Why Do Some People Need Less Sleep

Why Do Some People Need Less Sleep

There’s no precise formula for how much sleep a person needs; each person needs a different amount for different reasons, says Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the Emotion and Self-Regulation Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. People who need less sleep are generally better rested because their bodies are already in a state of reduced wakefulness. Their minds have already cleared their immediate thoughts and they’re ready to be calm and balanced, Sharpless says.

Sleep also boosts the body’s physical processes, such as the liver’s production of hormones that regulate blood sugar. “Without that extra sleep, that would not be happening,” says Kelli Miner, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. That said, healthy adults require eight hours of sleep a night.

Miner cites three major behavioral and medical conditions that can affect a person’s sleep: depression, sleep apnea and insomnia. “Some people have a real hard time when they’re depressed or have insomnia,” Miner says. “If someone is depressed and can’t sleep, they may not even want to get out of bed, because it would mean they would have to do something about their feelings.” For those with insomnia, suppressing that urge to sleep can be the key to avoiding the feelings that can become so overwhelming that people can’t deal with them in any other way. “They can become withdrawn, depressed,” Miner says.

Trying to beat insomnia by avoiding going to sleep on a nightly basis and then trying to sleep at night is a big mistake, Miner says. “That can cause the problem to get worse,” she says. “If you’re able to rest at night and go to sleep, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re less sleepy. You may just be able to fall asleep on time because you’re so well rested.”

Some people who are unable to get their bodies to stop thinking can find relief in a form of relaxation therapy that can help them feel calm and clear headed.

About half of American adults are affected by sleep apnea, says Ramani Durvasula, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University. But only about a third of them have been diagnosed, she says.

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that prevents people from breathing at least 30 seconds at a time during sleep. People who suffer from sleep apnea can wake up several times a night gasping for air. The disorder is linked to a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and a greater likelihood of having a stroke. Many of these health problems can be fatal.

Affecting as many as 3 percent of Americans, sleep apnea is more common in men than in women and affects everyone of all ages. People with a diagnosis of sleep apnea who don’t get treatment for it are at risk for long-term health problems, Durvasula says.

“These people become tired, they have blood sugar problems, they have metabolic problems and depression,” Durvasula says. “Those kinds of things come along with this reduction in oxygen.” In addition, a person with sleep apnea may have a difficult time thinking clearly.

Like many types of depression, sleep apnea is more common in people who have higher levels of depression or anxiety, Miner says. In fact, she says, people with depression tend to be more at risk for sleep apnea. “A lot of it is linked to depression,” Miner says. “If you have a lot of depression, you may not be getting enough sleep and therefore not feeling well rested.”

In the study that provides the most accurate estimate of sleep apnea in the general population, those between 18 and 45 had an average of 18 apnea events per hour (a typical sleep episode for a person without sleep apnea is four or five per hour).

“The larger this percentage of people who have sleep apnea is, the more acute the problem becomes,” Miner says. “If you have only one person with sleep apnea in the same room as you, you may not notice it, but multiply that by a thousand people, and you’re suddenly at risk for pretty serious problems.”

People with sleep apnea are at a greater risk of having heart attacks and strokes, Durvasula says, which can be a life-threatening problem. But she and other sleep apnea researchers point out that stroke risk is reduced by the fact that the lack of oxygen in the blood carries a mild wake-up feeling that prevents people from suddenly becoming aggressive and not wanting to wake up to a medical emergency. “If you can get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling clearheaded, then you may not have the need to use the phone or the 911 emergency number for your heart to be palpitating,” Durvasula says.

Doctors and psychologists can often detect sleep apnea simply by asking a patient to complete a questionnaire about his or her sleep habits, Durvasula says. People who are overweight and not very active may not notice that they are breathing less than their peers.

Obstructive sleep apnea usually shows up during sleep when the throat relaxes and the airway becomes partially blocked. The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive, which occurs when tissue that separates the two top nasal passages or two lower airways narrows. When the nose is blocked, air cannot flow through the airway, which prevents a person from breathing. The most common reason for obstructive sleep apnea is a congenital defect in the brain’s softening, shearing or softening mechanisms.

