Get your ZZZs

While scientists may not know exactly why we need to sleep, they have found that sleep is vital to
learning and memory and that a lack of sleep can harm health and safety. The good news: Getting a
good night's sleep doesnt have to be a distant dream.

A Harvard study
published in 2007
shows that 24 hours
of wakefulness has
the same effect on
driving as a blood
alcohol level of .10

Sleep deprivation
negatively affects
mood, focus and
attention, making it
more difficult to
receive information

20 percent of car accidents involve

drowsy drivers 1 in 20 first-year medical
When surveyed, 60 percent of adult residents makes a fatal
drivers about 168 million people fatigue-related error
say in the past year they have driven a Sleep deprivation impedes our
vehicle while feeling drowsy ability to access higher-level
cognitive functions

Five stages of the sleep cycle

Brain-wave patterns during one sleep cycle
The cycle repeats
Most people experience three to five REM
cycles per night; overall sleep cycle repeats
in this order several times a night

Stage 1 (5-10 min.)
Light sleep
Brain produces high
amplitude theta
waves, or slow brain
Stage 2 (20 min.)
Light sleep
Brain produces
occasional bursts
of rapid, rhythmic
Stage 3 (transition to
deep sleep)
Deep sleep, or
slow-wave sleep, is
interspersed with
Stage 4 (30 min.) Stage 5 (10-90 min.) Awake
Delta sleep is Rapid eye movement
difficult to wake up and increased
from, with very little respiration and brain 1
eye movement; activity; when most
Stages

waves; can be brain waves known smaller, faster waves; most likely phase dreams occur, major 2
awakened easily as sleep spindles; transitional period for sleepwalking muscle groups
body temperature between light sleep become immobile 3
REM

REM

REM

REM

REM
decreases and heart and very deep sleep 4
rate slows
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Hours

Steps for better sleep

Adjust your bedroom Take naps, but keep them short
Keep the room at a comfortable temperature and A typical nap lasts 30-60 minutes; research has
well ventilated; block out distracting light and noise; found that people are better able to stay awake and
reserve the bed for sleep and sex; dont use alert into the late afternoon after a nap
bedroom as an office, workroom or recreation room

Set a regular sleep schedule Avoid chemicals that interrupt sleep

Waking up and going to bed at the same time sets Dont consume caffeine and nicotine 4-6 hours before
the bodys internal clock; keep this routine on bedtime; alcohol makes some people sleepy, but when the
weekends to avoid a Monday morning sleep alcohol level in the blood starts to drop, there is a stimulant
hangover or wake-up effect

Who has insomnia?

Certain groups of people are at a higher risk:
Troubled sleepers
More than
Seniors 60+
40%-60%
70 million 10 million No. 1
Americans have a Americans use prescription reason couples avoid/delay
Have insomnia due to inactivity, medical sleep problem sleep medication sex is exhaustion
problems and prescription drugs
Adults
20%-40%
Suffer from insomnia each year 27% 60% 38%
of those with sleep disorders of adults polled watch television of adults have
Depressed gain a lot of weight in the bedroom in the hour unintentionally fallen
90% before trying to go to sleep asleep during the day at
Have insomnia least once in the past
month
Employed 73%
56% of adults polled had almost every
Experience at least one symptom night phone calls, text messages
of insomnia a few times a week or emails on cellphones wake
Children them after trying to go to sleep
30%-40%
Dont get the 9 to 10 hours of sleep
they need each night On average, people sleep
Men
40% 20% less
From age 16 to 50, men lose than they did 100 years ago
about 80% of their deep sleep
Women
80% 25%
More likely to have insomnia than men;
caused by hormone fluctuation due to of Americans dont get
menstruation, pregnancy and menopause enough sleep to be fully
alert

Source: Harvard Medical Schools Guide to a Good Nights Sleep, Healthysleep.med.harvard.edu, Webmd.com, University of Maryland Medical Center, National Institutes of Health,
www.better-sleep-better-life.com/insomnia-statistics.html, www.sleepandyou.com/about-sleep-stats.htm, www.sleepmed.md, Frugaldad.com, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Sleep Foundation
Graphic: Molly Zisk, The Orange County Register 2012 MCT