World Sleep Day| excessive "early bed, early rise", "late bed and late rise" may be a disease?

March 21 is World Sleep Day, and the theme of this year's World Sleep Day in China is "Good Sleep healthy walking". How to get a good night's sleep has always been one of the most concerned topics for "workers". A young man, Ahao, 24 years old, sleeps regularly for eight hours a day. Falling asleep quickly, hardly dreaming during sleep. He feels that he sleeps soundly, sleeps well, is basically not awakened by peripheral noises, and rarely goes to the toilet during sleep. When you wake up, you are refreshed and do not need to take a nap.

Such a quality of sleep makes many people envious. However, Ah Hao also went to the sleep department of Zhongshan People's Hospital because of sleep troubles and sought medical advice.

Go to bed at four or five in the morning and get up at one or two o'clock in the afternoon

"Wouldn't it be nice to have eight hours of sleep?" Ahao's case gives the answer.

Ahao, who entered the sleep specialty, has not found a suitable job after graduating from college. For a long time, he was idle at home and fell into the quagmire of "nightlife". Every night, he would lie in bed, brush short videos, and play games. With the increase in the number of nights, he gradually changed from the initial "do not want to go to bed early" to the later "have to sleep late", occasionally want to go to bed early, but because he can't sleep, he finally chooses to continue to use his mobile phone to pass the insomnia time.

A few years passed, and Ahao's sleep time was postponed from 11 p.m. to 4-5 a.m., while the wake-up time was delayed from 7 a.m. to 1-2 p.m.

Parents look at it and are very worried, but repeated reminders do not work. Parents thought that as long as Ahao had a work and sleep schedule, he would naturally get better. In recent months, with the help of his parents and relatives, Ahao has found a day job again. At this time, when Ahao wanted to go to bed early, he found it quite difficult. Due to repeated tardiness, poor mental health at work, and continuous work errors, Ah Hao was eventually dismissed by the boss.

Even if he found several jobs in the future, Ahao could not adapt to the work and adjust the sleep time reasonably. At the suggestion of his parents, Ahao came to the hospital for treatment.

Guo Quanhong, a sleep specialist and psychologist at Zhongshan People's Hospital, said that if you only sleep enough for 8 hours without proper work and rest rules, it is endless for personal life and work.

Ahao is suffering from "circadian rhythm disorder of sleep awakening rhythm disorder". This condition refers to sleep disorders caused by the maintenance and induction of systemic changes in diurnal time, and the endogenous circadian rhythm is out of sync with the external environment. Circadian rhythm disorders of sleep awakening can induce cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, metabolic, cognitive, and emotional disorders, affecting the physical and mental health of patients, resulting in impaired learning, social, occupational, and other functions, and becoming a personal and public safety hazard.

Excessive "late sleep and late rise" is a condition

Rhythm is one of the basic characteristic manifestations of life. Since the average day and night on the earth is about 24 hours, according to the principle of "survival of the fittest", human beings are strictly required to maintain the best synchronization and coordination between the internal and external environments in natural selection, so human beings present a circadian rhythm with a 24-hour cycle. Sunrise and sunset, for thousands of years, human beings have been observing such a rhythm of life and sleeping habits.

The formation of circadian rhythms and the regulation of the biological clock have played a very important role in people's awakening and sleep.

In the human body, the external stimuli that can affect sleep and wakefulness are "timing factors". There are many factors that affect the human "timing factor", the most important of which is the light and dark cycle of sunlight. In addition, it also includes work and rest schedules, sports or social activities, eating time, etc.

Individual behavioral factors are crucial, and most of the "timing factors" are artificially controllable. For example: how to arrange sleep schedules, sleeping postures, active diets, work and study, etc. How does a person's biological clock come about? It relies on the "superoptimal nucleus" structure in the hypothalamus. The optic nucleus controls the secretion of "pineal melatonin" to regulate the rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, so that it is synchronized with the light and dark of the external environment.

