Not All Sleep Is Restorative — What to Know About Improving Your Rest

https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep/restorative-sleep

If you woke up this morning feeling rested and refreshed, you probably got what’s called restorative sleep.

In basic terms, restorative sleep happens when brain activity during sleep helps restore your body and mind, essentially resetting you for another day of activity.

Although experts continue to study what happens during sleep, they’ve found evidence to suggest your body and brain accomplish a lot during shut-eye, including muscle repair, protein synthesis, and tissue growth.

Not getting enough restorative sleep can affect your health, not to mention your ability to function during the day.

In this article, we offer more insight into what happens when you don’t get enough restorative sleep, plus tips on getting quality shut-eye. 

Restorative vs. nonrestorative sleep

Only the last two stages of sleep, deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, are considered restorative, Nicole Avena, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, told Healthline.

“During deep sleep, the body repairs and regrows tissue, builds bone and muscle, and strengthens the immune system,” Avena said.

REM sleep, the stage where you typically dream, is essential for learning, memory, and cognition.

Sleep is nonrestorative when you wake up feeling unrefreshed despite having slept the recommended number of hours.

Avena explains that while feeling a little tired from time to time is normal, regularly feeling so tired you can’t focus or find yourself falling asleep at your desk is not.

What causes nonrestorative sleep?

Conditions that can cause nonrestorative sleep include:

- insomnia
- chronic fatigue syndrome
- restless leg syndrome
- sleep apnea
- narcolepsy
- lung disease

Keep in mind, though, that when you have trouble getting quality sleep that leaves you feeling refreshed, underlying health concerns aren’t necessarily to blame.

Life stressors can also impair your ability to get a good night’s rest, as can poor sleep hygiene, Avena said. Both can contribute to nonrestorative sleep.

Other things that can disrupt your regular sleep cycle include:

- shift work
- jet lag
- having young children
- providing regular care for someone with an illness
- anxiety
- chronic pain
- certain medications
- hot flashes from menopause
- alcohol
- caffeine

What happens when you don’t get enough restorative sleep?

Not getting enough restorative sleep can affect your health in a variety of ways.

Short-term consequences include:

- difficulty getting through the day without dozing off
- trouble with memory
- problems with concentration and focus 

Over time, poor sleep can also factor into chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Regular nonrestorative sleep can even affect mental health and contribute to depression and other mental health conditions, said Avena.

Additionally, one 2020 study involving 2,827 Chinese teens suggests a link between not getting enough restorative sleep and lower quality of life.

Adults should get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, ideally going through four to five sleep cycles.

As you get older, your chances of developing a sleep disorder or experiencing poorer quality sleep tend to increase.

According to the American Psychological Association, research suggests that as you age, you’re more likely to develop conditions or experience stressors that lead to sleep troubles, which can, in turn, decrease the time you spend in deep or REM sleep.

Increasing restorative sleep

If you’ve ever struggled to fall asleep, you’re probably aware that dozing off and staying asleep for the ideal 8 hours is often a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Still, a few small changes can make it easier to get the amount of restorative sleep you need on a regular basis.

Improve your sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene doesn’t mean showering before bed — though if that’s what helps you fall asleep, go for it.

Rather, sleep hygiene refers to habits that contribute to quality sleep. 

Stress relief

Ever found yourself lying awake, worrying about the problems that popped up during the day or the challenges tomorrow has yet to reveal?

You’re not alone in the least. Stress is common, and high levels of stress can have a negative impact on your sleep.

You may not be able to completely cut all sources of stress from your life, but finding ways to better manage it can go a long way toward helping you get more restorative sleep.

A few coping strategies to consider:

- yoga
- meditation before bed
- talking with a therapist

Practice good self-care

Taking care of your physical health can also lead to better sleep.

Avena recommends:

- getting regular exercise
- staying hydrated
- eating a balanced diet

Melatonin supplements could also help you fall asleep faster and potentially get better sleep when taken at the correct time. It’s always a good idea to ask a doctor or pharmacist before trying melatonin. They can offer more guidance on whether it’s right for you.

When to see a healthcare professional

“Everybody feels tired sometimes, but excessive sleepiness isn’t normal,” Avena said.

It’s not always possible to address sleep problems yourself, especially when you have a sleep disorder.

So, if you’ve already tried a perfectly relaxing bedtime routine and still have trouble falling asleep — and staying awake during the day — it may be time to consider professional support.

Connecting with a primary care physician or a sleep specialist becomes even more important when you:

- doze off involuntarily throughout the day
- have problems remembering things or concentrating on tasks
- struggle to fall asleep
- can’t stay asleep
- snore loudly
- experience involuntary leg movements while sleeping
- notice symptoms of depression 

Avena also recommends connecting with a sleep specialist if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or lung disease. These conditions may sometimes result from sleep apnea, a treatable but serious condition where you temporarily stop breathing during sleep.

