PHIL’S CORNER

by Phil Carville | Co-Owner South Yuba Club

How did you sleep last night?

Well, I hope. But many people don’t sleep well and that is a big problem.

Sleep and exercise have a very positive relationship. But before I tell you about that here are some interesting facts about sleep.

SLEEP FACTS

• Duration: It varies quite a bit. Human adults sleep about 8-hours/day. Our close relatives, chimpanzees, sleep 9.4-hours/day. Brown bats sleep about 19.4-hours/day, while giraffes sleep only 1.9-hours/day. Horse lovers already know horses only sleep 2.9-hours/day. Koalas are the longest sleepers at 22-hours/day.
• Parents: During the first two years of a baby’s life, new parents will miss six months of sleep on average.
• Etymology: The origin of the word sleep derives from Proto-European base ‘sleb’ which meant ‘tiredness, weakness’.
  ‘To sleep around’: An intransitive verb first used in 1929.
• Universal: All complex living organisms sleep – insects, mollusks, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals.
• Modernism: In the pre-lightbulb era people slept an average of 9-hours/night, today we average about 7.5-hours/night.
• Adaption: Some animals have adapted remarkably to their environment. Only one-half of a Dolphin’s brain goes to sleep at a time – known as ‘unihemispheric sleep’ where one hemisphere of the brain goes to sleep while the other stays awake. This allows dolphins to sleep under water without drowning.  They also sleep with one eye open to avoid predators.
• Temperature: During sleep your body temperature naturally lowers. Hence artificial heat sources, such as electric blankets, can negatively affect your quality of sleep by unnaturally raising your body temperature.
• Loss: Sleep loss has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, obesity and many other maladies. There are 84 identified sleep/wake disorders.
• ‘Hard Drives’: During sleep the brain reorganizes and restructures memories not unlike optimizing storage on your computer’s hard drive. The brain dispenses with short-term memory [less important] and retains memories with strong emotional or social impact.
• Dreaming: Adults and children dream about two hours per night – even those persons who claim not to dream. Dreams average between five to 20 minutes each. Over 90% are forgotten when we wake up.
• Gender: Insomnia is almost twice as common in woman as it is in men.
• Snoring: Snoring, body heat, restless legs and a yearning for personal space are the reasons couple sleep apart – 30% of married couples sleep in separate beds or separate bedrooms.
• Shakespeare: There are so many references to sleep and sleep-disorders in his writings that it suggests that he suffered from the disorder.  To that insomnia list you can add Napoleon, Madonna, Judy Garland, Lady Gaga, George Clooney and certainly millions of others.
• Humans: We are the only animals that willingly delay sleep.
• Treatment: 60% of healthcare professionals feel they don’t have enough time with patients to discuss insomnia during regular office visits.  80% of patients misuse prescription sleep aids.

SLEEP & EXERCISE

Now, to get back to the relationship between sleep and exercise.

There is no doubt that exercise significantly improves the ability to sleep and to overcome normal insomnia. But the exact reasons (chemical, physical, etc.) are not always clear.

We know that modern society discourages exercise. Desk jobs, automation, a car-oriented culture and the stress of daily work and commitments (driving kids to soccer practice, 24-hour internet) all result in less physical activity and more stress.

Our grandparents were more physically active than we are today. That is why they could eat plenty of butter and potatoes, drink whole milk and remain skinny into their 80’s. They also slept better.

SLEEP BETTER

All exercise helps you to sleep better. Resistance exercise (lifting weights) works. Cardio-vascular exercise (running, group exercise class, swimming) works too. Develop a plan to exercise and mark your calendar – work out with friends. Make it fun. After exercise treat yourself to the sauna or hot tub spa at your club.  If it isn’t fun, you won’t continue to do it.

TAKE-AWAY

The important ‘take-away’ regarding sleep is that all exercise will make you stronger, more energetic, more fun to be around and generally a healthier person with a longer life span…. and sleep better.

Remember what the baseball great, Yogi Berra, said about sleep. “I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four.”

Phil Carville is a co-owner of the South Yuba Club. He is happy to respond to questions or comments.
He can be reached at philc@southyubaclub.com.