Is it your dream to fall asleep as soon as your head strikes the pillow? A quick descent into slumber may appear to be paradise, but it’s not a sign of a healthy sleeper.
“A well-rested individual does not go asleep right away,” said sleep specialist Rebecca Robbins, an instructor at Harvard Medical School’s division of sleep medicine.
“For a good sleeper, falling asleep takes approximately 15 minutes,” Robbins noted. “Falling asleep is not the same as sleeping, which can be difficult when you’re exhausted.
“However, be patient; sleep will come, and the more stressed you are over not sleeping, the less likely you are to fall asleep,” she said.
The Key Is To Not Force Yourself
Dozing off too soon might indicate that you are sleep deficient, which can have negative consequences for your physical and mental health.
Robbins, who co-wrote the book “Sleep for Success!” compares it to going without meals. “If you’re hungry, you’ll eat your next meal right away,” she explained, “whereas a well-nourished individual might not be as voracious and in desperate need of nourishment right away.”
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults require at least seven hours of sleep every night, while school-aged children need nine to 12 hours and teenagers need eight to ten hours.
What if you get a sufficient amount of sleep each night? Then falling asleep too easily and being exhausted during the day might be signs that your sleep quality is deteriorating.
Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine who specializes in sleep, stated, “A lack of quality sleep happens when there are repeated awakenings and wakefulness during the night.”
“Those awakenings have an impact on your capacity to go to deeper phases of sleep, such as slow wave sleep, also known as delta sleep, or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which are both necessary if you want to operate effectively and remain attentive,” Dasgupta explained.
We dream while sleeping in the REM period, and knowledge and experiences are consolidated and stored in memory. In addition to affecting cognitive performance, a recent study discovered that sleeping less in REM sleep is connected to a higher overall risk of mortality from any cause.
We dream while sleeping in the REM period, and knowledge and experiences are consolidated and stored in memory. In addition to affecting cognitive performance, a recent study discovered that sleeping less in REM sleep is connected to a higher overall risk of mortality from any cause.
Slow wave or delta sleep is a type of housekeeping in which the brain both relaxes and eliminates toxins, allowing the body to recover and renew.
According to the American Sleep Association, “the most essential thing you can do to enhance your quantity of deep sleep is to allow yourself enough overall sleep duration.”
Obstructive sleep apnea, in which you snore, choke, gasp, or stop breathing frequently during the night, is one of the most prevalent causes that can disrupt your sleep without you ever realizing it. According to the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, about 25 million Americans suffer from this type of sleep apnea.
Sleep quality can also be affected by restless legs syndrome, a condition in which your (or your partner’s) legs twitch or tremble during the night. Chronic pain, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), to mention a few, can all affect one’s quality of life. According to the Cleveland Clinic, medications, as well as different mental health conditions, can affect sleep.
“The takeaway message is that if you’re not getting good sleep, you should visit a sleep specialist to figure out what’s wrong,” Dasgupta said.