Want Long Life? Research Calls Enough Sleep Can Help

JAKARTA - Running healthy lifestyle activities through adequate sleep and quality should not be missed because these activities can affect a person's mental health condition.

"Based on the JAMA Psychiatry Journal, there are data showing that night owls sleep patterns are related to the risk of depression up to 2 times higher. But considering mental health conditions can also affect sleep patterns, it is difficult to determine which causes and which ones are the result of these two factors," said Researcher & Health Educator Nutrifood Research Center Rendy Dijaya as written in the journal NutriClassNews Vol. 59, quoted from ANTARA.

The term night owls refers to people who sleep late but wake up early in the morning. While the term early births refers to those who are used to sleeping early but wake up early in the morning.

Other data in 2018 showed that early birds have a lower risk of depression by up to 27 percent. This then prompted further research that found that advancing sleep 1 hour earlier with a fixed sleep duration could help lower the risk of depression by 23 percent.

For example, someone who is used to sleeping at 1 am and waking up at 8 am, then changing the hours of sleep to 12 pm and waking up at 7 am, then the risk of depression is observed to be lower. If the bed time is moved up 2 hours earlier with a fixed sleep duration, then the risk of depression is observed to reach 40 percent lower.

"Promoting bedtime and waking up early can help maintain mental health in night owls. It is suspected that this can be related to exposure to sunlight which can be obtained more when we wake up early. Steps that can be tried include exercising regularly, dimming the light at night, and limiting screen time at night," added Rendy.

In addition to being able to affect mental conditions, recent studies also show that adequate and quality sleep is also related to longer life. The journal American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session shows that sleep shortages are associated with more unhealthy diets, weight problems, increased risk of disease, and worse emotional health.

In addition, research on 172,321 respondents showed that as many as 8% of deaths from all causes could be related to poor sleep habits. Meanwhile, those who have all aspects of good sleep quality are observed to have a risk of death from all causes up to 30 percent lower, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease is up to 21 percent lower, and the risk of death from cancer is up to 19 percent lower when compared to those that are not and only have 1 aspect of good quality sleep.

The life expectancy rate is also observed to be higher, which is 4.7 years higher for men and 2.4 years higher for women in those who have all aspects of good quality sleep. Below, there are some daily habits to build a good sleep pattern:

1. Make a regular sleep schedule and wake up every day including on weekends and avoid the difference in sleep time that reaches more than 1 hour between days.

2. Avoid eating big near bedtime. If deemed necessary, choose a healthy light snacks.

3. Increase physical activity and spend as much time outdoors as possible.

4. Avoid naps in the afternoon and limit nap times to a maximum of 20 minutes.

5. Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and calm.