Junk sleep is more terrible than insomnia

When you wake up every morning, do you feel like you've had enough sleep? Some people fall asleep when they touch the pillow, but feel groggy and weak when they wake up... Scientists believe that these "junk sleeps" where "asleep equals no sleep" are even more terrifying than insomnia. How much sleep is needed to be good for your health? How to avoid poor quality sleep? Let’s discuss this topic together.

Is your sleep like "junk"?

Snoring does not mean sleeping well. Sleep violence is also very bad. Oversleeping may lead to a high mortality rate... A Japanese research survey once showed that people who sleep 7 hours a day can live the longest, and the more they sleep, the higher the mortality rate. The higher it is, if people have to sleep for more than 9 hours a day, they may have physical problems. As the foundation of survival, sleep is closely related to our lives.

Over the years, sleep experts from all over the world have been looking for a sleep rule that is truly suitable for humans. In addition to the "Secret of the Biological Clock" that previously won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, there are many scientists on the road to sleep research. Different findings. For example, according to a report by the National Institutes of Health, people who get 8 hours of sleep every night respond best. If you only get 6 hours of sleep every night for 2 weeks, it is equivalent to being forced to "turn on the all-nighter" for two nights. What’s surprising about the research is that people who sleep for 6 hours a night think they have enough sleep, but in fact their body functions and cognition are getting worse without realizing it. Although they don’t feel sleepy, their functional responses are getting worse and worse. .

Sleeping too little is bad for your health, and sleeping too much is not good either. On the occasion of the annual "World Sleep Day" some time ago, the concept of "junk sleep" derived from a survey by the British Sleep Council once again aroused heated discussion in the academic community. "JUNK SLEEP" corresponds to "JUNK FOOD", specifically referring to the problem of insufficient sleep time and low sleep quality.

If your situation meets the following points, unfortunately, your sleep may also be classified as "junk".

1. Falling asleep while watching TV, listening to music, or playing video games;

2. Force yourself to go to bed and get up in the morning according to the "time point", and the time "point" is always adjusted;

3. After waking up naturally, thinking about "laying out of bed" again, forcing you to extend your sleep time;

4. Don’t sleep at night, make up for sleep during the day, and make up for sleep on weekends;

5. Work pressure is high, you need to work overtime at night, fall asleep immediately after high-intensity work, etc.

Expert voice

"Junk sleep" affects the brain's "waste elimination"

As we all know, every organ in the human body needs rest, and the brain is the hardest-working organ in the human body. Other organs have lymphatic systems that remove body waste, but the brain does not. Recent studies have shown that during sleep, the brain removes waste along the blood vessels between the spinal cord, and the brain only cleans up waste during sleep.

This statement coincides with the concept of "junk sleep". Are people who don't sleep well really full of "junk" in their minds? On this topic, we interviewed Pan Jiyang, director of the Psychiatry Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University and director of the Sleep Medicine Center. He told reporters that the "garbage in the brain" mentioned in the study actually refers to the metabolic waste in the brain. This statement is a reflection of the function of "sleep can increase the excretion of metabolic products."

“Research shows that during wakefulness, metabolic waste produced by cells accumulates in the intercellular fluid; while during sleep, cerebrospinal fluid flows into the brain tissue along the arterial spaces, continuously exchanges with the interstitial fluid in the brain, and transfers the intercellular fluid The metabolic waste is carried to the venous space and then discharged from the brain." Director Pan explained, "In other words, metabolic products continue to accumulate in the brain during the day, and the brain can efficiently remove the metabolic products during sleep, thereby restoring vitality."

All animals need sleep, as do the complex systems that maintain a stable internal environment. Without sleep, the system becomes unbalanced, which can lead to serious consequences. Director Pan said, "After several days of sleep deprivation, people will experience intense sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, emotional instability, loss of the ability to work finely, and disorientation. About 80% of the subjects will also develop Delusions and auditory hallucinations; these symptoms are significantly aggravated when sleep deprivation exceeds 100 hours."

