“As humans, we are designed to sleep and regenerate our central nervous system,” says Dr. Grant. “Our bodies face the stress of daily life and burn calories.”
Dr. Grant sees more benefit from people focusing on getting eight hours of rest a night to avoid impacts on overall health such as:
- Increased risk of heart disease
- Increases in Type 2 diabetes
- Increased instances of obesity
- Impact behavioral health
Bad sleep and your health
The body needs a balanced circadian rhythm to function properly, and this is provided through sleep.
Circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark and affect most living things. And if you don’t receive enough sleep, your health can become impacted.
“The heart can be greatly impacted by reduced circadian rhythm and so can the liver, stomach and kidneys,” he shared. “These organs need inactivity at night and to be active during the day. When there is a metabolic imbalance, it can result hormones and proteins that normally control hunger and fullness to send the wrong message to the body resulting in an increase in obesity and a higher prevalence of heart disease.”
Sleep and your pH levels
Sleep is also important to maintaining a specific pH level of your body.
“Humans are electrical organisms,” reminds Dr. Grant. “Our heartbeat and brain signals controlling the body are electrical, so we are like a lead acid battery - our body requires a specific pH to function properly.”
Sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, can impact your pH by lowering your oxygen levels and increasing your carbon dioxide levels.
“This can change the body’s pH which can result in heart arrhythmias and higher all-cause mortality for cardiac events at night,” says Dr. Grant.
Behavioral health impacted by sleep
Inadequate or poor-quality sleep can also have an impact on behavioral health including your body’s ability to manage stress and your overall mood.
“If you have a sleep issue, it can impact your ability to read or compute,” said Dr. Grant. “When the brain is deprived of the REM sleep stage associated with dreaming and learning, it has a harder time consolidating facts and details.”
Other behavioral health impacts include:
- Memory difficulty
- Irritability
- Lower levels of distress tolerance
- Easily overwhelmed
- Depression
- Anxiety
Sleep and vehicular accidents
Bad sleep can also have a measurable social cost, as seen in a study using data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System between 1996 and 2017. Increases in traffic fatalities involving people who are sleep impaired increased after daylight savings time resumed.
“When you’re performing a task that requires psycho-motor vigilance and hand-eye coordination like driving, there can sometimes be an impairment equal to operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) says Dr. Grant.
Better sleep solutions
If you find yourself having difficulty getting sufficient quality sleep, help is available. Dr. Grant says advances in sleep medicine can include various dental appliances that keep the jaw positioned and airways open. Another common device is a continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) that delivers air from a compact device to a mask.
Dr. Grant says, “Every person’s sleep experience is unique, so initially we spend 30 to 45 minutes getting to know a patient and their circumstances. If a sleep study is needed, we have a person take a home sleep test (HST). Data from that test helps determine if an enhanced sleep study is needed at the sleep center.”
Learn More
To learn more about services offered here in the Quad-Cities at the Genesis Sleep Disorders Center, visit our website www.genesishealth.com/sleep.
Genesis Health System is now part of MercyOne. MercyOne is a connected system of health care facilities and services dedicated to helping people and communities live their best life. MercyOne’s care providers and colleagues make health the highest priority. The system’s clinics, medical centers, hospitals and affiliates are located throughout the state of Iowa and beyond. Headquartered in central Iowa, MercyOne is a member of Trinity Health (based in Livonia, Michigan) – one of the largest not-for-profit Catholic health care systems in the nation. Learn more at MercyOne.org.
