Health Benefits of a Good Night Sleep

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You’ve got your exercise routine down and found a healthy balanced diet that suits you. But if you neglect your sleep, you’re probably undoing all of that hard work.

There are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t be so quick to compromise a good night’s sleep.  I’m pretty sure at some point in our lives we’ve all been caught in up in making a decision between watching “just one more” episode of our favorite series or actually getting some shut eye.

So before you carry on with the “just one more won’t hurt” mentality, it’s important that you factor in both the long-term health risks and the aesthetic complications a poor sleep routine could have on you.

Even if you’re an only an hour or so out of the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per evening, this could still be having a major implication of your overall well-being.

6 Top Reasons to Stop Sacrificing Your Sleep

1. Prevention of Long-term conditions – studies have proven that not getting enough sleep a night can lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The health risks will only start to manifest after a couple of years of poor sleeping habits, but is it worth the risk?
2. Chronic Pain Alleviation – if you suffer from any form of chronic pain, getting enough shut eye can actually increase your pain threshold. Yet, of course, If you are experiencing pain when you’re trying to drift off this can also be part of the sleep loss problem
3. Better Mental Health – Sleep deprivation was never part of the recipe for a sunny disposition, so it’s not surprising that those who are having difficulty sleeping or simply aren’t getting enough sleep are a little “cranky” in the mornings? Ensuring you stick to the recommended amount of sleep is crucial when it comes to good self-care as this will ensure that your emotional regulations are sufficiently balanced. Ever been so tired you randomly burst into tears? Now you know why.
4. Prevents Obesity – considering that being tired can majorly disrupt any plans to stick to a healthy eating or exercise regime, a lack of sleep is a major issue when it comes to obesity. When our bodies aren’t suitably rested they fail to create a sufficient amount of a hormone called Leptin. This hormone affects how full we feel. So, if we lose out on sleep, our appetites will also let us know about it!
5. Mind Fog – It’s not hard to notice that we tend to make more mistakes when we are tired. That’s because a lack of sleep directly impacts our cognitions, our decision making and our attention. And all of that sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially in the workplace, let alone when you’re driving your way to the office or maneuvering  your way through traffic.  You’ll also find you’re a lot less forgetful with better sleep too.
6. Better Immune System – In a recent study 150 people were exposed to the common cold virus after their sleep patterns had been monitored for two weeks. The results proved that individuals who had seven hours of sleep per night were three times more likely to catch the cold than the participants who got at least eight hours of sleep.

How to Make it Happen

I’m sure by this point in the article, all of you who suffer from insomnia or sleeping problems are screaming “well that’s all very well and good, but how do I make it happen?!”

So, we’ve also included a list of the top tried and tested methods to tackle insomnia. The advice here does not replace the support you can receive from your doctor if you are suffering with chronic insomnia or any other mental illness which can include insomnia in the side effects.  

1. Turn off Electric Devices – Whilst you might think binge watching your favorite series, messaging your friends, going on a winning spree on slot games such as Fluffy Favorites scrolling through social media isn’t doing any harm, it is. Staring at an electronic screen won’t allow the parts of your brain to shut off that need to in order for you to relax. Instead, you can always read a book until you fall asleep, or simply listen to some ambient music.
2. Stay Away from Caffeine – Caffeine stays in your system for at least four hours, so ensure that you aren’t drinking or eating anything which contains the stimulant before you go to bed. This even includes chocolate and tea. Whilst the amounts of caffeine in a cup of tea might not be anywhere near as high as in coffee, it still won’t help. However, there are caffeine-free options available.
3. Spend More Time Out of Your Bedroom – Only using your bedroom for sleep allows your mind to recognize that when you’re in bed you’re ready for sleep. If you work from home, working from your bedroom is possibly the worst thing that you can do for your sleep pattern.
4. Exercise – Hitting the gym will probably be the last thing that you want to do if you’re tired, however by expending the excess amount of energy at the gym your body will prepare itself for sleep. If your sleeping pattern is disrupted due to stress, anxiety or depression, you’ll also see your insomnia lifted through the increased amount of serotonin in your body.

Everyone will go through periods of their lives where it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. And the means to getting more sleep may not be practical for a single parent or someone just starting up their own business. However, knowing the risks will help you to better prepare for a healthier sleep routine. Whilst the health implications may take a while to manifest, for a healthy lifestyle, you’ll definitely need to make sleep a major consideration to your lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to make sacrifices to enable you to get a better night’s sleep

Many factors can affect a person’s sleep. Aside from environmental factors, stress and negative emotions keep many people up until late hours. Losing sleep for several nights can be normal. But if it’s accompanied by symptoms like regular, loud snoring and irregular breathing, it may be a sign that you have a sleeping disorder. If you suspect you have one, consult your health-care provider or a sleeping specialist to get treatment or a sleeping aid device to help you catch some quality Zs at night.