“Even though we know that sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular problems, there is not a lot of research showing that it’s linked to depression,” Durvasula says. “We know that [sleep apnea] can be part of depression, but now we’re starting to understand more about why that is.”

In addition to causing fatigue and depression, obstructive sleep apnea can cause an increased risk of hypertension, high blood sugar, insulin resistance and cardiovascular problems. More than 50,000 U.S. deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease each year, but untreated sleep apnea is one of the most common causes of cardiovascular problems, according to a recent report from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Approximately one-quarter of people with sleep apnea are obese, which adds to the severity of the problem, Durvasula says. “Obesity can affect the body’s way of reacting to oxygen, so that can cause a more severe form of the condition.”

For some people with sleep apnea, there is no cure. A general treatment is to wear a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that will keep air flowing through the airway, Durvasula says. “The good news is that patients can use the machine themselves and get a sense of what it feels like and adjust accordingly,” she says.

A CPAP machine will cost around $600 to $700, depending on how many filters and accessories are needed. “In some ways, it’s similar to oxygen tank therapy in that people will have to see a doctor and get fitted,” Durvasula says. “But you do the sleep study and the doctor starts you out with a machine to see how well you do. You can really get back to the most basic life with a CPAP machine.”

Restoring a person’s natural sleep patterns can sometimes make symptoms of sleep apnea more manageable, Durvasula says. However, many people have to use a CPAP machine nightly for the rest of their lives, she adds.

In this study, people who were prescribed an inexpensive continuous positive airway pressure device had significantly improved quality of life compared to people who were simply told they had sleep apnea, Durvasula says. “CPAP really has a number of effects, including improving a patient’s ability to get and stay asleep, decreasing daytime sleepiness and sleepiness,” she says.

Doctors and researchers have identified a variety of physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of sleep apnea, and some of the causes are tied to genetics. Durvasula says the role of sleep apnea in people with mood disorders has been a hot topic of research in the last decade. “Maybe some of the [sleep disorder] symptoms are caused by a combination of the sleep disorders and a history of depression,” she says. “I think it’s important that we do more research to see if the symptoms can be directly linked.”

There’s no precise formula for how much sleep a person needs; each person needs a different amount for different reasons, says Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the Emotion and Self-Regulation Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. People who need less sleep are generally better rested because their bodies are already in a state of reduced wakefulness. Their minds have already cleared their immediate thoughts and they’re ready to be calm and balanced, Sharpless says.

Sleep also boosts the body’s physical processes

Sleep also boosts the body’s physical processes, such as the liver’s production of hormones that regulate blood sugar. “Without that extra sleep, that would not be happening,” says Kelli Miner, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. That said, healthy adults require eight hours of sleep a night.

Miner cites three major behavioral and medical conditions that can affect a person’s sleep: depression, sleep apnea and insomnia. “Some people have a real hard time when they’re depressed or have insomnia,” Miner says. “If someone is depressed and can’t sleep, they may not even want to get out of bed, because it would mean they would have to do something about their feelings.” For those with insomnia, suppressing that urge to sleep can be the key to avoiding the feelings that can become so overwhelming that people can’t deal with them in any other way. “They can become withdrawn, depressed,” Miner says.

Trying to beat insomnia by avoiding going to sleep on a nightly basis and then trying to sleep at night is a big mistake, Miner says. “That can cause the problem to get worse,” she says. “If you’re able to rest at night and go to sleep, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re less sleepy. You may just be able to fall asleep on time because you’re so well rested.”

Some people who are unable to get their bodies to stop thinking can find relief in a form of relaxation therapy that can help them feel calm and clear headed.

About half of American adults are affected by sleep apnea, says Ramani Durvasula, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University. But only about a third of them have been diagnosed, she says.

Sleep apnea is a serious disorder that prevents people from breathing at least 30 seconds at a time during sleep. People who suffer from sleep apnea can wake up several times a night gasping for air. The disorder is linked to a variety of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and a greater likelihood of having a stroke. Many of these health problems can be fatal.

Affecting as many as 3 percent of Americans, sleep apnea is more common in men than in women and affects everyone of all ages. People with a diagnosis of sleep apnea who don’t get treatment for it are at risk for long-term health problems, Durvasula says.

