They do not call it beauty sleep for nothing! Some people may scoff that Sleeping Beauty is a vain princess who sleeps for vanity. However, medically speaking, your sleep is not mere vanity but a necessity.
Human beings get to recharge, replenish, and repair their cells when they are asleep. Sleep is one of the most important components of human health care because insufficient sleep can lead you to sickness. Think of a host of illnesses such as heart attack, hypertension, cancer, diabetes and more.
Let’s take a look at this sleep pandemic that has been plaguing the people of the modern world. Don’t be too tired to sleep because it can cause you health problems, even death.
Important Sleep Statistics
Today, with so many tech distractions, many people like you find it difficult to fall asleep. Some of you have issues with uncomfy mattresses and pillows. When you do get into slumber, the sleep quality is atrocious. Most get less than seven hours of shuteye, and this is especially true in these seven states.
According to the CDC, these ten states below garnered the worst sleep scores. They have the lowest percentage of people when it comes to receiving seven hours of sleep. These states are:
- Hawaii 42.9%
- West Virginia 41.4%
- Kentucky 41.1%
- Tennessee 40%
- Ohio 39.7%
- Michigan 39%
- New York 38.6%
- Alabama 38.6%
- Virginia 38%
- Georgia 38%
As you can see, these data and information are alarming because of the massive numbers that are affected by insomnia or lack of sleep. The modern world’s natural sleep pattern has indeed been disrupted, which is dangerous.
Why Sleep is Important?
Without an iota of doubt, getting sufficient sleep is necessary for you because it helps all human beings maintain optimal health. Those who of you want to enjoy a truly healthy lifestyle need to take your sleep seriously.
Sleeping the right set of hours per day is just as critical as doing a regular exercise regimen and eating a balanced diet. Make your bedroom truly inviting with luxe bed sheets to get that quality shuteye. After all, sleep is vital to overall well-being because it affects many components of your life, so it is necessary to make your bedroom cozy. Consider the following points below:
Sleep Boosts Immunity
People who get adequate sleep have better immune systems because the body gets to heal and recharge. Those of you who sleep less than seven hours are three times more likely to succumb to a cold virus than those who sleep more. To put it simply, the common cold and other illnesses are more common for people who lack sleep.
Sleep Can Improve Concentration and Performance
Sleep is crucial for brain functions such as concentration, cognition, productivity, and performance. All of these are adversely affected when there is sleep deprivation.
For instance, one study found out that poor sleep can inhibit brain function to the same intensity as alcohol intoxication. In contrast, good sleep has been shown to enhance memory performance, as well as improve problem-solving skills in both kids and adults.
Sleep Affects Emotions
Lack of sleep can make people you more volatile and cranky because it reduces your abilities to process critical emotional information and social cues. As a result, people with sleep deprivation reduce their socialization abilities. To make it even worse, those of you who do not get sufficient sleep are more prone to depression and anxiety.
Benefits of Sleep
The importance of sleep cannot be emphasized enough. Sleep is vital to being a healthy human being and productive citizen of the world. Please do not resist getting some shuteye at night, so do cocoon yourself with your fave sheets, because there are many benefits of getting the proper amount of sleep. Here are sleeps top 5 benefits:
Helps Your Body to Heal
By following your body’s circadian rhythms or sleep-wake cycle, you are helping your body to relax. Night time sleep is the best moment when your body is hard at working healing and repairing itself caused by the daily stress, as well as exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays and dangerous free-radicals that are toxic. When you’re asleep, your cells produce more proteins, which are the building blocks of cell repair.
Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Cardiac health is vital because once the heart stops beating that means you die. Lack of sleep has always been associated with poor blood pressure and cholesterol. For those of you who want to mitigate the risk of heart disease and stroke, you must get at least 8 hours of sleep. Be sure to make your bedroom a safe haven with a premium mattress and nice silk bed sheets to make you extra relaxed.
Reduces Cancer Risk
People who work the late shift have an increase risk for breast and colon cancer because light exposure at night decreases melatonin levels, which is a hormone that protects against cancer and deters the growth of tumors. If you want to keep cancer at bay then you should sleep more.
Mitigates Stress
The world is already stressful, but when your body is sleep deprived, it goes into its own state of stress. Because of lack of sleep, the body’s functions are put on high alert and it causes the blood pressure to increase. This sleepy state also promotes the production of the stress hormone. If you want to relax and counteract the ill effects of stress, get proper sleep. You can start with the right set of fluffy pillows
Decreases Inflammation
When there is an increase in the stress hormone because of sleep deprivation, the level of inflammation in the body also increases. This inflammation is a culprit for many diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and more. The more inflamed you body is, the more you body deteriorates. To mitigate inflammation, it is crucial to get proper sleep. Focus on finding comfy sheets that feel good next to the skin to help lull you to slumber
How Much Sleep Do I Need
According to the Sleep Foundation , sleep is the critical predictor of health and a crucial indicator of overall well-being. Thus, it is necessary for you to get adequate sleep each night.
