More reasons to make sleep a priority

If you read this column regularly, you may feel you know me — and for good reason. A health-and-fitness columnist who preaches that better living comes from experimentation better share some of his experiments.

Based on the comments I receive about this column, I feel I know you too. While I may not know specifics, such as your age, height, weight, favorite pastime, and dietary preferences, I believe I know this much.

You are a doer with a capital “D,” on the go from sunup to sundown. The sort who nods approvingly when gravel-throated Neil Young growls, “It’s better to burn out than to rust.”

While Neil’s right, there is a reason he uses “better” and not “best.” That’s because what’s best is not to burn out at all. What’s best is to rest enough, so you can go at it again and again and again.

So don’t skimp on sleep.

Now in last week’s column, you read one reason why. Recent research determined if you deprive yourself of sleep one night, you double the likelihood of making a mistake the next day when involved in a complicated task.

Michelle E. Stepan, one of the authors of the paper about that study, suggested to Medical News Today that a doctor who skips a night’s sleep before performing a risky operation the next day makes the operation “much riskier.” In fact, according to the study’s results, it probably doubles the chance of error.

Another of the authors, Kimberly Fenn, explained that operating an automobile while sleep deprived leads to the sorts of errors that create the sorts of accidents that cause fatalities.

While these things are good to know, I know you. Unless dire circumstances demand it, you are not skipping a full night’s sleep.

No way.

But you probably do deny yourself an hour or two now and then and don’t realize the detriment.

Skipping an hour or two of sleep suppresses your immune system, making you more vulnerable to sickness — especially during cold and flu season. It also reduces your reaction time, making you less likely to keep your balance and remain upright when you slip on a patch of ice or trip up steps.

But even if you do avoid sickness or injury when sleep deprived, one thing is for sure: You function at less than 100 percent — though you may not perceive it.

Here’s a story about when I didn’t.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I intentionally traded a few hours of sleep to finish an article and also rode harder and longer than normal both mornings. On the following Monday and Tuesday, I did my scheduled workouts — an hour of weightlifting and then a two-and-a-half-hour ride — but both were a struggle.

My school scheduled Parent-Teachers Conferences for both those nights, which led me to less sleep than I like for four days in a row.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up grudgingly and groggily, and I knew exactly why. Rest is what I needed.

But I had an intense, 95-minute leg-lifting workout scheduled for that afternoon and I can be stubborn and caffeine can be stimulating, so ...

The workout went better than I could have imagined, and I felt really good because of that. I also felt really sleepy after supper and fell asleep within 10 minutes of reading a novel that I was dying to finish.

When I woke, I had a snack, tried to read again, but lasted no more than 10 minutes again.

I knew not to set the alarm that night and slept nearly 10 hours Thanksgiving morning. I felt a bit better and a boatload of lucky since I felt really healthy.

That week in school so many of my students were hacking and coughing and sneezing that my classroom sounded like an urgent-care waiting room. Surprisingly, I was not congested or feverish even though I had been foolish for skimping on sleep at a time when I needed even more than my usual.

To make amends, I did not set the alarm again and slept nearly 10 hours.

I did not exercise too strenuously on Black Friday, and I did eat more than my normal amount of complex carbohydrates. After a normal night’s sleep, I woke up raring to go and had a red-letter day.

First, the words just seemed to flow as I easily knocked out an article. Next, I felt stronger on the bike than I had in a long time, despite riding over four hours and with some really top-notch — and really young — riders.

The writing and the riding on Sunday went just as well.

So my advice to you is simple. If you don’t seem to have the same pep during the day, put the day on hold.

Prop up your feet and take a nap. Or make sure you get to bed that night an hour earlier than you had planned.

How you get the extra rest isn’t important. Feeling good is.