Video on Seven Sharp. Information on Sleep series (REM states) for NZers.
http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/sleep-series-evolution-video-5704854
Sleep facts
-We spent 1/3 of our lives asleep
-There is a need to understand the waking cycle to improve heath
-Sleep is less considered when understanding health needs in NZ
-To balance pressures in life, we see sleep as something we can prioritize less/tradable commodity than other things.
-The thought of " I can get more out of life if I sleep less"
-Sleep is complex, it is needed to be able to restore after the high demands of activities done during the day when awake.
-It is essential for maintaining memories and therefore affects learning.
Lack of sleep causes:
-bad Judgement
-bad moods
-bad health
-bad memory
-bad grades
Massey ethnicity stats:
56.3% Pakeha/European
13.7% Asian
10.1% Maori
16.2% other
3.6% Pacific island
https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/prospective/expect/who-studies/ethnicity.cfm
Sleep duration affecting heath
-Studies report that a usual sleep of less than 7 hours or at least 9 hours per night have an increased risk of heath problems such as obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor general health and reduction in mortality.
-The effects of short term sleep are overeating, reduction in physical activity, change in body temperature levels (thermoregulation), Energy levels reducing (reduction in glucose metabolism), increase in blood pressure, sympathetic nervous system activity and inflammatory markers of cardiovascular risk.
-Some studies show that too much sleep causes worse health, but there is research that expresses that more sleep could result in better health with the added bonus of being slimmer and increased productivity.
-There needs to be a change of habit in terms of sleep duration.
-A satisfactory sleep can help to support factors such as good nutrition, maintaining regular exercise and improving your overall health.
Restricted Sleep and Safety
-Limited sleep makes it hard to wake up or creates irregular patterns in sleep and therefore causes your mood to vary.
-Not enough sleep has lots of causes, but it is most commonly psychological factors such as volunteering to sleep less, irregular work patterns, emotional stress and looking after young kids or elderly (not always medical).
-Fatigue is also a factor in sleep loss, it causes sleep loss by extending the time awake through the change in (circadian pacemaker in the hypothalamus) 'body clock' and reprogramming the way the brain and body sleep at night.
-Heath and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002 outlines that All New Zealand workplaces must manage fatigue.
-Shifts work commonly causes loss of sleep and fatigue because it requires sleep and working at irregular times. The "Body Clock" does not adapt well to the altered work/rest schedule).
-Around 20% of New Zealand workers rotate shifts with or without night shifts. This increases the risk of sleepiness and fatigue.
-"In 2010 on NZ roads, it was stated that fatigue was a factor in 47 crashes, 127 serious injury crashes and 508 minor injury crashes."
-There is an estimation that injury accidents could be reduced on Auckland roads by 19% if people didn't drive when they felt sleepy, had less than 5 hours of sleep, or between the hours of 2am and 5am . (Massey University (2013), p. 18).
Sleep disorders
- In New Zealand there is a major issue in regards to continuous sleep restriction, sleep disorders (mostly adults).
-Maori have a higher risk than no Maori of experiencing the symptoms of sleep disorders (obstructive sleep Apnoea and insomnia), and also reporting the sleep problems.
-This is due to the socioeconomic deprivation to Maori and the night work and unemployment (not really ethnicity).
-Health economics indicates that treatment for sleep disorders is cost effective. The treatment costs came to an average of $94 (range of $54-$310).
-In 2009, It was estimated that NZ could save $21.8 million from successfully treating insomnia patients.
-Sleep in pregnancy and postpartum in relation to mental heath affects sleep in one year old infants, primary school children, teenagers, and sleep in older people with dementia and their caretakers.
Reference:
Burns, K., Gibson, B., Hollis, M., Little, J., Mulrooney, P., Russel, S., Wilcox, S., Wood, M., Braid, S., Y. (2013). Defining NZ. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey University
Article on Sleep for NZers:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/64883773/Sleep-deprived-putting-their-health-at-risk
