Is getting a good night's sleep, the best thing we can do for our health?
Wondering where to start on your health journey? There are so many things to consider; nutrition, exercise, supplements, mindfulness, great relationships and more, it can be overwhelming. What if there was one thing that would improve your overall health and make doing all those other things so much easier. Would you consider starting there?
I’m talking about sleep!
Did you know that a lack of adequate sleep is associated with:
Heart disease,
Depression,
Weight gain,
Increased inflammation,
Decreased immune function,
Increased cortisol.
If you’re not convinced, check out these findings from Matthew Walker, researcher and author of Why We Sleep;
Take day light savings, possibly the biggest worldwide study on sleep. When the entire population of 70 countries worldwide loses just 1 hour of sleep in the Spring, the incidents of heart attacks increase by 24%. And just to prove the point, there is also a 21% decrease in heart incidents in the autumn when we gain an hour of sleep (other findings include increases in car accidents and suicide with less sleep).
When participants of one study had just one night’s sleep reduced to 4 hours, the immune response of natural killer cells (the cells that fight off cancer) was reduced by 70%.
On average adults will eat 300 more calories per day when under slept.
The interruption of deep sleep is an underappreciated factor that is contributing to aging brain and cognitive decline.
So why do we need sleep so much? And what happens when we sleep?
Well scientists are still working on exactly why we need so much sleep, but we do know a few things.
We consolidate learning and memory, in particular long-term memory, when we sleep.
Some parts of the brain use more energy when we sleep than when we are awake.
We turn on our parasympathetic nervous system allowing us to fully relax and repair during sleep.
Getting great sleep not only reduces the risks mentioned above it also;
Increases energy,
Improves memory, cognition and judgement,
Suports better emotional intelligence.
So how can you improve your sleep? Here are a few tips!
Expose yourself to direct sunlight early in the day.
Reduce intake of;
o Alcohol,
o Caffeine,
o Large meals,
o High sugar / carbohydrate foods that can result in glucose crashes.
Introduce a regular bedtime routine including;
o The same bed-time and wake-time daily,
o A hot shower or bath,
o Lower temperature in your bedroom (18C degrees),
o Reduce or eliminate light in your room,
o Turn off electronic devices 1 hour before bed.
Reduce your stress response before bed by;
o Meditating
o Reading
o Journaling
o EFT (tapping)
As you can see there are many ways to improve your sleep and the good news is you don’t have to do them all. But, if you are struggling with lack of sleep or poor-quality sleep, making some improvements might just be the best thing you can do for your health.
If you suffer from any type of serious sleep condition, please seek advice from a medical professional.
If you are looking for support to change your sleep, please reach out to see how I may be able to help.