Madsen, 1 Aubry Madsen Pam Musil Dance 342 March 28, 2012 Impact of leepin!

"abits on Dancers #isuali$e a typical day for a colle!iate dancer% "e or she rises early &maybe by '(30 or )(00 AM* to attend an 8(00 class follo+ed by a fe+ hours of +or, and techni-ue class for an hour and a half% .he dancer perhaps spends an hour or so on personal conditionin! and then !oes immediately to rehearsal in preparation for an upcomin! performance% /inally, the dancer returns home late into the e0enin!, perhaps by 8(00 or 1(00 PM to be!in se0eral hours of home+or, due the follo+in! day% A dancer may prepare for this lon! day by preparin! plenty of nutritious food2 ho+e0er, it is e0ident that this lifestyle pro0ides little time for !ettin! ade-uate rest, perhaps only 3 or ' hours on occasion% In fact, it is ,no+n that colle!iate dancers may train up to 18 hours per +ee, and spend up to 12 hours per +ee, in rehearsals on top of other academic course +or, &Price, and 4ic,s 11*% 5hile personal schedules certainly +ill differ from dancer to dancer, it is e0ident that sleep depri0ation is fairly common for colle!iate dancers as they are normally +illin! to sacrifice sleep to prepare for a performance or to do +ell in school% 6y minimi$in! some ne!ati0e health effects, reco0erin! fully from sleep debt, and de0elopin! better sleep habits, dancers may find that !ood sleep does more to help their dancin! than +as pre0iously reali$ed% 1% 4e!ati0e 7ffects of leep Deficits on Dancer "ealth

Madsen, 2 Due to the demands on a dancer8s time, for some it +ould seem that sleep depri0ation is simply an una0oidable part of life2 ho+e0er, the ne!ati0e effects on mental health may be more se0ere than e9pected% A study completed in 2008 &M:ller 2)1* re-uired participants to e9perience a sleep debt &a ni!ht of only 2 hours sleep* after ha0in! had t+o ni!hts of normal sleep &8 hours sleep* and then tested the effects of sleep debt as +ell as impro0ement after reco0ery sleep% .his particular study found that both multi;tas, performance and physiolo!ical and sub<ecti0e sleepiness +ere inhibited by the sleep debt% After a reco0ery sleep &one ni!ht of 8 hours sleep*, the participants demonstrated impro0ement in these co!niti0e tas,s2 ho+e0er, they +ere still unable to reach the same results as they had prior to the sleep debt% Alternate research pro0ides that lac, of sleep ne!ati0ely impacts many psycholo!ical aspects of dance such as memory, coordination, metabolism, and ne+ learnin!, ,ey principles to any dance class, audition, or rehearsal e9perience &Price, and 4ic,s 11*% 6eside these co!niti0e deficiencies, a study done on female colle!e students re0ealed that bedtimes later than 2(00AM actually correlate +ith depressi0e symptoms &=e!estein 3)* % .he later the student +ent to bed, the less sleep they +ere !ettin! and therefore the more depressed they +ere li,ely to be% In further defense of this ar!ument, the study additionally states that female colle!e students are sleepin! si!nificantly less than their pro!enitors of 33;83 years a!o <ust as there is a si!nificant increase in depression &=e!estein 3)*% Interestin!ly enou!h, in recent years there has also been an increase in dru! abuse and suicide rates, +hich are most often connected to some de!ree of depression% 5hile ob0iously there is more that !oes into these serious concerns than sleepin! habits alone, perhaps reco0erin! from sleep debt +ould ha0e some impact on indi0iduals stru!!lin! +ith these risin! issues% At any rate, a life of intense

