How Seasonality Effects Sleep

Chuck Norris
Thu, 19 Dec 2024 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

To say it's cold outside is a relative statement. It depends on where you live and how one defines "cold." As America is the fourth-largest geographic country in the world, temperatures here can run the gambit from tropical to polar, with lots of varying conditions in between. The thing we all share is that winter is now upon us. But to be clear, it has still not quite arrived — officially. As a recent story in USA Today reminds us, the first day of winter will show up in the form of the winter solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 4:21 a.m. EST. So says the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The winter solstice "occurs when the Earth's axis tilts farthest from the sun," USA Today reports. The exact timing can vary slightly from year to year, though it typically occurs between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23.

Whether winter is officially here or not, most folks have been gearing up for it for a while now, and along with the joy and expectation of another holiday season comes seasonal holiday stress. While our body may be telling us to slow down, there's this urge, this need, to fulfill commitment and to do more. Health psychologist Kari Leibowitz recently explained in an NPR interview that "if you look at every living thing on Earth, plant or animal, they are all changing their behavior in winter in some way. They're migrating or hibernating, shedding their leaves, storing up their energy for spring. Our modern societies and conveniences have convinced us that it's a personal or moral failure if we want to slow down in the winter."
Updated: Fri Dec 20, 2024

To say it's cold outside is a relative statement. It depends on where you live and how one defines "cold." As America is the fourth-largest geographic country in the world, temperatures here can run the gambit from tropical to polar, with lots of varying conditions in between. The thing we all share is that winter is now upon us. But to be clear, it has still not quite arrived — officially. As a recent story in USA Today reminds us, the first day of winter will show up in the form of the winter solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 4:21 a.m. EST. So says the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The winter solstice "occurs when the Earth's axis tilts farthest from the sun," USA Today reports. The exact timing can vary slightly from year to year, though it typically occurs between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23.

Whether winter is officially here or not, most folks have been gearing up for it for a while now, and along with the joy and expectation of another holiday season comes seasonal holiday stress. While our body may be telling us to slow down, there's this urge, this need, to fulfill commitment and to do more. Health psychologist Kari Leibowitz recently explained in an NPR interview that "if you look at every living thing on Earth, plant or animal, they are all changing their behavior in winter in some way. They're migrating or hibernating, shedding their leaves, storing up their energy for spring. Our modern societies and conveniences have convinced us that it's a personal or moral failure if we want to slow down in the winter."

If the colder winter season has you dragging and feeling tired, you are not alone. "At least a third of American adults reported they sleep more in the winter," CNN reports.

"Sleep needs for most adults are somewhere between (seven to nine) hours per night, and that is consistent no matter how cold or dark it gets outside," Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California, adds. "It is common to feel like you are sleeping more during the winter due to the fact that we lose an hour of daylight when we enter standard time, which is associated with the early onset of darkness. ... Our bodies receive cues from the sun when it comes to our circadian rhythm, meaning that when it is bright outside, we tend to be active, but when the sun goes down, you may tend to feel tired."

"Humans still don't need to hibernate, (Dr. Carleara) Weiss (a research assistant professor in the Center for Nursing Research at the University of Buffalo) said," CNN reports, "nor can we afford to due to our social and occupational obligations. 'But we can make adjustments to perform in a better way, to rest in a better way during winter,' she said." But there is no getting around it: The sudden shift in our routines caused by the onset of winter is disruptive to sleep. Though winter is a time when people need rest, it is also a difficult time to try to achieve it.

Reports The New York Times' Emily Schmall, "some long-term studies have also linked a lack of sleep to depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. Getting enough sleep, on the other hand, can reduce stress, sharpen attention and even bolster our immune systems. You don't need to miss out on a lot of sleep every night to experience negative health effects. ... If a person is consistently getting even 15 minutes less sleep than they need to function well, that can be considered sleep deprivation.

"Ideally, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep every night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet, about one in three adults in the United States logs less than seven hours of sleep a day."

As reported by Schmall, Dr. Charlene Gamaldo, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, say that "generally speaking, experts consider someone sleep-deprived if that person gets less sleep than needed or not enough quality sleep for several days a week over several months." Most people's biological clock falls between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. But "without a medical evaluation, it can be tricky to distinguish sleep deprivation and some of its causes from plain sleepiness, experts said," Schmall writes.

"If you're sleep-deprived, the need to sleep can feel more urgent," Schmall continues. "And a more prolonged lack of sleep can result in more severe consequences. You might have trouble with concentration and short-term memory, which affects work performance. Persistent irritability could lead to conflicts in relationships. You might also drift off more frequently or at risky moments, such as when driving. ... Whatever the cause (of sleep deprivation), experts recommended against using over-the-counter sleep aids, which might mask a person's sleep problem, rather than eliminate it."

Schmall reports that Dr. Eric Olson, a sleep specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, says "prescription sleeping pills can help people struggling with occasional sleeplessness, but they aren't recommended for daily use." He warns against using "benzodiazepines, which are sometimes prescribed for sleep but can be addictive, or relying on antihistamines to help you doze off."

Before turning to these medications, Dr. Sarah Lou Clever, an internist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, "suggested starting with behavioral strategies," Schmall reports. "Trading the blue light of your cellphone for a book can help calm your brain instead of reactivating it at bedtime, she said. Stretching and light exercise before bed can improve both the quality and duration of sleep. Some research suggests that meditation can help reduce symptoms of insomnia and fatigue."

As you decide how you want to address this problem brought on by the onset of winter, let me end by borrowing from a classic Christmas poem: Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night's sleep!