"Deprivation" sounds sad. Whether active or passive, not being able to sleep well will bother us. As the deprivation time prolongs, people's work operation ability will become lower and lower. Especially when they are engaged in repetitive and monotonous work for a long time, they will have slow movements, often make mistakes, and even cause accidents. How to relieve "worry"? Director Pan said that once allowed to sleep, these

"Junk sleep" such as junk food,

It is a killer of human health

Sleeping too little or sleeping too much is not good. Even if you guarantee the sleep time, it does not mean that your sleep is of high quality. The so-called "junk sleep" simply means that the sleep time and quality are unsatisfactory. In our era of increasingly fast-paced life, is the phenomenon of "junk sleep" increasing compared to the past?

"The phenomenon of 'junk sleep' is indeed increasing and becoming more and more serious. This is mainly related to addiction to online games, playing mobile phones, watching videos, night work and high work pressure, often staying up late and working overtime, and the increase in patients with sleep disorders, etc. "Relevant." Director Pan said that in daily life, middle school and college students are easily tempted by mobile phones and online games and cannot sleep on time, resulting in "junk sleep", which leads to poor energy during the day, low learning efficiency, decreased academic performance, and poor health. The resistance is low; and those who work at night or work overtime are prone to "junk sleep" due to irregular sleep and wake times, which affects work efficiency and physical health.

"Junk sleep" and "junk food" used to be the two biggest killers of adolescents' healthy lifestyles. What is worrying is that this sleep pattern has gradually evolved from teenagers to white-collar workers in the workplace, middle-aged people, and even the elderly. In addition to habitual hair loss, sudden beer belly, always doing things carelessly, and snoring loudly... the harm of "junk sleep" to our health is more serious than we imagine.

"Most patients with sleep disorders, such as insomnia disorder, nightmare disorder, obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, restless legs syndrome, substance or drug-induced sleep disorders, etc., have problems such as decreased sleep quality. There is no doubt that, 'Junk sleep' will greatly affect our physical and mental health, as well as our daily life and work ability," said Director Pan.

It is not difficult to have a good sleep. In addition to reducing your dependence on electronic products before going to bed, you also include not staying in bed, not drinking coffee after 4:30 pm, not taking in too much protein after 9 pm, and not eating too much before going to bed. Drinking alcohol, etc. If you can't fall asleep, don't just lie down. Get up and do something relaxing, and then try to fall asleep again.

The symptoms will gradually ease.

Topic extension

People with insomnia disorders should not take a nap

Napping is quite popular in our country, and many companies and schools will also adjust work or class times in winter and summer to make it easier for everyone to take a nap. However, in Western society, naps were once considered to be a sign of "laziness, weakness or disease", and many foreign children do not have the habit of taking naps. However, in recent years, many studies have shown that a proper nap can effectively restore physical strength, improve work and study efficiency, promote memory integration, and promote physical and mental health.

Not everyone has the habit of taking a nap. What we are curious about is, is a nap necessary for everyone?

"From a professional point of view, napping is related to factors such as whether you have a napping habit, whether you have a napping opportunity, climate, season, age and other factors. It is not necessary for everyone. As people age, their overall sleep time gradually decreases , the physiological need for daytime sleep also decreases." Director Pan told reporters that some studies have found that the frequency and length of naps in healthy adults aged 20 to 50 decrease with age; after the age of 50, the frequency and length of naps decrease with age. Increase by increase.

There are certain health standards in terms of "time" for sleep. The British Sleep Association recommends that the optimal sleep time is 14 to 15 hours for infants 1 to 12 months old, 12 to 14 hours for children aged 1 to 3 years old, and 12 to 14 hours for children aged 3 to 6 years old. Children are 10 to 12 hours, children 7 to 12 years old are 10 to 11 hours, adolescents 12 to 18 years old are 8 to 9 hours, adults 18 to 65 years old are 7 to 9 hours, and adults over 65 years old are 7 to 8 hours. Director Pan said that more sleep "time" is not always better, but should be done in moderation. A large number of studies have shown that excessive sleep will increase the morbidity and mortality of diseases, especially for the elderly.

In addition, surveys have shown that nap time gradually decreases with age. “Research in recent years has unanimously concluded that napping for too long will lead to reduced productivity, sleep inertia, and even increased disease morbidity and mortality, especially among the elderly. Therefore, it is recommended that napping should not be too long, no more than One hour is more suitable.”

Director Pan said, "Although some studies show that napping has no significant impact on night sleep, I believe that in order to ensure the quality of night sleep, people with insomnia disorders should not take a napping."