Madsen, 3 rehearsals and performances <u!!led around daily routine can already be demandin!, e9haustin!, and emotionally drainin!2 therefore, one can only ima!ine ho+ the effects of depression due to sleep debt could compound such already e9istin! difficulties% In addition to these side effects of sleep debt on mental health, physical issues ha0e also been found% In fact, other research sho+s that e0en +ei!ht !ain is correlated to sleep depri0ation &Price, and 4ic,s 13*% In one study as dancers found themsel0es lac,in! ener!y, a common tendency +as to increase su!ar inta,e &up to )3> of the participants follo+ed this trend at some point*, thus increasin! +ei!ht !ain &Price, and 4ic,s 14*% In addition to the ad0erse effects this has on a dancer8s health and personal condition, it has the potential to amplify poor self;ima!e that many dancers already e9perience% Aside from +ei!ht !ain, increased su!ar inta,e may lead to malnutrition and e0entual illnesses inhibitin! dancers from performin! to the best of their abilities or in e9treme cases from performin! at all% ?ther ne!ati0e physical outcomes of sleep depri0ation may include flare ups of in<uries &Price, and 4ic,s 13* and increased ener!y e9penditure &5ri!ht 233*% As the body e9periences less time to heal and reco0er from physical and emotional stress of dance ri!ors, it becomes increasin!ly difficult to pre0ent ne+ in<uries and properly heal old ones% Additionally, +hile dancers +ill ob0iously feel more tired on less sleep, they may not reali$e that they are also e9pendin! more ener!y throu!hout the day than they normally +ould on a full ni!ht8s sleep% 5hile these ne!ati0e effects are certainly e0ident in students, it seems that poor sleep habits are not so forei!n to the professional +orld either% In 2001, a study +as done &/iet$e 1241; 12'2* testin! the sleepin! patterns of 24 professional ballet dancers for appro9imately 2 months prior to a premiere performance as +ell as a short period of time follo+in! the performance% .he

Madsen, 4 study aimed to test sleep duration, sleep efficiency, time in bed, and +a,efulness after sleep onset amon! other thin!s% Althou!h the dancers in0ol0ed in the study +ere professional, the study re0ealed that in fact the dancers +ere not restin! their bodies ade-uately% =ather than increasin! sleep efficiency to heal and prepare the body for the performance, the study found that there +as actually a decline in this important element of proper health as the performance came closer &/iet$e 123'*% Perhaps this also had an influence on the dancers e9periencin! an increase in +a,efulness after sleep onset &/iet$e 1233;123'*% Althou!h these t+o ne!ati0e findin!s may be lin,ed to stress the, the study further disco0ered that the dancers +ere not only sleepin! less efficiently &/iet$e 1234*, they +ere also spendin! less and less time in bed, +hich ob0iously decreased sleep duration o0erall as +ell &/iet$e 123'*% In the end, the dancers e9perienced a decline in reaction time, memory consolidation &includin! retention of psychomotor s,ills*, co!niti0e performance, speed, and concentration &/iet$e 1241;12'2*% As professional dancers, the participants may ha0e been able to still !i0e a !ood performance2 ho+e0er, it is ob0ious that had the dancers made sleep a !reater priority, their performance could ha0e impro0ed dramatically% .he study demonstrates that e0en in the professional +orld, dancers are perhaps not ta,in! care of their bodies -uite as they ou!ht% 2% leep Debt =eco0ery Despite the +ei!ht of these ne!ati0e outcomes of sleep depri0ation, there are times +hen sacrificin! sleep may become necessary for dancers such as +hen tourin!, !i0in! late performances, or perhaps e0en for personal circumstances and emer!encies% In these una0oidable instances, the -uestion arises, is it indeed possible to ma,e up sleep debt@ =eturnin! to the pre0iously mentioned study on the reco0ery of sleep debt, it is found that +hile a ni!ht of normal

