The 7 little-known symptoms that link sleep and health – from jaw ache to night sweats and the 3pm slump
WE know that good sleep is a vital ingredient for a healthy life.
However for many of us, it’s not always a case of hitting the pillow, falling into a deep sleep for eight hours and waking up refreshed and ready to take on the day.
In fact, according to research by Nuffield Health, on average Brits are only getting 5.91 hours of sleep a night.
Good quality sleep is important for good health.
Symptoms experienced during the day can tell us a lot about our sleep quality, such as headaches.
And it works the other way around, too.
You might struggle to sleep if you’re in poor health, with problems during the night – such as night sweats – a sign of unaddressed health issues.
Are you experiencing any of the below? Find out what it could be trying to tell you about your sleep health.
DURING SLEEP
1. Night sweats
If you’re waking up in the middle of the night sweating, then it could be a sign of something going on internally.
Alexandra Zatarin, sleep expert and co-founder of Eight Sleep, says: “Many factors can contribute to night sweats such as hormones, medication, time of year and age.
“People with sleep disorders are more likely to have night sweats, but experts do not yet know if sleep disorders cause night sweats, or if night sweats make it more likely a person will be screened for sleep disorders.”
Medications that can cause night sweats include antidepressants, diabetes medications, steroids and even some over-the-counter meds including ibuprofen.
Plus, hormonal changes in women can also cause sweats. These can occur during the time of menstruation, ovulation and menopause.
More seriously, persistent night sweats which cause you to wake up in the night can be caused by certain cancers including kidney and bone cancer.
If you’re concerned, book an appointment with your GP.
If your bedroom environment makes you hot and sweaty, be sure to drop the temperature to anywhere between 15.6 to 20 degrees Celsius, the optimum room temperature for good sleep, according to The Sleep Foundation.
You could even invest in temperature-controlled mattresses, sheets, duvets and pillows.
2. Struggling to sleep
“Sleeplessness and mood disorders are closely linked,” says Alexandra – and it can work both ways.
“Sleeplessness is often a symptom of mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety,” Alexandra says.
“Anxiety and stress increase agitation and keep your body aroused, awake and alert. You might find you can’t turn your brain off, your heart beats faster and your breathing is quick and shallow.”
She adds: “It can also raise the risk of, and even contribute to, developing some mood disorders.
“Studies show people who are sleep deprived report increases in negative moods such as anger, frustration, irritability and sadness, as well as decreases in positive moods.”
It’s vital to try and reduce any stress and anxiety that could be disrupting your sleep before the issue gets worse.
This may involve putting your phone away or in another room before bed and not going back to it until the morning.
Other tips include writing down how you feel before bed to get problems and worries off your mind, and even devoting time to a nice meal with a friend or family member away from work emails and messages.
3. Teeth grinding
Also known as bruxism, teeth grinding when you sleep is more common than you think but it can be painful and lead to a sore jaw.
Alexandra says: “If you sleep in a supine (lying face upwards) position your tongue may fall back and potentially block or limit your airways, disrupting sleep quality.
“This results in grinding as our body tries to push that tongue out the way.”
The most common reasons for teeth grinding also include stress, anxiety, smoking and sleep problems such as sleep apnoea, where breathing stops and starts while you sleep.
Taking antidepressants may also cause a person to grind their teeth.
How do you know if you do it, other than pain in the face, jaw, neck or shoulder?
Your dentist should be able to spot worn down enamel or even cracks. They may be able to give you a mouth guard to prevent it.
DURING THE DAY
4. Headaches
Throbbing head and no idea why?
Whilst dehydration, PMS and rich food could be to blame, Alexandra says that a lack of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep has been associated with more painful headaches.
She says: “The authors of a review article found that a lack of sleep increases proteins in the body that contribute to chronic pain.
“These proteins can reduce the body’s ability to withstand pain and can trigger migraine headaches.”
During sleep, the body cycles through four different stages of sleep, one of which is REM.
Not only do we have dreams during REM sleep, but we also process emotions, new learnings from the day, and potentially experience brain development, according to The Sleep Foundation.
The average person experiences four to six REM episodes during a normal night of sleep as they drift between cycles of light and deep sleep. Therefore, getting too little sleep generally will reduce REM sleep.
Headaches may also be a symptom of sleep apnoea. The condition causes momentary pauses in breathing during the night due to a restriction of the airways.
A key sign of sleep apnoea when listening to someone else are pauses in breathing followed by gasping or choking. Usually, the person snores, too.
5. Feeling sleepy at 11am and 3pm
Another sign of sleep apnoea is feeling sleepy in the daytime.
If you think you have the condition, it’s important to get it checked by a GP because there are several dangerous conditions associated with it, including heart attack and stroke.
Limit naps to 20 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon. This will keep you from staying awake for several hours past your set bedtime.
Alexandra Zatarin
Struggling to keep your eyes open come late morning and mid-afternoon can often be a clear sign of poor sleep quality or sleep deprivation.
To reduce daytime sleepiness, it’s important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule of around eight hours a night, and this applies on the weekends, too.
Consistency is key here – don’t expect to avoid daytime sleepiness if you just ‘catch up’ with sleep at the weekend.
