Sleeping ugly: What a bad night’s sleep really does to your body

Over the past decade, there has been increasing emphasis on the place of good-quality sleep as part of a quality health regimen. Some studies have suggested that seven to eight hours of good-quality sleep per night is as good for the body as not smoking. With the increasing stresses and pressures of the modern world, along with the ubiquitous presence of electronics, the quality and length of sleep is being constantly eroded.

On top of this is the very common diagnosis of sleep apnoea and some other less common but still very disturbing conditions of sleep that can markedly affect the quality and quantity of a good sleep habit.

Three recent studies on sleep have prompted me to revisit this issue. The first study, published in Nature Genetics, assessed the DNA and sleep characteristics in 1.3 million people who were part of the US-based “23 and me” genetic screening program. It has been estimated that around 30 per cent of the population suffer some degree of insomnia where one in 10 people have chronic poor sleep and subsequent daytime consequences. It has been estimated that 770 million people worldwide suffer significant chronic insomnia.

Interestingly, this new study showed there are just under 1,000 gene variants that contribute to insomnia and this appears unrelated to whether you are a lark i.e. go to bed early, wake up early, or a night owl i.e. go to bed late, wake up late, which appears to be genetically determined with a 70-30 ratio of larks to night owls. But, there does appear to be a clear link between these abnormal gene variants and insomnia and depression and anxiety.

The second study, conducted by the University of Rochester and published in Science Advances, was performed in mice using a variety of anaesthetic regimens, one of which simulated the effects of deep non-REM sleep. This is the phase of sleep where we rejuvenate the body for the next day. Interestingly, it has been discovered that the brain has a glymphatic system. This is the part of the immune system that helps to clear waste and other toxic proteins from the brain. It appears that this system is most active during deep sleep. Thus, if we do not have good-quality deep sleep, we are not clearing toxins from the brain and thus the link between poor-quality sleep and the increasing risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

The final study, conducted at the University of Colorado and published in Current Biology, looked at 36 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 40 and monitored their food intake, exposure to light and sleep over nine nights. They split these people into three groups with the first group sleeping nine hours each night for nine nights, the second only five hours per night for nine nights and the third, five hours per night for five days with an unrestricted weekend and then two further days of five hours per night. The conclusion of this study was that trying to catch up for the lost sleep on weekends does not really benefit your metabolism with anywhere between a 9-27 per cent reduction in insulin sensitivity by this yo-yo effect on the circadian rhythm, the vital rhythm that maintains our wake-sleep cycle each day and allows the rhythmic release of a variety of body chemicals and hormones to maintain normal body balance.

The key message from all of the studies performed on sleep is that this is a vital part of your day and one that should be respected and not abused. We should be aiming for a regular, constant sleep habit that is maintained day after day. With the increasing issues around all aspects of modern living, many people are cutting back on sleep or having disrupted sleep because of stress, electronics and many other factors. We hear so much about the importance of diet and exercise but it is my opinion that good-quality sleep is another vital factor in the generation of good health. Sleep poorly at your peril.

Do you find it difficult to sleep through the night? Do you stick to a steady sleep routine?