Sleeping at night helps align the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock, with its environment. According to CDC estimates, nearly 35% of adults in the U.S. People in the U.S. don’t sleep for six hours at night.
Many even work through the night and lose nighttime sleep altogether, resulting in the buildup of lack of sleep, which affects the body in myriad ways, including adverse effects on the immune system, appearance, and brain function. There are many reasons to sleep during the day, including occasional naps, shift work, or chronic health conditions. Sleeping for long periods of time during the day is not recommended if it can be avoided. Shorter periods of daytime sleep are OK, ensuring they don’t affect the quality and duration of nighttime sleep.
Long naps during the day can interfere with nighttime sleep. Limit naps to no more than an hour and avoid taking naps at the end of the day. Some people simply can’t sleep during the day or have trouble sleeping in places other than their own beds, something that sometimes requires taking a nap. To address this question, researchers studied the impact of a rotating shift worker’s sleep schedule in a tightly controlled laboratory environment.
They describe the cumulative effects of losing a few hours of sleep and the detriment of poor sleep. It’s that little burst of melatonin that triggers other neurochemicals to begin the process of getting you ready for sleep in a few hours. But new research offers new evidence as to why sleeping can be of paramount importance when it comes to how those problems related to poor sleep actually develop. The evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health and that, for best results, you should sleep at night.
Sleep is essential to health, and deep sleep is the most important of all for feeling rested and staying healthy. Many factors can interfere with a good night’s sleep, from work stress and family responsibilities to illness. A new study also found evidence that getting more sleep on weekends may lessen some effects of sleep deprivation, but more research is needed. For those who don’t work shifts or have an underlying medical condition, daytime sleep most often takes the form of a nap.
Nearly 30% of American adults sleep less than 6 hours each night (so it’s not uncommon for people to try to compensate for this deficit by taking naps during the day). I understand the challenges of exercising, maintaining relationships, and getting enough sleep, but I’m excited to show you that it’s possible to do shift work and still thrive.