Athletic Training Blog Series
Sleep
Sleep. We’ve all heard how important it is. They have even adjusted school schedules to better suit each age group of students and their sleep patterns. However here we are, in a world turned upside down, and we are each making our own schedules, and sorting out what works best. I can personally say I have had some wild dreams, and some days I am in bed by 9pm and others I am up till 2 am. It is getting better-but it takes work.
Did you know there are 4 stages of sleep? And each one will determine how you feel when you wake up, and how you function during the day.
- Stage 1: Non REM Sleep-this is the change over from wakefulness to sleep. A few minutes long, heartbeat/breathing, and eye movements slow. Some twitching may occur.
- Stage 2: A stage of light sleep before you enter REM. You are in this stage repeatedly over your entire sleep-more than any other stage
- Stage 3: Non REM sleep. Deep sleep needed to awake refreshed, occurs mostly in the first half of the sleep, heart rate and breathing are the slowest of the night
- REM Sleep-first occurs 90 minutes after falling asleep. Most dreaming occurs during this, breathing can be irregular, heart beat and blood pressure reach near waking levels, arm and leg muscles become paralyzed so you do not act out dreams
There are 2 other big things that affect our sleep cycles are Circadian rhythms and sleep wake homeostasis. Circadian rhythms direct a variety of functions such as metabolism, body temperature, hormone release, and wakefulness. It runs on a 24 hour clock and synchronizes with environmental factors such as light and temperature. Circadian rhythms will continue even without those cues (ie a Blind adult). Sleep wake homeostasis keeps track of your need for sleep. It reminds you when it is time to go to sleep and regulates intensity. This causes the drive to sleep to increase every hour awake, and you to sleep more deeply after a period of deprivation. Sleep wake homeostasis can be affected by medications, diet, caffeine intake, alcohol, stress, and sleep environment.
Teenagers need 8-10 (closer to 10) hours of sleep a night to function normally, whereas adults need 7-9. There are some easy ways to help us get the right amount.
- Set a schedule: In this weird time for a teenager that could mean they go to bed later, and sleep later. This is actually very normal for their Circadian rhythms. There was a great article in the Boston Globe about this (See below)
- Exercise 20-30 minutes a day. But not within a few hours of going to bed
- Avoid Caffeine, Nicotine during the day (especially later in the day) and alcoholic beverages before bed.
- Take time to relax before bed: take a bath, listen to music, read a good book
- Create a space for sleep: avoid bright lights, loud sounds, set a comfortable temperature. Limit Screens-screen time can mess up sleep
- Don’t lie awake in bed. If you can’t get up and do something to help you feel tired
- If you think you have a sleep disorder-see/talk to your doctor. They are very treatable.
Use this time as a way to reset your sleep. You will feel better for it.