It all comes down to the body clock, which needs to be kept ticking along at a regular pace in order for all bodily functions to work well.
Alexandra explains: “Our bodies have a circadian rhythm which is the daily wake-sleep cycle – or, the sleep-wake time consistency of your physical, mental, and behavioural changes.
“When your body shows signs that you’re hungry, tired, full, or alert, these are all factors that affect how it functions and performs on a daily basis.
“In association with sleep, it basically refers to going to sleep at night and being awake during the day. That’s considered the norm for most sleep patterns.”
Playing around with your body clock, such as staying up late at night or waking up at noon, can leave you feeling sleepy regardless of how much you try and play catch-up.
Desperate for a nap? “Limit them to 20 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon,” recommends Alexandra.
“This will keep you from staying awake for several hours past your set bedtime.”
6. Sugar cravings
We’ve all been there; tired and desperate for carbs and sugar.
Have you ever considered it’s because you didn’t sleep well?
Sleep deprivation alters our appetite-regulating hormones, which can increase your intake of calorie-dense foods and contribute to weight gain.
“More specifically, lack of sleep causes the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin to increase, which causes you to eat more sweets and sugary treats,” says Alexandra.
“It also decreases levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin. When you’re tired, you may also tend to turn toward foods that give you a quick, easy fix of energy—like sugar.
“That’s why many of us start craving sweets after a long, tiring day.”
7. Persistent acne
Spots on the face can be frustrating at the best of times.
Alexandra says: “While lack of sleep alone may not cause spots or acne, lack of sleep can cause cortisol levels to rise in the body.
“When we don’t get enough sleep we may get stressed and our bodies will produce more cortisol, a stress hormone that may lead to excessive sebum (or oil) production.”
Meditation helps to reduce stress and other conditions, such as anxiety, chronic pain, and depression, all of which affect sleep.
Alexandra
“This excess oil can clog pores and lead to breakouts.”
Alexandra adds: “Additionally, research shows that stress-related production of adrenal androgens is linked to chronic acne, and increased acne severity is significantly associated with stress levels.”
Reducing stress can make a big difference to your sleep and skin quality.
Alexandra adds: “Research has shown that meditation helps to reduce stress and other conditions, such as anxiety, chronic pain, and depression, all of which affect sleep.
“It emphasises mindfulness, relaxation and controlled breathing to lower heart rate and reduce blood pressure.”
You could try an app such as Headspace or Calm, which offer guided meditations. Apple Watch also offers short, guided meditations.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s based on whatever works best for your schedule and stress needs,” says Alexandra.
A sleep supplement could also help to lower stress levels and help you wind down.
How bad sleep affects weight
Previously in The Sun, experts explained how sleep is closely linked with weight.
Disrupts hunger hormones
Ghrelin is a hormone released after the brain signals the stomach is empty, while leptin is released from fat cells to suppress hunger – and tell the brain it’s full.
Studies have shown that when you don’t get enough shut-eye, the body makes more ghrelin and less leptin – leaving you more hungry.
One study of 12 men led by University of Chicago showed two days of sleep deprivation drove leptin levels in the blood down by 18 per cent, while increasing ghrelin by 28 per cent.
The men reported a 24 per cent increase in their hunger and appetite compared to when they were given two restful nights.
More time to eat
The less you are asleep, the more you are awake. This gives more of an opportunity to eat.
In the modern day world, people are awake for up to 17 hours at a time – 7am till 12pm. It leaves a huge window for being awake and eating.
If you’re struggling with both your weight and sleep, try finishing your meals three to four hours before bed time. That might mean limiting your eating window from 9am until 6pm.
Reach for takeaways
If you have a weird sleeping pattern, chances are your eating schedule is also off-whack.
Struggling to sleep can see us turn to convenience – takeaways, ready meals, oven foods and more, whi;e being energised gives us more motivation to cook healthily.
Eat more calories than normal
Studies suggest that the less sleep you get, the more calorie-dense food you choose to eat.
One study in Chicago found that men ate more food at a buffet after four consecutive night’s of rough sleep compared with when they were rested.
They consumed around 340 calories more, mostly because they ate more snacks and carbohydrate-rich food.
Researchers from King’s College London also found that adults consumed an additional 385 calories – the equivalent of one and a half Mars Bars – on days after they were deprived of kip by combining the results of 11 previous studies.
More desire for food
Foods, especially those high in calories, are more appetising when we are sleep deprived because we subconsciously know they will boost our energy.
A German study showed the lengths sleepy people would go to for calorific snacks using 32 healthy men.
After a normal dinner and either a restful or restless night’s sleep, the men were given three Euros to spend on snacks and told to bid the maximum amount they were willing to spend on each item.
When sleep deprived. participants were willing to pay extra for the junk food items – which they were allowed to eat afterwards – suggesting a stronger desire.
Fat storage more likely
Scientists have warned that not getting enough sleep changes how the body deals with food, which could then lead to weight gain.
One study showed that men who ate a large bowl of chilli mac and cheese after four nights of bad sleep reacted differently to the food than those who were well-rested.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University said blood tests showed lipids (fats) from foods were cleared faster, suggesting they were being stored almost instantly.
The process did not spring back to its normal rate even after the men were given a long night’s sleep.