Madsen, 3 sleep follo+in! sleep debt may impro0e functionality of the mind and body, it is not enou!h to fully reco0er% Accordin! to the study, full reco0ery of sleep debt re-uires at least t+o se-uential ni!hts of normal sleep to return to full functionality &M:ller 2)1*% Another sleep debt strate!y is found in nappin!, +hich has been found to at least decrease sleep pressure &/iet$e 1231*% In the study +ith the 24 professional ballet dancers, it +as recommended that +hen a full reco0ery cannot be made, e0en a nappin! for 10;20 minutes at least has the ability to decrease sleepiness if not reduce the impact of other ne!ati0e mental and physical health effects of sleep debt &/iet$e 1231*% till, sleep debt cannot easily be resol0ed on poor -uality sleep% .he ballet dancers in the pre0iously mentioned study already demonstrated lo+er sleep duration and efficiency in comparison to the normal population, therefore, as the performance came closer and stress le0els increased, sleep efficiency deteriorated to become comparable to that of shift +or,ers &/iet$e 12'0*% In the case of some participants of the study, many +ere actually spendin! sufficient time in bed in attempt to !et enou!h sleep, but still reported lo+ le0els of actual sleep duration and efficiency due to the hea0y stress of the upcomin! performance &/iet$e 1238*% 5hile not addressed in the actual e9periment of the study it +as su!!ested that dancers employ rela9ation techni-ues prior to sleep so as to ma9imi$e the efficiency of the sleep they +ere able to !et% 3% Aood leep Practices After ,no+led!e of the impact of poor sleep habits is !ained, the dancer may be curious as to ho+ he or she may amend these practices% ?ne study su!!ests that a lin, e9ists bet+een the consistency of daily routine and o0erall sleep efficiency &BAmerican Academy of leep Medicine B*% Participants in the study e9hibited hi!her -uality of sleep +hen the duration of daily acti0ities

Madsen, ' as +ell as schedules in !eneral +ere more stable from day to day% .his indicates that dancers +ho perform at irre!ular times &perhaps +hile tourin! or durin! the middle of a semester for colle!iate dancers*, may naturally e9perience lo+ sleep efficiency% .his implies that +hile dancers may not al+ays be able to maintain consistency in daily routines, they should stri0e to ,eep +hate0er consistency they can% 7mployin! rela9ation techni-ues <ust before bed can also increase sleep efficiency by reducin! le0els of cortisol that ,eep the body alert &Bsleepserious%comB*% ome effecti0e rela9ation techni-ues that may be appealin! to dancers include 0isuali$ation, meditation, yo!a, and pro!ressi0e muscle rela9ation% In any of these e9amples, dancers use the same principles used in dance ima!ery to alle0iate unnecessary muscle tension leadin! to a better ni!ht8s rest% 70en simple breathin! techni-ues may si!nificantly lo+er blood pressure &Bsleepserious%comB*% An une9pected !ood sleep practice is simply findin! a community of people +ith +hom to bond and remain close o0er time% =esearch on loneliness has found that those +ho report hi!her le0els of loneliness are not necessarily reportin! less sleep, but are indeed +a,in! more fre-uently durin! the ni!ht &BAmerican Academy of leep Medicine B *% .his fra!mented form of sleep does not allo+ the indi0idual to spend sufficient time in deeper le0els of sleep that fully heals and refreshes the body% =ather than a ne!ati0e point, this actually could be somethin! that many dancers are already doin! +ell due to the lon! hours spent interactin! +ith others dancers at rehearsals and in techni-ue classes throu!hout each day% till, for some dancers, they may find that the particular en0ironment in +hich they dance may re-uire interaction throu!h dance but may not pro0ide ade-uate opportunities for buildin! friendships that stand outside of rehearsal%

