This being December 25th, many of you woke up early and have already opened some pretty sweet gifts.  In the spirit of giving, I can’t help but share with you some recent research I read that really got my attention.  It offers you a simple way to change your behavior to give you a longer life, less risk of cancer, better mental health, and a lower risk of dementia.  This simple behavior change costs you nothing, but will give you so much.  I was so affected by this research, as a gift to me this holiday, I ask that you please read this week’s blog and consider the information for yourself.

In my work, when people come to see me and I ask them about their sleep, they are often embarrassed and think something is wrong because they need 8 or 9 hours of sleep (but of course rarely get that much).  They wonder if they have a sleep disorder or if they are depressed because they seem to need more sleep than other people.  No, I say, eight hours is the normal amount of sleep everyone should be getting, but as they are finding, is so hard to do.

In his new book, Why We Sleep, author and University of Berkeley neuroscientist Matthew Walker writes about what he considers a national crisis of sleep deprivation.  We as a modern culture pride ourselves in needing less sleep, in doing more with our time, and react as if needing sleep is a weakness.  According to Walker, in 1942 less than 8% of the population was trying to get by on 6 hours of sleep or less.  In 2017, nearly 50% of people do.  He believes the shift has to do with having access to light throughout the night, and stimulation, especially from phones, computers, and televisions.  In addition, the borders around work have diminished in addition to longer commute times.  No one wants to give up family or fun time, so we give up sleep instead.  (I know so many women who tell me that the only “alone’ time they get is after everyone else is asleep.)  And we are a more anxious society, that has higher rates of depression and loneliness, to which we use alcohol and caffeine to compensate.  

So here is some of Walker’s findings that might put you to bed.  After just one night of four or five hours of sleep, your natural killer cells, the ones that attack cancer cells that appear in your body every day, drop by 70%.  This is why a lack of sleep is linked to cancer of the bowel, prostate, and breast.  In fact, more than 20 large scale epidemiological studies all report a clear relationship that the shorter you sleep, the shorter you will live. For example, one study shows that with less than 6 hours of sleep a night, adults age 45 years or older are 200% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke in their lifetime compared with people who get seven or eight hours.  (Part of the reason has to do with blood pressure.  Just one night of modest sleep will speed the rate of a person’s heart, hour upon hour, and increase blood pressure).  A lack of sleep also interrupts your body’s control of blood sugar.  The cells of sleep deprived individuals appear to become less responsive to insulin and thus cause a pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia.  This, together with the fact that inadequate sleep decreases the level of the satiety signalling hormone leptin and increases levels of hunger, both cause weight gain.  Tiredness also affects motivation; most often to exercise, eat healthy, and avoid other not so good for us substances.

Sleep has a powerful effect on the immune system.  We restore and repair our body when we sleep, and a chronic lack of it not only wears down our body, but chronically undermines its restoration and repair.  When you are ill, your body seeks sleep in order to fight off the disease.  Recent research shows that in deep sleep, our brains actually clean themselves of amyloid deposits, the toxic protein linked to dementia.  And overall, sleep increases our ability  to learn.  Dreaming states are actually linked to creativity and deep sleep seems to be when our minds process memories.

So what is a tired person to do?  Walker recommends setting an alarm that tells you when to go to sleep.  Just as we set an alarm to wake, we should set one to go to bed.  He also recommends trying to stick to the same schedule as close as possible every night.  Our bodies become very sensitive to sleep patterns, sending out signals when sleep time is approaching.  Pulling late nights, or the worst of all, all nighters, throws your body chemistry completely off.  In response, our bodies send out all kinds of hormonal and neurological messages that something needs to be attended to (the fight flight response) which can create great stress on our body and our psyche.  Walker is so alarmed by the population trends of sleep loss, that he goes so far as recommending sweeping changes in work site norms and home life culture.  He would love to see pubic health or workplace billboards that advocates nothing more than sleep.  He truly believes that we need to shift our priorities and actually incentivize sleep.

So tonight when you go to bed, and its lights out, really make sure the lights are out.  It will be so tempting to try your latest gadget or catch up on Christmas day facebook posts.  Darken your room, keep it cool and comfortable, and close your eyes.  Rest is great medicine for all that ails you.  Think of poor Santa.  If he only  got more sleep, he just might be able to fit through more chimneys!

Ok, I couldn’t resist:

Say what, you may ask?  After all of these blog posts encouraging tolerance and being open minded to other and to all parts of yourself, you are writing to encourage us to make enemies?  Especially now, during hte holiday season?  Well, actually, yes.  Based on research I recently read about how we tend to thrive when we have a nemesis, I hereby not only approve, but encourage you to make an enemy, use it to help you improve, and have some fun with it!

In order to make progress in any goal, you have to make some changes.  And change, if meaningful, creates enemies – either within you or around you.  Change creates discomfort, and with it, there will be a natural push back to keep the status quo.  These enemies of change can be simply our own inner critic with words of self doubt,  a cigarette pack on the store shelf when you are trying to quit, or a tv commercial  luring you to snack on sweets.  

Research shows, and we know from our own experience, that we are very responsive to a good rivalry – your team versus the other, your party versus the opposition party, etc.  Besides the sense of belonging we crave as a tribal people, rivalry defines us.  When we choose a rival, we clarify the distinctions between us and we more clearly define ourselves.  Having a rival also pushes us to improve and to stick to our goals.  Would we have made it to the moon without the space race?  Would here be a Muhammed Ali without a Joe Frasier?  A rival can keep you focused on your improvements and drive you to maximize your potential.  

So in thinking about any goal or change, I am sure you can think of a few potential enemies that will no doubt get in the way.  If you are trying to write or complete a project, procrastination may be your enemy.  If you are trying to eat healthier, the donuts that your co-worker brings in every Friday may set you back.  Or, as many of us find, our own inner critic may be our worst enemy, with self hating statements that eat away at our confidence.  By identifying these threats to our goal as our rival, we create a distance from them.  And when we are tempted by them, we can identify their tricky lure as a way to get one over on us!  (I had someone in my quit smoking class that thought of cigarettes as the devil.  Each time he had a craving, he told himself that he was “no longer going to dance with that devil.”)

So, procrastination, I see you in that newspaper longing for me to leave the computer and read you!  And donut, looking so full of yummy frosting, you will not beat out my morning healthy routine.  And the shame I feel in mixing up a meeting time, beware.  I will not let you get the best of me this time, and not let you take over my self confidence today.  I am strong and I can do battle against my enemies of temptation and old patterns!  I am a healthier habit warrior!  Care to join my team?  I  bet we can have some pretty cool uniforms!