Get More Sleep for Merrier Holidays

By Amy Robertshaw

    I love the holidays. At least in theory, I love the holidays. I look most forward to the Christmas carols. Call me crazy, but I love ‘em. I love to sing them with friends and with my kids. I get out my CD’s from the Christmas boxes and feel a sense of pleasure at their sight. There they are again, familiar and warm songs reminding me of the magic, the angst, and the spirit of Christmas.
    I also love the smells at the holidays—and the darkness—and the snuggly warm feeling of cozying up with a kid on my lap and looking at the twinkle lights on the tree. It can be the most wonderful time of the year.
    And then there are the other parts. The parts, I must admit that I don’t love so much. The shopping, wrapping gifts, decorating, cooking, mailing—the list can seem endless. And though there is a lot around the season that can be amazingly joyful, I often stretch myself a bit too thin. I can feel exhausted and worn out, and (ooh, can I admit this on paper?) finding myself looking forward to when the calendar turns to January. Can you relate?
    My thoughts to ways to make the season less stressful. Simplifying many of my activities is top on my list. Less gifts means less shopping and wrapping and more of those snuggly moments. And there is one more thing I want more of this season: more sleep.
    In my research project I found that 10 hours of sleep was in fact the norm before the advent of the light bulb. That correlated with my research that showed that mothers with young children that slept for 10 hours a night were the only mothers who answered “yes” to the question, “Do you sleep enough at night?”
    Now that we have ever present artificial light in our lives, it is easy to be pulled in to the 24 hour mentality. We can stay up till the wee hours of the night ordering gifts off the web, or even shopping at big box stores. We all can get caught up in trying to get one more thing done before we “crash” and succumb to our bodies need for rest. But at what cost do we push ourselves to stay awake to do just one more thing?
    After just one night of sleeping less than 7 hours, studies show poor judgments, slowed reactions, reduced memory and concentration. Not only that but we are also less patient, more irritable, short tempered, and have mood swings.¹
    We find in our culture a sense of pride that comes with a statement such as, “I do not need much sleep at night.” People like to think they have adapted to less sleep at night. They like to think that by sheer determination they can overrule the natural rhythms that the nighttime brings.
    “But that is not what we find in our sleep studies. We have never found a single person who does not show the common symptoms of sleep deprivation after not getting even just one good nights sleep. We have an odd notion in Western civilization that we have to stay awake longer to get more things done, but what our studies have shown is that actually getting a good nights sleep allows you to get much more done.” ² Allows us to get more things done?
    Surely the folks in that study did not have kids making a mess as quickly as you could clean another one up. In my parent survey, “getting more done while the kids are asleep” was the primary reason for not getting enough sleep. But I must admit, in my own personal sleep recordings, it became evident that after sleeping at least 9 hours, I was much more productive the next day.
    Furthermore there are physiological effects to lack of sleep. In a study it was found that lack of sleep causes an increase in the hormone leptin in the brain which causes an increase in hunger and overeating. Studies from around the world have connected sleep deprivation to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.¹ More productive, less irritable and more patient, decreased hunger ... a wonder drug. Everything they claim turned out to be true for me.
    In this day and age we literally must commit ourselves to creating space for darkness. Light is available at any time, but learning to value the darkness is a lesson for all of us. Take three days and commit to going to bed no later than 8 p.m. Just for three days. See how you feel. See if for you, sleep really is the wonder drug they claim. We have much to gain from allowing ourselves proper rest. You may be so rejuvenated that you have the best holiday season ever.

    1. “Science of Sleep” CBS 60 Minutes news show, 2008 (also available through the National Sleep Foundations website under “videos”).
    2. “In Today's World, the Well-Rested Lose Respect” by Margot Adler on Morning Edition of NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100166), 17 January 2008.