Madsen, ) In this case, dancers may need to create their o+n community to pre0ent loneliness, +hether it be throu!h friends at other +or,places, family, or roommates% /or a sleep depri0ed dancer, certainly more sleep +ill be necessary to o0ercome sleep debt2 ho+e0er, for those that are not currently under sleep debt, );8 hours of sleep per ni!ht is considered normal and optimal &/iet$e 1230*% In contrast to federal !uidelines on sleep, a study from 6ri!ham Coun! Dni0ersity pro0ided that at least for hi!h school students, indi0iduals performed better on standardi$ed testin! +ith ) hours of sleep than the prescribed 1 hours of sleep &B6ri!ham Coun! Dni0ersity 4e+s =eleaseB *% In fact, it +as reported that e0en ad<ustin! one8s sleepin! habits 80 minutes closer to the su!!est ) hours of sleep could be comparable to completin! an entire year of additional schoolin!% 4% Impro0ed leep Impro0es Dancin! Althou!h this discussion has mainly focused on poor sleep patterns, dancers may infer from this information that +hile sleep depri0ation inhibits performance, !ood sleep has the potential to !reatly enhance a dancer8s abilities both co!niti0ely and physically% As pre0iously mentioned, +hile sleep depri0ation inhibits a dancer8s ability to pic, up mo0ement -uic,ly in class or rehearsals, pre0ent in<ury, ,eep off unnecessary +ei!ht !ain, etc%, !ood sleep habits ha0e the opposite effect, impro0in! s,ills related to dancin! and minimi$in! many other problems% 5hether one is hopin! to pursue a professional career as a performer or become a teacher, these positi0e !ains from !ood sleep should be enou!h to moti0ate any dancer to impro0e health throu!h better sleep, fully reco0er from necessary sleep debt, and practice !ood sleep habits% 5hile perfect sleep may ne0er be a reality, ideally the application of at least some of the pre0iously discussed material +ill increase health, safety, and performance for dancers o0erall%

Madsen, 8 5or,s Eited BDiet and =ela9ation .echni-ues as a 4atural "elp to Induce leep%B sleepserious.com% 4%p%, n% d% 5eb% 28 Mar% 2012% Fhttp(GG+++%sleepserious%comGdiet;and;rela9ation;techni-ues;as; a;natural;help;to;induce;sleepGH% B"i!h school students test best +ith se0en hours of rest %BBrigham Young University News Release IPro0oJ 01 02 2012, n% pa!% 5eb% 1 Mar% 2012% Fhttp(GGne+s%byu%eduGarchi0e12; feb;sleep%aspK9!t2% B"o+ Lonely Cou Are May Impact "o+ 5ell Cou leep, =esearch ho+s %B American Academy of Sleep Medicine % 01 11 2011( n% pa!e% 5eb% 28 Mar% 2012% Fhttp(GG+++%aasmnet%or!Garticles%asp9@idM2'83H% In!o /iet$e, et al% B leep Nuality In Professional 6allet Dancers%B Chrono iology !nternational" #he $ournal %f Biological & Medical Rhythm Research 2'%' &2001*( 1241; 12'2% Academic Search 'remier% 5eb% 1 Mar% 2012% Oiti M:ller, et al% B=eco0ery ?f Eo!niti0e Performance /rom leep Debt( Do A hort =est Pause And A in!le =eco0ery 4i!ht "elp@%BChrono iology !nternational" #he $ournal %f Biological & Medical Rhythm Research 23%2G3 &2008*( 2)1;21'% Academic Search 'remier% 5eb% 1 Mar% 2012% Price, Pac-ue, and 6eth 4ic,s% B leep Patterns in Eolle!iate Dancers%B ()research" A $ournal of Undergraduate *or+% 2%1 &2011*( 11;1)% Print% Nuentin =e!estein, et al% B leep Debt and Depression in /emale Eolle!e tudents%B'sychiatry Research% 1)'% &2010*( 34;31% Print%

Madsen, 1 B tudy u!!ests that Maintainin! =e!ular Daily =outines Is Associated +ith 6etter leep Nuality in ?lder Adults %B American Academy of Sleep Medicine % 01 04 2010( n% pa!e% 5eb% 28 Mar% 2012% Fhttp(GG+++%aasmnet%or!Garticles%asp9@idM1'18H% 5ri!ht, Oenneth P% B7ner!y e9penditure durin! sleep, sleep depri0ation and sleep follo+in! sleep depri0ation in adult humans%B$ournal of 'hysiology% 383%1 &2011*( 233;44% Print%