The Power of Sleep and Why We Sleep

In his book, Why We Sleep, renowned sleep scientist Matthew Walker discusses everything you need to know about what a better night’s sleep can do for your life and how to prioritize it.

Dr Anna discusses what she has learned from his book and how you can understand the power of sleep in your life.

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep is deep sleep, in the latter part of our sleep cycle, and when we dream. 25% of our night is spent in REM sleep and non REM sleep is at the beginning of the night. Different stages of sleep do different things for your brain and body, deep sleep is not necessarily better than non REM deep sleep.

All the stages of sleep serve to rest our brain and heal our bodies and make us look more youthful. We are all different and there is an array of sleep “need” across the population. 7 to 9 hours covers the vast majority of human sleep needs (CDC quotes minimum 7 hour sleep). Once you drop below 7 hours “objective” measurements in performance are seen, neurocognitive ability, etc.

Genetic “short sleepers” exist but they are very uncommon 1/12,000 and some are not affected neurocognitively (concentration and attention). However, when other “holistic measurements” are assessed immunity, sex hormones, glucose control, blood pressure and mood are measured, no one is immune from the side effects of insomnia. Our bodies have a sleep need and these needs have to be met for good health. This is why lifestyle medicine is so important in helping and preventing chronic illness.

Pay attention to chronic lingering sleep debt and make sleep rituals as important as good nutrition, exercise, and other good lifestyle “habits”. If you need caffeine in the morning to function, you may have a chronic sleep debt. Listen to your body.

Feel free to talk to us and we will do our best to direct you to the appropriate experts, apps, or give you some tools to help yourself.