How Much Sleep is Called Optimum Sleep?
Optimum sleep is the amount of sleep essential for normal bodily functions. Although there are complex connections about how sleep regulates different body functions, healthcare professionals have discovered many positive impacts of sleep on the body.
MayoClinic classifies the requirement of sleep as per the age of the individual.
Infants and children have a fast resting metabolism; naturally, they sleep more to facilitate their metabolism.
- Infants & Children <2 years = ∼11-16 hours/day(including naps)
- Adults = ≥7 hours/night
Types of Sleep:
| Rapid Eye Movement(REM) Sleep | Non-Rapid Eye Movement(NREM) Sleep |
| REM is associated with dreams, and brain activity markedly increases. |
Not associated with dreams. Have three stages; N1, N2, and N3. |
| Breathing and heart rate increases. | Breathing and heart rate slows down, and body temperature drops. |
| Not associated with repair mechanisms. | Associated with immune system strengthening and body repair mechanisms. |
| It may last up to 1 hour. | It may last about 90-120 minutes. |
Mechanisms Causing Weight Loss Through Optimum Sleep:
1. Hormonal Balance:
Sleep regulates two hormones called ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin;
It is also known as the hunger hormone and has an inverse relationship with sleep. Sleeplessness increases this hormone, leading to more hunger and vice versa.
Leptin;
Leptin is directly related to sleep. An increased level of leptin gives the feeling of satiety, while a low level signals the need for more food and calories.
A laboratory study explains the above-mentioned relationship between sleep and neurotransmitters.
Oxidative stress also increases cortisol levels due to sleeplessness, which is essential to weight gain.
2. Physical Activity:
Sleeplessness induces fatigue and mood changes. Due to fatigue, an individual feels low energy to do exercise. It ultimately causes low-calorie consumption and weight gain.
Physical activity also has an essential role in achieving quality sleep.
Research reveals that evening or near bedtime exercise can increase sleep quality and latency, especially in insomnia patients.
Sleep and exercise have a compound effect on each other for improving overall physical well-being.
3. Repair Mechanisms Regulations:
As mentiond above in the types of sleep, NREM sleep promotes repair mechanisms throughout the body.
In sleeplessness, muscles get fatigued. It leads to less calorie consumption. Optimum sleep repairs muscles, increasing calorie consumption.
Growth hormone levels also increase during sleep beneficial for the overall growth of the body.
4. Metabolic Regulation:
During sleep, metabolism decreases to 15%.
Sleep apnea, short sleep periods, circadian rhythm disruption, and narcolepsy can lead to metabolic dysregulation associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and energy imbalance, predisposing an individual to metabolic diseases.
5. Glucose Tolerance:
Insulin sensitivity is a by-product of metabolic regulation, which breeds oxidative stress. Oxidative stress leads to raised inflammatory markers, i.e., CRP, deranged fatty acid metabolism, and altered GLP-1 response.
How to Get Optimum Sleep?:
Getting optimum sleep is a missing part of your weight loss journey. From the above discussion, you can conclude that optimum sleep is essential for losing weight.
Specific strategies you can follow to get proper sleep;
- Plan a daily exercise schedule. It will improve sleep quality.
- If you have a hectic job, always schedule tasks. Prioritize your well-being first.
- Avoid stress and depression.
- Sleep early, wake early.
- Avoid eating before going to bed.
- Decrease your screen time: prolonged screen time causes sleeplessness.
- Avoid excessive caffeine and other stimulants.
Medically Reviewed by
Dr. Talha Ibrahim
MBBS(NUMS, Pakistan), RMP