Sleep. It’s amazing how something so fundamental to our well-being can be so elusive, especially when it has such a significant impact on both our mental and physical health.
But why is sleep so vital to our well-being? What is causing the modern epidemic of sleepless nights, and what can dental professionals do to help?
What does optimum sleep look like?
Research suggests that adults need seven or more hours of sleep per night to ensure optimal health. However, it is not just the amount of sleep that matters, but also the quality. An ideal night of rest will consist of four to five sleep cycles, each of which will include periods of rapid eye movement (REM). The longer an individual sleeps, the longer the periods of REM that occur per cycle become, leading to deeper, more restful slumber.
Protecting physical health
Physically, proper sleep is essential to our well-being as it gives our bodies a chance to rest and recover from the day’s activity and prepare for the day ahead. In recent years, research has found that a variety of illnesses and conditions can be aggravated by not achieving a proper night’s rest.
For instance, poor quality sleep has been linked to higher risks of obesity. When we sleep, our bodies produce certain hormones, including ghrelin (which activates appetite) and leptin (which helps us feel full). Poor sleep causes ghrelin levels to rise, meaning that people who sleep badly often wake up hungry and are more likely to overeat throughout the day.
Similarly, poor quality sleep has been connected with a higher risk of cardiovascular disorders. During sleep, our blood pressure declines. Without proper rest, people are more likely to have a higher daily average blood pressure, leaving them more at risk of heart attack, stroke and other coronary conditions. Research has also linked bad sleep to coronary artery calcification.
Not receiving enough shuteye may also increase an individual’s chance of developing type 2 diabetes. Lack of rest can change how our bodies manage insulin levels, so developing this condition becomes more likely.
In addition, our sleep plays a key part in supporting our immune system. As such, even one night of bad rest can affect how likely we are to succumb to viruses and other infections.
Mental health and sleep
Sleep is vital for maintaining our mental health, too. Each part of our sleep cycle plays a different role in supporting our mental well-being, with both non-REM and REM sleep supporting better thinking, learning and memory. REM sleep, in particular, is vital for processing emotional information. In fact, lack of sleep has been found to prevent people from “consolidating positive emotional content”, meaning that they are far more likely to experience bad moods, depressive thoughts and even suicidal ideation.
In the past, many assumed that poor sleep was a symptom of mental illnesses. It is now believed that poor sleep and mental health issues have a symbiotic relationship, with each problem exacerbating the other.
The modern sleep crisis
So, with sleep being so vital to our health, why is it that so many people are struggling to achieve proper rest? Though statistics vary, it’s believed that as many as one in five people in the UK aren’t getting enough sleep. There are myriad potential factors to blame for this, many of which are a product of our modern lifestyles. For instance, access to electronic devices such as mobile phones and computer screens, as well as night time noise and street lighting, can trick our bodies into delaying the sleep process.
Additionally, stress and other concerns can disrupt sleep too, with 25 per cent of UK adults stating that money concerns keep them up at night and 37 per cent saying that their work schedules impact the amount of sleep they achieve.
Another common reason for poor quality sleep is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). This condition affects millions of individuals in the UK, and is generally linked to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, among other factors – all things that are made worse through lack of sleep. OSA interrupts sleep by restricting an individual’s breathing during sleep, meaning that people with the condition rarely have a restful night of slumber, which in turn may aggravate the condition further.
It’s thought that 70 per cent of people with OSA are undiagnosed, and this figure includes dentists and their families, too. The resulting poor quality of sleep can significantly diminish people’s quality of life, and, in the case of those working in a profession such as dentistry, can lead to the provision of suboptimal care. But how can dentists help?
Dental sleep medicine is the answer
Learning how to treat those suffering from OSA means that you can provide your patients with life-changing care. OSA can often be effectively managed with the provision of a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD).
IAS Academy offers clinicians the chance to harness the necessary skills and knowledge with its Dental Sleep Medicine course. Led by Dr Paul Reaney, this excellent course covers all of the fundamentals of providing dental sleep medicine, including how to implement the latest NICE guidelines on sleep-disordered breathing, create MADs and more. Dentists will also be given a Home Sleep Test to monitor their own sleeping.
Transform their lives
Good quality sleep is essential for everyone. By learning how to provide effective dental sleep medicine, you can literally transform a person’s quality of life, helping to safeguard them against physical and mental harm.
For more information visit www.iasortho.com