“These people become tired, they have blood sugar problems, they have metabolic problems and depression,” Durvasula says. “Those kinds of things come along with this reduction in oxygen.” In addition, a person with sleep apnea may have a difficult time thinking clearly.

Like many types of depression, sleep apnea is more common in people who have higher levels of depression or anxiety, Miner says. In fact, she says, people with depression tend to be more at risk for sleep apnea. “A lot of it is linked to depression,” Miner says. “If you have a lot of depression, you may not be getting enough sleep and therefore not feeling well rested.”

In the study that provides the most accurate estimate of sleep apnea in the general population, those between 18 and 45 had an average of 18 apnea events per hour (a typical sleep episode for a person without sleep apnea is four or five per hour).

“The larger this percentage of people who have sleep apnea is, the more acute the problem becomes,” Miner says. “If you have only one person with sleep apnea in the same room as you, you may not notice it, but multiply that by a thousand people, and you’re suddenly at risk for pretty serious problems.”

People with sleep apnea are at a greater risk of having heart attacks and strokes, Durvasula says, which can be a life-threatening problem. But she and other sleep apnea researchers point out that stroke risk is reduced by the fact that the lack of oxygen in the blood carries a mild wake-up feeling that prevents people from suddenly becoming aggressive and not wanting to wake up to a medical emergency. “If you can get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling clearheaded, then you may not have the need to use the phone or the 911 emergency number for your heart to be palpitating,” Durvasula says.

Doctors and psychologists can often detect sleep apnea simply by asking a patient to complete a questionnaire about his or her sleep habits, Durvasula says. People who are overweight and not very active may not notice that they are breathing less than their peers.

Obstructive sleep apnea usually shows up during sleep when the throat relaxes and the airway becomes partially blocked. The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive, which occurs when tissue that separates the two top nasal passages or two lower airways narrows. When the nose is blocked, air cannot flow through the airway, which prevents a person from breathing. The most common reason for obstructive sleep apnea is a congenital defect in the brain’s softening, shearing or softening mechanisms.

“Even though we know that sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular problems, there is not a lot of research showing that it’s linked to depression,” Durvasula says. “We know that [sleep apnea] can be part of depression, but now we’re starting to understand more about why that is.”

In addition to causing fatigue and depression, obstructive sleep apnea can cause an increased risk of hypertension, high blood sugar, insulin resistance and cardiovascular problems. More than 50,000 U.S. deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease each year, but untreated sleep apnea is one of the most common causes of cardiovascular problems, according to a recent report from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Approximately one-quarter of people with sleep apnea are obese, which adds to the severity of the problem, Durvasula says. “Obesity can affect the body’s way of reacting to oxygen, so that can cause a more severe form of the condition.”

For some people with sleep apnea, there is no cure. A general treatment is to wear a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that will keep air flowing through the airway, Durvasula says. “The good news is that patients can use the machine themselves and get a sense of what it feels like and adjust accordingly,” she says.

A CPAP machine will cost around $600 to $700, depending on how many filters and accessories are needed. “In some ways, it’s similar to oxygen tank therapy in that people will have to see a doctor and get fitted,” Durvasula says. “But you do the sleep study and the doctor starts you out with a machine to see how well you do. You can really get back to the most basic life with a CPAP machine.”

Restoring a person’s natural sleep patterns can sometimes make symptoms of sleep apnea more manageable, Durvasula says. However, many people have to use a CPAP machine nightly for the rest of their lives, she adds.

In this study, people who were prescribed an inexpensive continuous positive airway pressure device had significantly improved quality of life compared to people who were simply told they had sleep apnea, Durvasula says. “CPAP really has a number of effects, including improving a patient’s ability to get and stay asleep, decreasing daytime sleepiness and sleepiness,” she says.

Doctors and researchers have identified a variety of physiological mechanisms underlying the effects of sleep apnea, and some of the causes are tied to genetics. Durvasula says the role of sleep apnea in people with mood disorders has been a hot topic of research in the last decade. “Maybe some of the [sleep disorder] symptoms are caused by a combination of the sleep disorders and a history of depression,” she says. “I think it’s important that we do more research to see if the symptoms can be directly linked.”