As a sleep researcher for Select Comfort, I often witness poor sleep strategies that result in a diminished quality of life. Insufficient or in adequate sleep not only affects how we look and feel, it also has far more dire consequences. Research firmly links poor sleep with many cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity. It’s linked to accidents in the workplace, on the road and at home, and negatively impacts our memory, problem-solving capacity and mood.
As a former high school math teacher (and father of two extremely active daughters in the third and sixth grades), I deeply appreciate the teaching profession and its influence on our children. Not many lines of work are more demanding than those in education, and quality sleep plays a critical role in virtually every function of a teacher’s day. Deficiencies in sleep can show up in many places:
Lack of stamina. Sleep has many functions, but fundamentally it’s designed to provide us with about sixteen hours of sustained, alert wakefulness. From the second we wake in the morning “pressure” begins to build to go back to sleep. If you didn’t start the day with a good 7.5 to 8 hours of quality sleep, you begin the day with a sleep debt that will reveal itself early in the afternoon. That insuppressible urge to yawn or feeling of nodding off right after lunch is a tell-tale sign of inadequate sleep. Many suppress it with caffeine—but that introduces a classic vicious circle. Caffeine has a half-life of up to seven hours. Half the caffeine you consume mid-afternoon will still be affecting you at bed time, diminishing the quality of your sleep creating even more sleep debt as you begin the next day.
Diminished immunity. Excellent research clearly shows that the amount and quality of your sleep directly affects your susceptibility to respiratory illnesses, including the common cold. A study at Carnegie Mellon revealed that those sleeping less than 7 hours per night were nearly three times more likely to catch the cold when exposed to the common cold virus than those sleeping eight hours a night. Furthermore, poor sleepers—defined as those actually in bed for eight hours but awake for 38 minutes or more (due to trouble falling asleep, tossing and turning, getting up during the night, etc.) — were five and a half times more likely to catch the cold compared to sound sleepers. Another study at the University of Chicago found that the effectiveness of the flu vaccination is delayed if you are inoculated when sleep deprived.
Accidents. Safety in our schools and outside our schools depends on lots of high-quality sleep. Our physical reaction times and speed of thought are dulled when sleep deprived, similar to the effects of alcohol. In fact a well-publicized study found that when we are awake for about 17 – 19 consecutive hours, our impairment is equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .07 (almost legally drunk in most states.) Several consecutive nights of insufficient sleep can produce the same effects. Countless times during the day we rely on a high level of vigilance and reaction speed to prevent accidents from happening.
Inefficiency. Great teachers are creative, solve problems on the fly, can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and exude a caring attitude towards the students; but only if they are well-rested. The areas of the brain responsible for these cognitive roles all require generous amounts of high-quality sleep to function properly. When we are even slightly sleep deprived, our ability to multi-task takes a hit, as does our creativity, problem solving and mood. The later segments of a good night’s sleep are dominated by rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. As it turns out, that stage of sleep is critical for our higher order mental functioning. Trying to “get by” on six hours of sleep wreaks havoc on the amount of REM sleep we typically get—so don’t skimp!
Weight gain. Sixty percent of our nation is overweight with nearly 30 percent being obese—and it affects health care costs, productivity and overall well-being. More than a dozen studies have confirmed that our nation’s weight problem is tied to insufficient sleep. When we’re sleepy, we aren’t as active during the day and we tend to put off our exercise regimen. There also is evidence that we simply burn fewer calories during the day when sleep deprived. On the metabolic level, the hormones that regulate our appetite are disrupted when we sleep less than we should. The signal for hunger is artificially higher than normal and the signal for satiety is lower—we’re always hungry and never satisfied. When we’re tired, our brains compensate by consuming unnecessary calories that quickly turn into unwanted pounds. Research also confirms that when sleep deprived, we tend to abandon our dietary choices, gravitating from healthier foods to those with more sugars and starches.
Many of your students are sleep deprived and may not understand or appreciate its importance. We talk a lot about diet and the role of exercise with our children, but often overlook sleep. As teachers and parents, we can start by setting a good example! In fact, Select Comfort, the maker of the Sleep Number bed, is helping teachers get a better night’s sleep. Please read Sleep Number Helps Teachers Make the Grade.
Evelyn, a grade-school teacher in Omaha, NE, understands the importance of sleep as it relates to her students and said, “As teacher of a lively group of 10 year-olds, my day can only be described as hectic and demanding! A quality night’s sleep is a must, and I find the Sleep Number Bed to be the perfect solution to getting a good night’s rest. It enables me to function at my best and give my students the education they deserve. Their energy level is high and so is mine!”