P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

A GAME OF HEARTS AT 2:00 A.M.

He was a well-known non-sleeper: the 42nd President of the United States. Bill Clinton was legendary as a man who could fly to three states, deliver six speeches, make appearances at numerous dinners and coffees, shake hands with every single person in the ballroom, fly back to the White House . . . and then stay up until two in the morning, schmoozing with aides or talking on the phone with the mayor of some West Coast city. You've probably heard stories where someone on the telephone with the President in the wee hours of the morning would hear a familiar click click click of playing cards, and know that the leader of the free world was dealing himself a round of solitaire while brainstorming about tax cuts or ways to fix the welfare system. But go to bed? Not necessary.
In his book, All Too Human, George Stephanopoulos writes about how, back in September of 1993, Bill Clinton, the morning of the Middle East peace accord signing between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat, was up at three in the morning, scouring his Bible for the perfect verses to share at the ceremony that day.
Well, friend, that seems to be the state of the union for POTUS - the President of the United States of America. Winston Churchill is another example of a man who could take a half-hour nap in the middle of the day, wake up perfectly refreshed, and then work through the night there at Number Ten Downing Street. But for the rest of us - especially if we want to thrive according to the political blueprint of the Live-Longer Lifestyle and enjoy an extra decade of life - we need to disembark from Air Force One and go to bed at a decent hour.
In this terrific book, Live 10 Healthy Years Longer, Jan Kuzma and Cecil Murphey point out that too many of us are trying to live like the President. As many as 100 million Americans, we read, are essentially sleep-deprived individuals. And these 100 million zombies are out there on the freeways with the rest of us: "driving cars and trucks, operating hazardous machinery, administering medical care, monitoring nuclear power plants, and even piloting commercial jets."
Back in May, 2000, the Los Angeles Times had a story about the computer fantasy game, "EverQuest," and the quarter million addicts who were spending an average of 20 hours weekly playing the game.

"My [husband] plays before he goes to work in the morning," wrote one EverQuest widow, "comes home at lunch and logs on, and then comes home and immediately logs on again. He spends most of the night online playing and frequently doesn't come to bed at all."

Well, fixing that lady's marriage is a radio topic for another time, but for now we want to focus on this chapter: "A Time to Rebuild." Jan and Cecil paint a picture for us of a busy factory where the day was filled with the hum of activities. And then this:

"The lights went out and a quietness descended. Only the soft chirping of cicadas in the deep night broke the silence. As the day guard relaxed, the defense crew slowly began its nightly tasks, careful not to awaken the guard. Soundlessly, a central control system ordered workers to their stations. They brought in supplies and medicines and quietly repaired the ravages of the day's battles. All workers operated skillfully, efficiently, and without interruption. They had to finish within eight hours."

And that's really what happens when you get a good night's rest. Your body fixes itself. Tired body parts are repaired . . . and they too rest. Your heart, which grabs that fraction-of-a-section rest break called a diastole between each beat, is especially restored during the nighttime hours. Your kidneys also operate in a kind of three-shift mode, Jan and Cecil tell us: a third of the cycle in action, a third in resting, and a third getting ready for new action. Your stomach rests during the hours you sleep; in fact, it's a huge benefit if you can actually have your stomach already done with supper by the time you crawl into bed. If your final meal is early enough in the evening that the stomach is already empty by bedtime, not only will it get much more rest all night, but you'll sleep better. The entire body rests more efficiently if it's not still participating in a digestive process. Cecil and Jan add a thought-provoking midnight P.S. Here it is: a heavy meal, or a late-night snack of Oreos, right before bedtime also puts extra fat particles into your circulating blood, and that can trigger a heart attack. In fact, 52% of heart attacks do happen while people are sleeping or resting.
Well, how much sleep do different people need? There really is nothing magical about eight hours, and we do have our Thomas Edisons, Clintons, Kennedys, and Churchills who physically could get by on less. Newborns need 20 hours, kids need up to 12, and most people who hit 40 need around seven or eight. That's except for Dagwood Bumstead, of course, who seems to be snoring on the sofa pretty much all the time. Researchers agree now that the more active a person's brain is, the more sleep they need, which might make you think some of your neighbors probably don't need any!
Cecil and Jan confess that the scientific jury is still out on whether or not the time-honored American strategy of getting by on five hours a night, and then catching up on the weekend, really works at all. Studies so far seem to indicate that there IS some "making up" that can be done; however, only about 75% of what you've skipped can ever be recovered. Overall, that simply is not a good strategy to employ.

Here are three pretty good clues about whether you're sleep deprived. Do you doze off during inactive times: watching TV, in church, at your desk at work, even driving your car? That's a hint that you need more. Interestingly, if you need an alarm clock in the morning, you're probably being shortchanged. A rested person usually wakes up automatically at about the same time each day without the bell ringing for you. On a connected thought, if you tend to wake up at about the same time on your days off, then you probably ARE getting adequate sleep all the time. These two writers tell us that on those blissful sleep-in mornings when you don't go to work, if you try to sleep beyond your seven hours, or your eight hours, or whatever . . . and just CAN'T sleep any more, then you're probably getting enough. You've heard of "REM sleep" - deep sleep with Rapid-Eye Movement. A person who sleeps well apparently "goes deep" four or five times in an eight-hour sleep session, and that's when your dreams are most vivid and your muscles most relaxed. And for just about everybody, the best sleep comes from an uninterrupted session of at least six or seven hours where this kind of deep sleeping occurs.
What should you do if you struggle with insomnia? An occasional bad night is nothing to worry about; it happens to all of us, and your body does rest even if you're staring at the moon for a pretty long time. If it's persistent, however, you need to see your doctor. Certain drugs can actually CAUSE insomnia, by the way, and we already had an entire radio program where we talked about caffeine being an enemy of good sleep. In severe cases of insomnia, Jan and Cecil suggest, you might even need to visit with a therapist to find out why something is bugging you so badly you can't let it go and relax at night.
Once again, we like to turn down the covers and make this "Getting Practical" section our bedtime story. And Suggestion #1 is a good one. Try to stay on a pretty predictable schedule. True, we may want to stay up late once every four years to see who's going to be President, and every great, great while if your team is playing on Monday Night Football. But most of the time, even on your days off and during vacation, it's a good policy to climb into and out of bed at about the same time every single day. If a new schedule takes getting used to, give it at least a month, Jan and Cecil write, before making an adjustment.
Here's another hint, a cousin to the one about bedtime snacks: contrary to popular opinion, having a drink (alcoholic, that is) right close to bedtime actually SUPPRESSES your REM sleep.
As far as surroundings go, a quiet room is an obvious necessity. Also well-ventilated. You don't want a draft, but some indirect air flow with windows or fans is desirable.
In terms of lifestyle - and we've already covered many of these points - an active exercise life will help you sleep better. A balanced schedule - moderate work, moderate play, moderate diet, etc. - is always part of this Live-Longer Lifestyle . . . and will help you enjoy your rest. Cecil and Jan both recommend this:

"End your day with quietness. Avoid any heavy physical workout or mental high near the end of the day. Read or listen to music - whatever you find relaxing." Then they add: "Count your blessings. Lie quietly and see how many things you can think of for which you're thankful. Allow these quiet thoughts to relax you."

Which of course would remind US to remind YOU of that great spiritual sleep-aid: "Instead of counting sheep, talk to the Shepherd."