Sleep, it does the body good

Crazy that I should be writing about this so soon in my medical education considering that most of my next four years and beyond will more than likely not be filled with enough sleep, but here I am nonetheless. So far, I have slept better than I ever have during undergrad. I think it largely has to do with being married. Life is a little more regimented when two people are trying to live in sync.

Actually, what got me thinking about this is that we have been talking about sleep during our intro Psych class at school. A little about dreams, a little about the benefits of sleep and a lot about getting enough of it.

Sleep is not well understood despite all the study that surrounds it. We know that we need it and we know that it's good for us. We also know that getting enough is crucial to functioning well and that not getting enough can be as dangerous as being intoxicated.

The side effects of sleep deprivation include but are not limited to:

• increased blood pressure
• body aches
• dizziness
• hallucinations
• slurred speech
• impaired cognitive ability
• weight gain
• poor memory recall
• death

Pretty crazy, huh?

Life is always better after a good night's sleep. It's hard to argue that when you've slept well you don't feel more able and more ready to attack a big day. Here are some tips to help your "Sleep Hygiene".

1. Develop bedtime rituals (i.e. reading, teeth brushing, snack etc.) and try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day
2. Don't nap if you can't limit your nap time
3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine at least 4-6 hours before bed
4. Don't exercise within 4 hours of going to bed
5. Save your bed for sleep and not TV watching or reading or talking on the phone etc. This conditions your body to associate bed with sleep
6. If you can't fall asleep for 20 minutes or more get out of bed and do something boring until you feel sleepy (i.e. read molecular biology textbooks)

Those are just a few of the guidelines for setting a regular sleep schedule. As a student this can be difficult, but the benefits will pay out quickly. I'm going to try my hardest, though, we'll see how long it lasts before I'm here writing about my own sleep deprivation experiences.