Fix Your Sleep Schedule:

When you’re on a good sleep schedule, you can feel how it positively affects all areas of your life - and when you’re experiencing erratic sleep patterns, everything feels off. Getting good quality sleep on a consistent schedule can be the most important thing you can do for your health and well-being.

To get some help from an expert, I interviewed Dr.Kori Ascher, a Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine Physician in Miami. Dr. Ascher completed her Sleep Medicine Fellowship at University of Miami UHealth Sleep Center. She decided to pursue sleep medicine because she feels so strongly that sleep is essential to overall health outcomes. Dr. Ascher wants to share her knowledge and passion for efficient sleep to improve people's quality of life and health. In her own words, sleep medicine is sort of 'under the radar' and she plans to educate as many people as possible about the importance of sleep for both mental and physical health. She created the non-profit organization Just Breathe Miami with an annual fundraiser dedicated to a different pulmonary disease each year.

We’re grateful she was willing to share her time and expertise with us, here’s what she had to say!

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST HEALTH BENEFITS OF A GOOD SLEEPING SCHEDULE? WHAT ARE MAJOR PROBLEMS PEOPLE WILL EXPERIENCE WITHOUT A GOOD SLEEP SCHEDULE?

There is an abundance of scientific medical research demonstrating adverse effects on people’s mental and physical health when they get poor quality sleep. Poor quality sleep may lead to problems with every organ system. Sleep really is the foundation of good health.

For example poor sleep is associated with cardiovascular disease. The endocrine system is impacted negatively which means things like low testosterone levels in males. Neurologically poor sleep has been associated with difficulty concentrating, migraines, and early-onset dementia. Poor sleep has consistently demonstrated negative effects by worsening symptoms on psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. There's not one specific health benefit that is more important than another regarding effective sleep.

IS THERE ONE SLEEP SCHEDULE THAT IS BEST FOR EVERYONE OR DOES IT VARY BASED ON THE PERSON?

An optimal sleep schedule is really based on the individual person.

ASSUMING SOMEONE GETS A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT, ARE THERE ANY ADVANTAGES OF BEING AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL?

Pertaining to sleep there's no difference in being an early bird or a night owl, also known as Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder and Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder respectively. There is however a benefit in regards to social or work obligations that may favor an early bird schedule.

WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR SOMEONE WHO IS TRYING TO CHANGE THEIR SLEEP SCHEDULE TO A MORE CONSISTENT ONE BUT IS STRUGGLING TO DO SO?

I would recommend getting assistance from a sleep physician. Changing a sleep schedule can be quite frustrating. A sleep physician can help guide you by constructing a management plan that will gradually change your sleep schedule to the desired times. This task requires a bit of self-discipline and having a sleep physician guide you on how to do it properly will yield the most successful results. It is not something that happens overnight to change a sleep schedule, so being patient is really important. Generally, it usually takes a couple of weeks.

HOW DOES A SLEEP PHYSICIAN HELP?

A sleep physician can help determine those patients who should have their sleep evaluated with a sleep study. A sleep study allows the physician to assess and evaluate several parameters during sleep. If there is a physiological disorder during the sleep study, this is likely the reason for non-restorative sleep. These identified disorders during a sleep study can be targeted by the sleep physician with proper treatment. The treatment frequently has positive life-changing impacts on patients who otherwise wouldn't know there was a sleep disorder present.

IF SOMEONE WANTS TO MAKE THEIR BEDROOM A SLEEP SANCTUARY, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

Our beds should really only be used for sleeping. Electronic screens should be avoided in general, so it’s ideal to keep your cell phone outside of the bedroom and not watch television. The temperature should be cool, but there is no best temperature. The body naturally cools its core temperature during sleep so this is why a cool environment is usually most comfortable for sleeping. Light acts as a stimulus to tell the body 'it's time to wake up.' Light should be avoided or limited as much as possible. Any light that is needed should be dim to minimize the stimulation to the body.

WHAT’S SOMETHING IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO REMEMBER WHEN TRYING TO SLEEP BETTER?

I promise that the best treatment for sleeping better is proper hygiene and healthy lifestyle changes. I know this isn't what most people want to hear as there is not one thing that fixes a sleeping problem immediately. I have numerous frustrated patients who can’t sleep and make certain lifestyle changes and it works over time. Through a period of strategic goals they have been able to overcome their sleeping problems generally with behavioral changes. One important thing to remember is that if you have a bad night of sleep, let it go. It happens to all of us. When people put too much pressure on themselves to have a good night's sleep, the stress of that pressure can be counterproductive.