We should all be focusing more on our sleep

Sleep plays a critical role in our physical and mental wellbeing.

  • Sleep deprivation increases the risk for a number of chronic health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

  • Recommendations from a group of experts commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation state that adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.

  • Fragmented sleep marked by numerous awakenings can interfere with the ability to properly move through the sleep cycle, decreasing time spent in the most restorative stages of sleep (NREM).

  • Sleeping at night helps align the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock, with its environment - why it’s also important to expose yourself to light when you first wake up.

  • Napping does not make up for loss of sleep at night. While it can provide a boost of energy, it doesn’t involve moving through the stages of sleep in the same way as during nightly sleep.

  • About one-third of American adults do not get enough sleep each night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some people have conditions that don’t allow them to receive adequate sleep including obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia and even genetics. How much quality sleep we receive affects so many different parts of our bodies, including hormone production. Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone” which signals to your body to eat more, has been found in elevated levels in some sleep restriction clinical studies.

Sleep amounts needed decrease as we age, but most adults are encouraged to sleep at least seven hours per night. Oversleeping (more than nine hours) can also have adverse affects by disrupting your natural circadian rhythm.

Try to avoid high intensity exercise and blue light exposure an hour or two before sleep, eating two to three hours before sleep, and caffeine around five hours before sleep, since its half-life of five hours means it can stay in your system long after you finish your cup. Blue-light exposure can affect the levels of melatonin you produce, a signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.

The bottom line is that sleep is essential to every process in your body. Additionally, poor sleep habits can have a detrimental effect on your mental health and for me, I have enough external pressures contributing negatively to my mental health to encourage making sleep a high priority, if not my top priority.

 
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