Preparing for your appointment

Before meeting with a sleep specialist, Avena recommends writing out a list of your symptoms and any questions you have. That way, you won’t forget anything you want to bring up with your doctor during the appointment.

It’s also worth keeping a sleep diary in the week or so before your appointment. It can give your doctor more information about your sleeping patterns.

The bottom line

Trouble getting restful sleep on a regular basis can happen as a symptom of sleep disorders or other health conditions.

If restorative sleep regularly evades you, seeking professional support is a good next step.

Quality sleep doesn’t have to be the stuff of dreams. You can try these 17 tips to sleep better right now.

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On Broadway in Vancouver. Spring of 2019.

Broadway is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Vancouver's numbered avenue grid system, it runs in place of a 9th Avenue, between 8th and 10th. The street has six lanes for most of its course. Portions of the street carry the British Columbia Highway 7 designation.

The route begins as "West Broadway" at the intersection of Wallace Crescent and 8th Avenue, in the affluent residential neighbourhood of West Point Grey, a few kilometres east of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Past Alma Street, Broadway takes over from 10th Avenue as one of Vancouver's major thoroughfares, as it enters Greek West Broadway (or Greektown) section of Vancouver's Kitsilano district. East of here are several blocks of generally trendy, upscale shops interspersed with low-rise apartment blocks and small supermarkets. The surrounding neighbourhoods generally consist of large, older homes dating from the early twentieth century, many of which have been subdivided into rental suites.

As Broadway approaches Arbutus Street, the commercial establishments become larger before transitioning into a mix of small to mid-size apartment blocks. East of Burrard Street, the apartment blocks get progressively taller, and commercial establishments larger and busier. Between Burrard and Main Street, Broadway can be considerably congested by vehicular traffic. Past Granville Street, Broadway yields completely to medium-to-large commercial structures and high-rise apartments and condominiums. Between Cambie and Main, the commercial establishments become smaller and somewhat more downscale.

At Ontario Street, two blocks west of Main, the route becomes "East Broadway." After bisecting Main and Kingsway, traffic on Broadway eases somewhat, and the character returns to a mix of small-to-medium apartment buildings and commercial establishments, interspersed with older homes - all considerably less affluent than those to the west. At Commercial Drive, Broadway passes by the Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain Station. Past here for several blocks, the neighbourhood consists predominantly of older residential homes.

As Broadway travels east of Renfrew Street, the neighbourhood once again becomes mixed, with older homes to the north and larger industrial, commercial, and warehouse establishments to the south. Broadway finally ends at Cassiar Street, just short of the Vancouver-Burnaby boundary, where it becomes the Lougheed Highway.

Broadway was created at the turn of the 20th century, along with other gridded roads south of False Creek, to meet the needs of an expanding population in Vancouver. The name of the route was changed from 9th Avenue to Broadway in 1909, at the behest of merchants around Main Street (at that time the hub of Vancouver commerce), who felt that it bestowed a more cosmopolitan air. Commercial establishments originally spread out around the intersections of Cambie and Main Streets, while the character of the rest of the route remained predominantly single-family dwellings.

By the 1970s, the length of Broadway had become a major arterial route in Vancouver, conveying commuters from downtown to the neighbourhoods of the west and east sides. With the growth of UBC and the expansion of the Vancouver General Hospital (one block south of Broadway between approximately Oak and Cambie), traffic demands accelerated. In the 1990s, the agency then responsible for public transit in Greater Vancouver — BC Transit — introduced an express bus route, the 99 B-Line, to help reduce congestion. The Vancouver transportation plan for Broadway notes that congestion is such that the bus service is at capacity, and will not be eased until a new rapid transit line is built paralleling the street. It is anticipated that the SkyTrain's Millennium Line will be extended to Central Broadway by 2021; the extension is expected to connect with Canada Line at Broadway-City Hall Station, at the intersection of Broadway and Cambie Street.

 

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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a neurological disease. But misinformation from decades ago, which claimed it was psychological has resulted in stigma that still impacts the care of patients today.  

“Someone who is so physically unwell is being treated so poorly, as if they can just snap out of it,” says Dr Anna Brooks, a ME and Long Covid researcher. “I don't think I can think of another condition that would be treated this this way. It just blows my mind.” 

It’s estimated 65,000 New Zealanders have the disease – with Long Covid driving ME rates 15 times higher than before the pandemic. 

Re: News journalist Zoe Madden-Smith looks into the controversy around the mysterious illness.

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