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You are here: Backpacker Resources > Healthy Living > Part 47 - The Importance of Sleep

Part 47 - The Importance of Sleep

How To Optimise on Sleep When Travelling

Many people view sleep as a basic ‘shut off’ mode for the human body, thinking that you’re either asleep or not, and both states are constant. The truth is in fact very different. There are five known stages of sleep through which we pass cyclically, one full cycle taking an average of around one hour and forty minutes. The time spent in each phase varies immensely between individuals. The first phase may be familiar ‐ this is the lightest of all, when we are most likely to be woken up. Sudden muscle contractions, vivid images (though not dreams) and falling sensations can all wretch you awake. As sleep deepens, brain activity decreases. The final stage however, known as REM (rapid eye movement), is when the brain, and eyes become very active, and is accompanied by an increased heart rate and breathing. This is when we dream.

All stages of sleep are necessary and the sleep debt for each one can mount up. Be woken from a deep sleep and at bedtime you may go straight into the much needed REM phase. On average, adults require seven to eight hours of sleep a night ‐ a well known fact. The Margaret Thatchers of this world may only need five and some others maybe twice that amount, but such cases are rather rare. I say this because the amount of sleep you GET may not be the amount you NEED. It simply isn’t possible to train your body into needing less sleep.

What Happens If We Don’t Get Enough?

Sleep deprivation can affect concentration, it impairs both physical and mental performance, leads to forgetfulness and leaves you with a lack of energy. In fact this is all rather similar to the effects of alcohol consumption! Furthermore it is during sleep that the body repairs itself from physical damage and stress. Neurones are also repaired and those which would otherwise remain dormant are exercised, and therefore retained. Deep sleep is the most intensive repair phase and hence is necessary for optimal health. It also allows many parts of the brain to shut down, including those that control emotions, ultimately preventing mood swings and boosting social awareness. In the long term, experiments (on rats) have shown that a lack of REM sleep may have negative affects on the condition of the skin, the immune system and even life expectancy.

What About When a Good Nights Sleep Isn’t Always Possible?

When travelling, should your flights extend over multiple time zones and consume whole days of your time away, then you know from the start that you won’t get your quality, eight hour long cycle. This is most apparent when travelling from west to east since going the other way simply requires staying awake for a bit longer than usual. West to East can cause you to lose large chunks of the day (or night) so the best solution is to gradually alter the time that you go to sleep over a few days prior to your journey and to allocate rest time on aeroplanes and in airports, making the effort to stay awake either side.

Avoid caffeine and exercise in the hours before bedtime as these can prevent you from falling asleep. Also avoid alcohol because even though it may appear to help, it can actually prevent you from entering a proper deep sleep. Most importantly, allow yourself to achieve natural sleep on a regular basis, wherever you are in the world. Make it your aim, at least once a week, to sleep in with no alarm, in a real bed with no interruptions. Ah ‐ lovely, so until next month, good night.

‐ David Haw