Sleep Into Good Health
/Sleep is one of the most underrated components of health. It’s easily overlooked simply because it’s not exciting, you don’t “feel the burn” while your doing it. However sleep impacts the other 3 areas of health (nutrition, movement, and stress) I would argue more than any other component effects it.
Think of sleeping like a cargo boat docking in for the night. A ship can’t stay out in the water forever, at some point it needs to refuel and change crews. The ship also needs to complete its purpose and unload all the cargo it is transporting.
When we go to sleep we allow our bodies to recover from all of life stresses; planned (exercise) and unplanned (work, family, deadlines, etc.) Without sleep our bodies never repair. Consider all the toxins and damaged cells in your body the “cargo”, without sleep our bodies don’t have time to unload then so they build up in the body leading to a host of diseases.
Here is a short list of what sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality effects:
Weakened Immune System
Increased Fat Storage
Increased Aging
Decreased Libido
Depression
Increased Risk of Cancer (class B carcinogen)
Depression
Anxiety
Weakened Mental Focus
If all of these weren’t enough to make you think twice about staying up late maybe this fun fact will.
One bad night of sleep can make you as insulin resistant as a type 2 Diabetic
In simpler terms your will wake up and have trouble processing carbohydrates effectively, increases your risk for chronic diseases.
So now that you have realized how important sleep is the two big questions are how much sleep do you need a night? and when are the best times to sleep?
The average person needs 8 hours of sleep a night. The research has show the peak recovery hours happen between the hours of 9pm to 1am. So to achieve the maximum benefits of sleep you would want to be asleep in the recovery window for as long as possible.
A key thing to remember is that the quality of sleep matters just as much as the amount of hours do. That means the less you toss and turn and wake up the better your sleep quality, the better the recovery during sleep.
Things That Impact Sleep Quality
Light of Any Kind in the Bedroom
Blue Light from TV’s, Cell Phone, Computers one hour before bed
Caffeine
Physical Activity
Stress & Anxiety
Alcohol
Temperature of Bedroom
I could go into great detail about each of these and how factors impact sleep quality.
To make sure that you are getting the best night sleep possible follow these 6 simple tips:
Make your room pitch black. You shouldn’t be able to see your hands. Remove any glowing lights, turn off tv’s, and use black out shade over the window
Avoid blue light a minimum of 1 hour before going to bed. For every hour you watch TV it delays your ability to fall into quality sleep for 30 minutes. If you have to use your phone download a blue light blocker
Have a curfew for caffeine. Some forms of caffeine can affect the body for up to 8 hours. So if you plan to go to bed at 10pm your last cup should be a 2pm or earlier
Ending your workout at least 3-4 hours prior to going to sleep. Working out late at night ramps our bodies up with adrenaline instead of preparing ourselves for a relaxed sleep state
Practice stress management. Unmanaged stress can wreak havoc on your sleep, leaving your mind constantly in the on position
Avoid alcohol 3-4 hours before bed. Alcohol inhibits your ability to fall into a deep recovery sleep. For every drink that you have it takes 1 hour to process, however if you are already tired it could take longer. Allow yourself time to clear the alcohol from your system and replenish with water
Keep a cold bedroom. Research shows the colder the room the deeper and longer you stay in a rested state
If you are struggling with stubborn belly fat, daily fatigue, or are consistently sick every season you need to make sleep a priority.
Use these simple tips to start getting a restful night sleep tonight and start feeling all the amazing benefits!