What do Rip Van Winkle, Princess Aurora, Sleepy (of Seven Dwarfs fame), and babies have in common? Disordered sleep cycles.
Regulation of the sleep/wake cycle is a function of the human body affected by our circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm of humans is our body’s 24-hour internal clock, how we function through the cycle of day and night. When our body is in homeostasis, “life can be a dream, sha-boom.” (OK, I apologize for the poor sleep-related metaphor.)
The National Cancer Institute definition of homeostasis is “A state of balance among all the body systems needed for the body to survive and function correctly.”
Light and dark are the main sources of influence to circadian rhythms. But stress, physical activity, food, weather, and social circumstances may also shape our day. Functions of the human body that are impacted by circadian rhythm include sleep, hormone release, appetite and digestion, and temperature. Your circadian rhythm being out of sync might cause drowsiness, lack of focus and lack of coordination. Long-term inconsistent circadian rhythm and sleep deprivation may also increase the risk of adverse health issues. These may include mood disorders, obesity, diabetes, and cancer, as can be seen on this chart from Health Consequences of Circadian Disruption, published in the National Library of Medicine.
Maintaining your circadian rhythm is vital to your health. Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s can cause a disruption of circadian rhythms, resulting in poor sleep and changes in symptoms from day to night. Traveling to a different time zone may also cause a disruption, jet lag often is worse when traveling eastward.
Daytime drowsiness and interrupted nighttime sleep often accompany Parkinson’s Disease. According to the American Parkinson Disease Association, studies show light therapy can help reset sleep patterns and even lessen early symptoms. Light therapy also has been shown to be useful for sleep disruptions in people who don’t have Parkinson’s Disease.
When you experience a sleep disruption due to situations in which you cannot get adequate sleep, there are actions you can take that may help. Mental Health professionals have been using light-box therapy for many years to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). When days become shorter, in fall and winter months, the increased hours of darkness may bring on depression in those who experience SAD. The Harvard Health Publishing article, Light Therapy, Not Just for Seasonal Depression, indicates that the same therapy can treat other forms of depression, even major depression, and perinatal depression, which may occur during or after pregnancy.
Which brings us to babies. From the Cleveland Clinic:
“Newborns typically don’t develop a circadian rhythm until they’re a few months old. That’s why their sleep patterns tend to be erratic in those first few days, weeks, and months. A baby’s circadian rhythm begins to develop as they experience changes to their bodies and adapt to their new environment.
“Babies usually start to produce and release melatonin when they’re about 3 months old. Cortisol development occurs between two months and nine months. Once toddlers and children develop a circadian rhythm, they should have a pretty regular sleep schedule, getting nine to 10 hours of sleep each night.”
So, do not sleep like a baby—sleep well, friends. And sweet dreams.
Contributing writer Denise Lum is a Health and Fitness Coach raising her family in Alameda. Contact her via [email protected] or FitnessByDsign.com. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Denise-Lum.