Ahao suffers from "circadian rhythm disorder of sleep-wake rhythm disorder", which means that his biological clock is out of balance.

"Circadian rhythm disorder of sleep wakefulness" actually includes sleep period delay syndrome, sleep period advance syndrome, non-24-hour sleep awakening rhythm disorder, irregular sleep awakening rhythm disorder, jet lag change sleep disorder, shift work sleep wake disorder and other diseases.

Relevant surveys show that among all circadian rhythm disorders, "sleep period delay syndrome" is the most common, up to 83%, and non-24-hour sleep wake rhythm disorder is 12%.

Ahao suffers from "sleep delay syndrome", also known as DSPT. It is characterized by a delay of more than 2 hours in falling asleep and waking up more than traditional sleep. Although the patient's sleep cycle is basically normal, it is manifested by going to bed late and getting up late, and in severe cases, even completely reversed day and night.

DSPT is generally found in prepubertal patients and elderly patients over 60 years of age. It is more common in adolescents and young people, and the etiology is complex. Physical, environmental stimuli, psychology, behavioral habits, and substance intake are the five major factors that affect sleep. Among them, those with "sleep period delay syndrome" have the highest participation and the most controllable influence of behavioral habits.

Behavioral preference plays an important role in cases with DSPT.

Like Ahao, there is no mandatory bedtime and wake-up time, delaying sleep awakening time, delaying the time to receive light in the morning, hindering the activation process in the biorhythm, receiving light in the middle of the night, and may also permanently exacerbate sleep period delays.

Guo Quanhong said that the highly induced groups of sleep delay are mainly: idle people in the non-working state, adolescents and young people in the vacation state, and retired elderly people. Individuals often lack external constraints and norms, improper use of electronic products, lack of self-bottom line constraints, and ultimately long-term connivance with sleep period delays. "These factors are all responsible for the obvious pathological state of sleep." Guo Quanhong said.

Excessive "going to bed early and getting up early" is also a condition

Not only is there a problem with excessive "going to bed late and getting up late", but also excessive "going to bed early and getting up early" is not advisable.

Guo Quanhong said that the "sleep period forward type", also known as ASP, is also a sleep disorder. Manifested by individuals falling asleep and waking up at least two hours earlier than the traditional or desired schedule, which is obviously "going to bed early and getting up early".

"ASPT is much less reported than DSPT because of the general public's tendentious recognition of 'going to bed early and getting up early', so many patients may not realize that he is pathological, and the estimated prevalence in middle-aged people is about 1%, and with age." Guo Quanhong said.

In fact, circadian rhythm disorder of sleep awakening can cause significant damage to an individual's social functioning. Many insomnia patients have begun to use drugs such as "melatonin" to assist in falling asleep. Taking melatonin 1 to 3 mg 1 to 3 hours before bedtime can bring you to sleep earlier.

"However, it is important to note that taking melatonin has become a trend now, and many health supplements have melatonin ingredients in them. Melatonin is an antioxidant, so it has some health benefits. Guo Quanhong said, but animal experiments have shown that melatonin will damage learning, while long-term use of melatonin will damage the reproductive ability of animals, taking it during pregnancy will also affect fetal development, the impact of long-term use of melatonin on humans is not clear, but there may be adverse reactions such as low body temperature, inhibition of gonadal development, release of too much prolactin, infertility, and decreased libido.

Therefore, Guo Quanhong suggested that the actual effect of any drug is different from person to person, and it is recommended to take relevant drugs under the guidance of a doctor, if the effect is not good, it is necessary to go to the sleep psychology specialist in time to standardize treatment.

Adjusting your sleep state is closely related to your health. Every individual should start from the beginning of life and prevent microaggressions. How can I sleep better and healthier? Guo Quanhong put forward 10 suggestions.

Zeng Yanchun, a reporter from Nanfang Daily

[Correspondent] Tang Liuqing

【Planning】Xiao Wei

【Author】 Zeng Yanchun

【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client