Why sleep is so important

A good night’s sleep is more important than most people realize. Not only does sleep enable us to function normally during the day, it also triggers the body’s nightly cycle of rest and repair. While we sleep, our body mends itself so to speak by repairing damaged cells and tissues. Sleep also boosts our immune defence mechanisms and helps us ward off potential threats.

Nonetheless, about one in three adults is affected by sleep disturbances. Lacking ability to sleep – also known as insomnia – is difficultly to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel properly refreshed the following morning. It is primarily older people who are affected. Insomnia is if you have:

• difficulty with falling asleep
• wake up several times in the course of the night
• lie awake for long periods during the night
• wake up early in the morning and cannot fall back to sleep
• feel tired and irritable the following day and have trouble with concentrating

The need for sleep is individual. Some people feel perfectly rested with as little as six hours of sleep every night, while others need a lot more. What matters is how you function in your daily life and that you can get through the day without problems.

There are many factors that may interfere with your sleep. One of the things that can disturb your sleep pattern is nightshift work where you are awake at a time where you are meant to be asleep. This is also the case with trans-Atlantic air travel where you cross several time zones. This affects your 24-hour rhythm (circadian rhythm), the day-night cycle that is regulated by melatonin – a natural hormone that gets produced in the brain at night. Researchers have found that supplements of melatonin can help induce a natural sleep by mimicking the body’s sleep mechanism.

Melatonin is available in a dose of up to 0.30 mg as an over-the-counter drug (preferably sublingual melt-tablets) or in higher doses as a medicine prescription requirement. It is advisable to stick with this type of melatonin, which is pharmacy grade and controlled by the health authorities. Melatonin sold on the internet are not subject to the same quality control and may be adulterated.