MANday: Men Need Their Beauty Sleep Too

Guys, how often do you hit a “wall” in the afternoon? Do you have a hard time paying attention during meetings? Do you feel unmotivated, grouchy or lose your temper easily? Has your drive to be intimate with your partner diminished? Men believe these are signs of a hard day’s work, it’s normal to feel this way, “I’ll just fight through it.” Let’s be honest with ourselves, we should not feel this way. 

It is recommended that adult men, 18 to 60 years, get at least 7 hours of sleep. While quantity is important, quality of sleep is just as important for good health. Sleep helps the body build muscle, allows the brain to sort out information and daily events and allows for our vital organs to rest and recover. Inadequate sleep is linked mood swings, metabolic disorders such as diabetes, poor cognitive function, decreased ability to maintain focus, weakened immune system, decreased testosterone and even sexual dysfunction. 

When we go to sleep, our body experiences sleep cycles, alternating between Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep. A sleep cycle can average 70 to 120 minutes with REM sleep, deep sleep, periods getting longer throughout the night of sleep with the longest REM period at the end of the night. This sleep cycle is repeated three to four times per night. NREM sleep is associated with the brain restoring its energy supplies, riding the brain of toxins, body tissue repair and deep sleep preparation. While the function of REM sleep is not entirely understood, several studies found REM sleep to improve mental health, cognitive brain function, and other health benefits such as blood pressure control. 

In our previous MANday blog, When Men Lose Libido, we explored the impact of interrupted sleep cycles on testosterone and sexual drive. If you are worried about how your sleep is impacting your everyday life, schedule a visit with The Y Factor team at one of out six locations across the greater Houston area. Your provider will obtain a detailed medical history, perform a physical exam, and utilize an FDA-approved at home sleep study to give us information about the quality of your sleep. After we receive your results, our experts will create a personalized treatment plan to specifically address any issues that we identify and all with the goal of obtaining quality and regenerative sleep.

References

Cho, J. W. & Duffy, J. F. (2018). Sleep, sleep disorders, and sexual dysfunction. The World 

Journal of Men’s Health. 37(3): 261–275. doi: 10.5534/wjmh.180045

Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, et al. (2015) The National Sleep

Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 1(1):40–43. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010

Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2019). Brain basics: Understand sleep.

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep

Teloken, P., Miranda, E., Kagacan, C. & Mullhal, J. (2017). Exploring the association between

obstructive sleep apnea and venous leak. The Journal of Urology. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2017.02.2658

Kyle Garrow is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC). Kyle earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s degree in family nursing practice from Houston Baptist University.

Trained under Dr. Russel Willams, M.D. and Dr. Tristan Grimaldo, DNP, Kyle is ready to provide top notch care to every patient at The Y Factor by executing our standard of care with his unique ability to connect with patients.

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