gym-goers; should those of us who exercise be getting more sleep?
“It’s not just about quantity, it’s about quality! The short answer would be ‘yes’ because as we discussed, sleep = recovery but it’s not quite as simple as that. More sleep doesn’t mean that you will perform better but if you sleep less than seven to eight hours then you will perform worse.”
Tell us a bit about social jetlag and why we should avoid it?
Social jetlag is a big issue for students. You got to uni, you wake up early and then you decide to just make up for it at the weekend but this will actually impact you in a really bad way - you’ll feel fatigued. It’s been shown to be a big issue for students and teenagers.
It basically messes with your circadian rhythm, which is adapted for the 24-hour cycle of the earth and is linked to light. It prompts you when to go to sleep and when to wake up; so if you’re getting up at 6am Monday-Friday and then getting up at midday on the weekend, your body really loses any sort of balance it had. It’s important to keep your sleep consistent.”
Napping – yes or no?
“Personally, 100% yes! I love a good nap but that’s just a personal preference. During my module they never gave us a definite answer; some experts said it was bad because it disrupts your sleep cycle but some will say that it’s beneficial for recovery.
In general, your sleep cycle is about 90-110 minutes and you go through about five or six cycles during the night. Therefore, naps that last less than 90 minutes aren’t really doing much for us overall.”
Can sleep improve mental health and our overall mood?
“Yes, for sure! Sleep is obviously crucial for our body - that includes our brain and therefore our mental wellbeing. Sleep disturbances and sleep disorders have been found to be one of the major causes of mental health issues; for example, there’s a strong link between insomnia and high-risk of depression.
It’s a vicious cycle; if you’re stressed then you sleep less, which causes you to be tired. Your performance and ability to complete daily tasks then diminishes which leads to stress – you then find yourself tired once again. You have to break out of that and work on your sleep habits to avoid falling into this trap.”
What should we avoid doing before bed to help us get a good sleep?
“The biggest one is using our phone before bed. I’m well aware of the effects and I still do it, it’s not easy to get away from! Blue light - generated by our phones and laptops - is the greatest inhibitor of sleep. It switches off the production of melatonin, which is a hormone that makes you sleepy – it’s that simple. It’s not all negative though, there is a benefit to social media companies and phones using ‘night-mode’ and you can also get blue light glasses.
Eating before bed is also a bad idea. Your metabolism slows down at the beginning of sleep, so you’re not able to digest properly.
Intense exercise also isn’t good before bed because you’re increasing your heart rate but things like yoga can be good to help you relax.
Drinking alcohol also isn’t ideal. I’ve heard a lot of people say that it helps them sleep, which is true because it basically acts as a sedative. However, during your sleep cycle it can cause major sleep disruptions; so the quality of your sleep massively suffers.”
Final message for students?
“I really want to debunk the whole ‘if you get up early you’re ambitious and if you get up late you’re lazy’ – that just isn’t true!
It’s about your chronotype, which is an inclination of your body to sleep at a certain time and it impacts your peak time for performance. So, some people will be more inclined to wake up earlier and their body/mind works better in the morning, and for some people it will be later in the day.
We live in a world where a lot of us work 9-5 or go to school early. I grew up in Poland and we started school at 8am, so I had to wake up at 6am and get to school. That’s great for those people that are early birds but not so good for those who are night owls; not everyone in the same.
I’m the type of person who works during the night because I can’t do anything in the morning. 8pm hits and I’m like ‘ok, let’s get to work’.
I just don’t want people to feel bad that they’re night owls and don’t get up super early to go to the gym or work – it’s not a bad thing.”
By Ross Clark
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