P Drug Information

How Much Sleep Is Enough?

Animal studies suggest that sleep is as vital as food for survival. Rats, for example, normally live two to three years, but only live five weeks if these rats do not get REM sleep and only two to three weeks if these rats do not sleep at all. This timeframe is similar to death due to starvation. But how much sleep do humans need? To help answer that question, scientists look at how much people sleep when people can do can so without restrictions.
When healthy adults have unlimited opportunity to sleep, adults will sleep on average between eight and either and half hours a night. But sleep needs vary from person to person. Some people appear to need only about seven hours to avoid problem sleepiness whereas others need nine or more hours of sleep. Sleep needs also change throughout the lifecycle. Newborns sleep between 16 and 18 hours a day and children in preschool sleep between 10 and 12 hours a day. School-aged children and adolescents need at least nine hours of sleep a night.
The hormonal influences of puberty tend to shift the biological clocks of adolescents. As a result, teenagers are more likely to go to bed later than younger children and adults and teens tend to want to sleep later in the morning. This sleep and wake rhythm is contrary to the early-morning start times of many high schools and helps explain why most teenagers get an average of only seven to seven and a half hours of sleep a night.
As people get older, the pattern of sleep also changes, especially the amount of time spent in the deep sleep stages. Children spend more time than adults in these sleep stages. This explains why children can sleep through loud noises and why kids might not wake up when parents relocate sleeping children from the car to a bed. During adolescence, a big drop occurs in the amount of time spent in deep sleep, which is replaced by lighter, stage 2 sleep. Between young adulthood and midlife, the percentage of deep sleep falls again: from less than 20 percent to less than 5 percent, one study suggests. Lighter sleep (stages 1 and 2) replaces deep sleep. From midlife through late life, people tend to experience more interruptions by wakefulness during the night. This disruption causes older persons to lose more and more of stages 1 and 2 non-REM sleep as well as REM sleep.
Many older people complain of difficulty falling asleep, early morning awakenings, frequent and long awakenings during the night, daytime sleepiness and a lack of refreshing sleep. Many sleep problems, however, are not a natural aspect of sleep in the elderly. Because older people are more likely to have many illnesses that can disrupt sleep, some sleep complaints often may be due, in part, to illnesses or the medications. In fact, one study found that the prevalence of sleep problems is very low in healthy older adults. Other causes of sleep complaints in some of older adults are sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and other sleep disorders that become more common with age. In addition, older people are more likely to have sleep disrupted by the need to urinate during the night.
Some evidence shows that the internal clock shifts in older people, so older people are more apt to go to sleep earlier at night and wake up earlier in the morning.

Despite variations in sleep quantity and quality, both related to age and between individuals, studies suggest that the optimal amount of sleep needed to perform adequately, avoid a sleep debt and not have problem sleepiness during the day is about seven to eight hours for adults and nine or more hours for school-aged children and adolescents. Similar amounts seem to be necessary to avoid further increasing the risk of developing obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disorders.
Quality of sleep is as important as quantity. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted or cut short may not get enough of both non-REM sleep and REM sleep. Both types of sleep appear to be crucial for learning and memory--and perhaps for all the other restorative benefits of healthy sleep, including the growth and repair of cells.
Many people try to make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. If a person has lost too much sleep, sleeping in on the weekend does not completely erase the sleep debt. Certainly, sleeping more at the end of the week does not make up for the hampered performance at the beginning of or during that week. Just one night of inadequate sleep can adversely affect the functioning of the body and mood during at least the next day.
Daytime naps are another strategy some people use to make up for lost sleep during the night. Some evidence shows that short naps (up to an hour) can make up, at least partially, for the sleep missed on the previous night and improve alertness, mood and work performance. However, naps do not substitute for a good sleep. One study found that a daytime nap after a lack of sleep at night did not fully restore levels of blood sugar to the pattern seen with adequate nighttime sleep. If a nap lasts longer than one hour, the body may have a hard time waking up fully. In addition, late afternoon naps can make falling asleep at night more difficult.

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Payment

Self Payment

The two major things to consider when evaluating self payment for addiction treatment are that the first attempts at drug and alcohol treatments do not always work. Ongoing addiction usually has high mental and financial costs as well as increased risk for other problems.

Personal Savings

It may come down to the having to tap into personal savings to pay for rehab treatment, especially if a person has a high insurance deductible, no insurance at all, does not qualify for scholarships or does not want to take out a loan. Again, be sure to find out exactly what the cost break down is to estimate if it will exhaust a savings account.

Family Assistance in Paying

Asking family for assistance to pay for the drug and alcohol treatment can be an option. If a person is genuinely committed to quitting the abuse, family members may be willing to help. If the aunt or uncle says that rehabilitation treatment will be a loan, be sure to draw up a loan agreement and make good on the promise to pay them back.

Creative Payments

One-Time Pay Assistance

Some treatment centers offer some type of financial assistance on a one-time-only basis.

Scholarships

Several drug and alcohol treatment centers in California offer scholarships to those individuals who cannot afford to pay for treatment out of pocket or who do not have insurance. In fact, some of these treatment facilities may be required to make a certain number of beds available for scholarship recipients as part of state licensing requirements--depending on what type of license the facility has. If a person qualifies for a scholarship, it will pay for the entire cost of the treatment. Scholarships are for those individuals who really have no other option.

Self-Pay Sliding Scale

Another popular payment method for drug and alcohol treatment is one where a patient pays what he or she can, according to a sliding scale. This assures that the patient will get the necessary treatment to kick alcohol and/or drugs, but will not break the bank.

Loans

Some facilities may offer loans that patients can take out to pay for the treatment. Be sure to find out everything that the loan covers in the treatment and understand exactly what the terms of the loan are. No one wants any hidden fees or surprises. Ensure that someone explains anything there is a fee-for-service, as this would be in addition to the treatment costs.