Be it for vacations or because school's out, families often sleep in during summer. But a new study suggests that might be a bad idea.
The study, published in the journal Nature, found long sleep, more than eight hours, and short sleep, fewer than six hours per night, could affect several organ systems, including the brain, heart, lungs and immune system.
KERA's Sam Baker talked about why with Dr. Elisa Basora-Rovira. She's a pediatric pulmonologist and a sleep medicine specialist for Texas Health.
Baker: So, the sweet spot for sleeping would be, say, between six and eight hours a night. What's so great about that period of time?
Dr. Basora-Rovira: Sleep is very important for your brain and your organs to rest and to also recover. So if we sleep less than six hours, we are considered to be sleep- deprived. And then that can give us some signs of like irritability, mood swings, daytime sleepiness, difficulty to concentrate. Our day to day can be affected if our body does not rest as is needed.
Baker: If you sleep more than eight hours?
Dr. Basora-Rovira: You're basically spending too much time in bed and then also decreasing, for example, light exposure in the outside, which helps your melatonin production throughout the day and night. And then, also, your activity level can also decrease.
If you sleep more than eight hours, that could affect and make your biological clocks to age faster than recommended.
Baker: Are we talking about consistently oversleeping? Because there are times when you're just really tired and for whatever reason, you might need more sleep every now and then.
Dr. Basora-Rovira: So, if it's only one day or two days, it's not that it's okay because your body will never recover from those days that you lose some sleep.
But this is more if like in the long term, if you create like a schedule that you sleep longer or sleep shorter throughout the years, there's evidence it can create some light depression if you spend years and years having this type of sleep schedule.
Baker: What then would you recommend for families to stay rested and healthy this summer?
Dr. Basora-Rovira: First of all, making sure that they're sleeping enough hours. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends seven hours of sleep as a minimum for adults. New research suggests between six and eight hours, but definitely not less than six or more than eight. For kids, depending on the age, between eight to 16 hours is recommended.
We can create an environment that is enhancing for sleep. So that would be kind of like dim the lights around bedtime. You can have some blackout curtains to block the light from the outside. Blue light blockers, which are some eyeglasses that you can wear if you have to work on your computer or to watch your cell phone or some electronic at night. This will help to kind of like create the sleep cues to help you to fall asleep easily.
Also, have a good room temperature. There are some recommendations between 60 to 67 degrees to sleep more like in a cool environment.
Exercise is very important for sleep, but we recommend that it like in the morning or like in afternoon, but not late night. Avoid alcohol like during the night and then also take some natural light in the morning.
Baker: Assuming you are sleeping the appropriate lengths of time the rest of the year, is it a good idea during the summer to maintain that same sleep schedule?
Dr. Basora-Rovira : Yes, we recommend to maintain the same schedule during the summer, like during fall, spring, and winter, to kind of because your body has a circadian rhythm, which is like your biological clock.
And then this is triggered by melatonin production, which is unable to be produced because of the light. So yes, it's very important to maintain your schedule throughout the year in order for you to sleep better.
RESOURCES:
Sleep chart of biological ageing clocks in middle and late life | Nature
What is good sleep and how much do I need?
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