Most of us aren’t getting enough sleep. How to make the most of your hours for better rest

This article is part of the series of Valley Fit stories, brought to you with support from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

Tiffany Turner, a new mom, feels lucky.

“My child actually sleeps pretty good,” she said. “He goes to bed around 10:30 to 11 p.m. and sleeps until 3 or 4 a.m. He eats, and we go back to bed and sleep until 7 or 8 a.m., and then we get up and start our day.”

Turner, of Byron, is the exception. Even with her four-week-old son, Tucker, she said she’s getting enough sleep most nights.

Many Americans don’t get enough sleep year-round and that’s not even counting any adjustments needed for the recent daylight saving time switch.

“Most children don’t get the recommended hours of sleep,” said Stephen Erath, professor in human development and family studies at Auburn University. “It tends to get worse across the teenage years.”

Maria Almonacid, an Auburn graduate student who also has a job, said she sleeps a lot more now than when she was in high school. She said she tries to get as much as nine hours of sleep each night.

“I feel that I get enough sleep normally. I plan my day so I can do it and be very productive,” Almonacid said in an email interview.

Two Columbus State University students also echoed Almonacid’s sentiments while enjoying a drink at Iron Bank Coffee Company Friday.

Jenna Pitts, senior integrated media major, and Elane Rhodes, junior early childhood education major, both said that they get between 40 to 45 hours of sleep a week, totaling about eight or so hours a night.

Both sleep more now than they did in their earlier years of college and attributed some of that increase to a lack of classes on certain days.

“The (communications) department at CSU doesn’t have class on Fridays and you can’t take a comm class on Friday. That’s great, not having classes on Friday,” Pitts said.

Rhodes said despite having fewer classes, her sleep schedule can fluctuate at times due to other factors.

“I would say workload is probably one thing that keeps most education majors up at night,” Rhodes said. “I’ve probably gotten less (sleep) as I’ve gotten older because I have a lot going on all the time.”

Erath and other experts said there are ways for parents, students and all of us to make sure we get enough sleep. And that’s important because research shows that we all need the right amount of sleep to stay in good physical and mental shape.

Which leads to the question, how much sleep do we need? It depends.

Erath said the National Sleep Foundation recommends children ages 6-13 should get between nine and 11 hours of sleep, while teens ages 14-17 should get eight to 10 hours of sleep.

Adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, and younger children require even more sleep, he said.

The differences in the amount of sleep for various age groups is based on biology.

Erath said the circadian rhythm, our body’s natural clock, shifts around the teen years.

He also attributes the difference to the fact that melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone, is released later at night as children progress through puberty and teen years.

Consequently, adolescents naturally experience sleepiness later at night than younger children, in part, because melatonin is released later.

Need is often overlooked

Even though experts remind us often that we don’t function well without the right amount of sleep, some of us aren’t paying attention.

“As a society, we don’t prioritize sleep enough,” Erath said. “If we prioritize it, we will plan to get enough sleep. The biggest issue is to commit to better sleep as a society.”

It is critical to make sleep a priority because the lack of sleep is linked to many aspects of both physical and mental health, he said. It affects mood, thinking, and behavior, as well as the immune and cardiovascular systems. It’s also linked to cancer, dementia and “any physical and mental health issue you can imagine.”

For children, parents need to be aware of some of the bad habits that may cause their kids not to get enough sleep.

“A number of environmental factors such as homework, early school start times, social opportunities and interests, such as talking and texting and electronic devices, are just impediments to sleep,” Erath said. “Children are using these late into the night. The light can cause melatonin to be released later and make them less sleepy.”

In addition, there are other ways to help your children (and yourself) sleep better at night.

JaPeera Edmonds, a certified health education specialist, Georgia Institute of Technology said it is important to make sure the bedroom environment is quiet, comfortable, cool and dark.

Turner, the new mother, follows that advice. She said, for now, her baby is sleeping in her room, which is quiet and dark, lit only with a small night light.

Erath said such conditions facilitate sleep because “light can inhibit the release of melatonin.”

He also advises getting into a nightly routine because it prepares the body for sleep. He suggests reading a book, rather than reading from a screen because any light exposure is not conducive for sleep. However, if using a phone or such, using the dimmer settings will help because it’s the blue light in the devices that are particularly problematic.

In addition, Edmonds said if a person is not tired and has trouble falling asleep, it is better to get up and do something.

“Just sitting there…it doesn’t actually help you go to sleep,” she said. “If you wake up in the night and can’t fall back to sleep in 15 to 20 minutes, you should get out of bed and do something to relax. Go into another room to read or listen to music and only return to bed when you feel tired.”

Almonacid said if she ever has trouble sleeping, she knows how to deal with it.

“I try meditating, doing mantras and counting sheep, as childish as (that) can sound,” she said.

While you’re trying to fall asleep or want to have a good night’s rest, the experts said alcohol is another thing to avoid.

Edmonds said that even though alcohol is a natural sedative, it causes lighter sleep. Since the alcohol is metabolized in the body, it makes the sleep lighter and the chances of waking up during the night greater.

‘Catching up’ and napping

When you have a few nights of not sleeping, Edmonds and Erath said don’t plan to try to “catch up” on sleep during the weekends. It’s not a good idea, they said, because it changes your sleep schedule.

Edmonds said that trying to “catch up” on sleep actually “messes with your circadian rhythm, our body’s natural clock” and can make a person more groggy and tired than usual.

Instead, she suggests napping, but not too much of it.

Napping can actually improve brain activity, alertness and decision-making, creativity and sensory perception, Edmonds said.

She recommends a 20 minute to 30 minute nap, but no more than an hour. More time could make you feel worse.

And here’s something that may pleasantly surprise you about sleep - the recent time change shouldn’t cause you too much of a problem in the long run.

Turner said she and her baby,Tucker, had a difficult time during the first day of the time change.

“The first day was terrible,” she recalled. “I was going more off the clock, and he was going more off his schedule. I thought I was going to die, but after the first day…everything went back to normal.”

Edmonds said that’s about the norm for most people. It may take a couple of days up to a week for the body to adjust to the difference in the light and darkness. Other than that, the time change shouldn’t have any other effects.

“Time change is a good reminder to prioritize sleep,” Erath said. It’s a chance to kick-start better sleep habits.”

Tips for Getting A Good Night’s Sleep

Do:

• Have a consistent time to go to bed and wake up.
• Create a sleep atmosphere that is conducive to sleep - dark, cool and quiet.
• Sleep in a cold room, from 65-67 degrees.
• Maintain a consistent daily bedtime routine.
• Do activities that help promote sleep such as meditation, a warm bath and reading.
• Reduce stress throughout the day, especially at night.

Don’t:

• Go to bed later and wake up later on weekends; it interferes with the weekday schedule.
• Drink caffeine five to seven hours before bedtime.
• Exercise three to four hours before bedtime.
• Use electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime.
• Drink alcohol before bed.
• Eat a late night snack - the more calories something has, the more energy it will give and can actually prevent sleep at a certain time

Sundra Hominik, Ledger-Enquirer senior editor, and staff writer Tandra Smith contributed to this report.