Snooze and you win, but 24/7 world has taken a toll on our sleep

Close to midnight, when I probably should have been sleeping, I was instead trying to figure out my heart-rate zones.

They’re a way of maximizing workouts, and I wanted to get mine right. But I just couldn’t, even though a few hours earlier I thought I understood the concept just fine.

I sent an e-mail to my running partner, who sent me back a formula. But it still didn’t register with me. So I went to bed, flustered at my ignorance.

The next morning, I woke up refreshed with the formula on my mind. The formula which, I might add, now made perfect sense.

Such is the beauty of sleep.

“Sleep is an important restorative function for our entire body,” says Dr. Won Lee, medical director of the sleep and breathing disorder center at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

“It allows the body to rest, the brain to rest, and to help improve neuro-cognitive function during the daytime. It’s an essential part of existence for humans.”

But we (especially we Americans) tend to take pride in not sleeping. After all, there’s so much else to do, so many other ways to spend our time.

Twenty-four/seven, we can watch TV, talk to friends, surf the Internet, pay bills, buy stuff.

“If you go back 100 years, we slept much closer to 10 hours a night,” says Dr. Jay Harvey, medical director of North Texas Sleep Lab and a staff neurologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, “Now it’s closer to six or seven.”

When we’re short on time, sleep tends to go by the wayside. Without it, we’re more prone to a host of problems both physical and emotional. With enough of it, we’re healthier and, quite frankly, much nicer to be around.

Whether we’re snoozing or not, sleep affects us 24 hours a day. Here’s how, along with advice on coping with sleep issues.

7 a.m.

Getting up early after a summer of sleeping in isn’t fun for kids or their get-back-on-a-schedule parents.

So be sure to get into a pattern before school starts. Your kids may grouse at you now, but no doubt they’ll thank you when they have to get up early for real when school starts.

To ensure good sleep, try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Yes, even on weekends.

9 a.m.

Time to reap the benefits of a good night’s sleep: In research studies at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory in California, well-rested athletes reported significant improvements in such drills as sprints, hitting accuracy in tennis, and quicker turn-times while swimming laps.

11 a.m.

Lack of sleep affects your general health, day in and day out: People who average less than five hours of sleep a night have an increased mortality rate from all causes by about 15 percent.

In a University of Chicago study, those who slept five or fewer hours had 4.5 times the normal risk of heart disease. You’re even more likely to catch a cold if you’re not sleeping enough.

3 p.m.

A nap can revive you and catch up on sleep you may have missed the night before.

A NASA study, cited by the National Sleep Foundation, found that a 40-minute nap improved performance of sleepy military pilots and astronauts by 34 percent.

One caution, though: If you have chronic insomnia, napping during the day could make it worse.

5 p.m.

If you meet a friend for coffee after work, make yours decaf.

“Most people are affected by it,” Harvey says of caffeine. “It should be turned off in late afternoon, early evening.”

That’s because caffeine – think chocolate, tea, energy drinks as well as coffee – stays in your system six hours or so. If you tend to go to bed around 10 p.m., Harvey recommends stopping caffeine consumption around 6 p.m.

8 p.m.

If you’re going to exercise, do it by now. Though exercise can help you get a good night’s sleep, doing it too close to bedtime could instead end up keeping you awake.

“You drive body temperature up when you exercise,” says Harvey. “A natural part of sleep is your body temperature going down, so it’s counterintuitive if you exercise too late.”

9 p.m.

Remember when you were a kid, the bedtime ritual of brushing your teeth and hearing a story? It helped you sleep then, and it’s still a good idea.

“The sleep environment must be one that invites sleep and not other activities; a cool, quiet and darkened room with a comfortable and support mattress is typically the best setting,” Harvey says.

A hot bath or shower might be tempting, but hold off, he says. It raises the body temperature and thus might be counterproductive to a good night’s sleep.

11 p.m.

Close your textbook. You might think you’re better off studying for that test tomorrow, but your brain needs a chance to process what you’ve learned.

“It’s been shown sleep itself helps with memory consolidation,” Lee says. “That’s why we recommend that it’s better to get a good night’s sleep than stay up all night.”

Midnight

You’re driving home from vacation, long after the sun has set. The kids are asleep in the back seat and you’d give anything just to curl up next to them.

But no, you need to drive. What’s two more hours?

What you really should do is just pony up for one more night at a motel. Otherwise, you’re putting yourself and others in danger.

“Studies have been done on healthy volunteers who are deprived of sleep and given an attention test,” Harvey says. “Sleep deprivation approaches levels of being intoxicated.”

If you close your eyes for even five seconds while driving 60 miles per hour, you’ll go about the length of two football fields. A lot can happen during that brief period, he says.

3 a.m.

If you just woke up and can’t get back to sleep, Lee has some suggestions: Don’t stay in bed for more than 20 minutes. Go to another room and do something relaxing like listening to calm music, or reading something that’s boring.

Don’t exercise or turn on the TV; it’ll activate your mind and keep you awake. When you get sleepy again, go back to the bedroom and fall asleep.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says this about other “natural” remedies: “There is only limited scientific evidence to show that herbal supplements are effective sleep aids. Because these products may be marketed and sold without FDA approval and may involve dangerous side effects or adverse drug reactions, they should be taken only if approved by a physician.”

5 a.m.

If you’re a shift worker and just got home, Dr. Sonya Merrill of Medical City Dallas Hospital offers these thoughts:

“Shift work may impair the worker’s ability to sleep, as well as to stay alert and perform effectively at work,” says Merrill, medical director of The Sleep Center at the hospital.

“Bright light exposure during the night shift facilitates wakefulness. Conversely, in the morning after the shift, workers should wear dark glasses and avoid bright light.”

The National Sleep Foundation also suggests using light-blocking curtains or drapes, wearing ear plugs and an eye mask, and keeping the same sleep schedule (even on weekends).