Sleep is one of the four pillars of health, argues the neurologist and specialist in sleep disorders at Clínic de Barcelona hospital Álex Iranzo (Barcelona, ??1966). But the rhythm of life and the screens complicate a fundamental and vital activity because they are shortening the hours we sleep. A quarter of the population sleeps less than is recommended, warns Iranzo.
Does lack of sleep cause them to lose sleep?
(Laughter) It gives us work. 25% of the population sleeps less than is recommended.
How much is recommended?
Between seven and nine hours. There are inter-individual differences and this varies according to age. But habitually sleeping more than nine hours or less than seven is associated with predispositions to various diseases.
How does good sleep help?
With sleep there is a very important neural plasticity activity. Toxics are removed from the brain, new proteins are created, functions that were quiet while you were awake are now active. For example, memory. It is proven that in different phases of sleep you organize the things you have learned or experienced during the day. You expel the ones that are not interesting and keep the ones that will serve you. It also has a very important biological activity in the emotional, endocrine, respiratory, immunological fields… It’s very easy to know what sleep is for by looking at what happens if you don’t sleep enough.
What’s going on?
A person who sleeps two or three hours for three days, or who is completely deprived of sleep, the next day is not focused, suffers from mistakes, does not plan. If it is more days, you may have banal infections, such as a cold, herpes or hormonal imbalances.
Is quality or quantity worth more?
quality There are those who sleep ten hours or have to take two naps on Saturday. This is indicating that, even if you got seven or eight hours of sleep during the night, it was not enough because of the poor quality. It may be that you wake up very often, that you have apneas… It’s spending a lot of time doing homework, but badly.
Do we sleep badly in Spain?
We sleep little. In Spain and practically all over the world. Work takes time away from sleep. We are in bed and WhatsApp, the TV, the radio, the mobile phone or the tablet steal our sleep.
The screens…
The one on tablets or mobile phones have a very powerful light that reaches the eyes. And it doesn’t invite you to sleep, but to be active.
From the list of sleep disorders, is there one that worries you the most?
You should try to correct your sleeping habits. And then there’s the issue of apneas. Many people have breathing pauses while they sleep and don’t realize it. Snorers who wake up tired the next day. And there is a topic that at the Clinic is a research line of the neurology service, which is REM sleep behavior disorder. We are pioneers on a global scale. 15% of sleep is in the REM phase. In this phase, a normal person is dreaming, and is paralyzed. If I dream that I’m playing football, I don’t kick because a very small part of the brain tells the muscle: “Don’t move, you’re in REM”. In REM sleep behavior disorder we see people over 50 who come to the hospital explaining that at night they have nightmares that are always the same. Because this part of their brain is not working well, they can execute sleep. They talk, scream, kick, punch, fall out of bed… This can be treated with medication.
…
We saw that when we were following these patients in outpatient clinics, they were developing Parkinson’s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies, which are neurodegenerative diseases. The sleep disorder was a warning that the neurodegenerative disorder was coming. We discovered that synuclein, an abnormal protein, is deposited in the brain. And we have seen that 75% of these patients have it in the colon, intestine, submandibular glands, skin and cerebrospinal fluid. There are already antidotes against this protein, because it is the poison of the brain.
What can we do to sleep better?
Don’t obsess. Maintain between seven and nine hours of sleep and make it as comfortable as possible, without noise. Common sense. The problem is when you have insomnia. These people must be told that they must think of the bed as an instrument for sleeping and only for sleeping. When there is pathology, then it is necessary to establish some guidelines to do like coaching in the medical field.
Does insomnia affect the consultation?
Yes, it’s an epidemic. People have a bad time and the next day there are consequences.