However, scientists cannot identify the exact amount of hours that a person needs per night because this figure is dependent on a lot of other factors like age, lifestyle, genetics, and more. These scientists only give a range of their recommendations. Take a look below at the sleep ranges depending on the age:
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours each day
- Infants (4-11 months):12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years):11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5):10-13 hours
- School age children (6-13):9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17):8-10 hours
- Younger adults (18-25):7-9 hours
- Adults (26-64):7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+):Sleep range is 7-8 hours
Effects of Not Getting Enough Sleep
Unfortunately, in today’s world, there are many temptations that disrupt your circadian rhythm or your natural body clock. There are gadgets with white light that keep you up at night. There are also caffeine rich drinks like coffee, tea, and other energy drinks that keep you up all night.
Aside from that, your worrying about your daily stress keeps you from falling asleep. All of these bad habits are dangerous because there are so many negative effects when you don’t sleep. Consider the following points below, which are all alarming.
Short Term Issues
The following are the possible short term effects of sleep deprivation:
- Decreases alertness: Missing 1.5 hours from your recommended sleep can adversely impact your level of alertness.
- Impairs your memory: If you are sleep deprived, you’ll have a harder time processing information and recalling things.
- Stresses your relationships: You feel moody and more irritable when you lack sleep, so this may impact your relationship with other people.
- Greater chances of accidents: When you’re feeling drowsy or sleepy, your reflexes as less responsive, and this accounts for many driving accidents.
Long Term Effects
One of the overall ill effects of lack of sleep is that it can diminish your quality of life. A compounding of several hours of little sleep per night will take its toll on your body and your life. You’ll be less motivated to do daily activities, even with something beneficial like exercise.
On top of that, this may result in more serious long-term health problems like high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and cancer. Other problems include obesity because lack of sleep results in weight gain and poor metabolism. Worse is anxiety, depression, and a lower sex drive.
Further more, chronic lack of sleep will adversely affect your appearance causing dark circles and patchy skin. You will look old and haggard quickly if you lack sleep because you will increase the cortisol levels in your body, which is known for breaking down collagen in the skin. As a result, your skin will suffer and wrinkle, which may in turn affect your confidence level and relationships.
How To Get Better Sleep
You may want to get rid of those eye bags and dark circles under your eyes. The best way to do that done is to get sufficient sleep within a cozy and comfy sleep environment.
If you are sick and tired of tossing and turning at night, then it’s time to have a game plan to approach sleeping. Don’t emulate the Princess and the Pea, and find yourself a wonderful mattress.
If you make a workout plan for your exercise needs, a diet plan for your meals, and a strategy for hitting work goals, then you really need a plan to get better sleep. After all, you should be spending one-third of your day in bed fast asleep. The importance of sleep cannot be emphasize enough. Here are top 5 tips to help you get that quality slumber:
Tip 1: Synchronize With Your Body’s Circadian Rhythm
Make sure you are in synch with your body’s circadian rhythm or sleep-wake rhythm. This is one of the best strategies for getting you to sleep better. If you keep a consistent sleep-wake schedule, you won’t be too tired to sleep and you will certainly feel more energized and fresh during the day.
To do this, you need to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday. This sets your body clock and optimizes your time. Pick a time when you normally feel tired and stick to it. When your body gets ample rest, you will wake up naturally on your own, even if you don’t have an alarm.
You may have to avoid sleeping in on weekends to maintain this. A party here or there won’t hurt, of course. But be sure you get to stick to your sleep-wake cycle as much as possible.
On top of that, you also have to be smart about taking those power naps during the day because they may cause you trouble later in the night. Stick to twenty minute power naps, as they are more effective, too.
Tip 2: Control and Keep Your Light Exposure Under Moderation
Melatnonin is a natural hormone in the body that is produced by on your exposure to light. Melatonin has an important job of regulating your circadian rhythm. When it is dark, your brain secretes more melatonin, making your drowsy and sleepy.
However, the opposite happens when you are exposed to so much light. This makes you more alert and your mind more active, so you have a hard time falling asleep. To keep your body’s circadian rhythm at its best, make sure you spend more time outside during the daylight.
In contrast, keep your curtains drawn in at night, so you will be put in the mood to sleep. Most of all, limit your exposure to bright screens like your TV, tablet, and smart phones within 1-2 hours of your bed time. The blue light emitted by your gadgets are very disruptive. Thus, it is necessary to turn down your lights or use a dim nightlight when it is your bed time.
Tip 3: Workout During the Day
To sleep better at night, you must exercise during the day because this improves your sleep quality. After all, exercise speeds up the metabolism and stimulates the coritsol hormone, which is of big help when your getting work done during the day.
However, if you exercise too close to bed time, this will interfere with your sleep as you are still pumped up and energize. Be sure to complete your vigorous workouts at least three hours before bed time. If you must move, light, calming exercises are better at night such as yoga, pilates, and stretching.
Tip 4: Be Smart About What Goes in Your Mouth
What you put in your mouth during the day impacts your sleep. If you take in too much caffeine and nicotine, you will have sleeping difficulties as both are stimulants. Furthermore, avoid eating a big meal before sleeping because it will put your digestive system on overdrive making sleep difficult.
You should also avoid drinking too much before bed as this can wake you up to pee. Lastly, drinking too much alcohol may interfere with your sleep cycle. Keeping it to one glass of wine before bed times is the most ideal.
Tip 5: Clear Your Head
Residual worry and stress may be keeping you up because you’re too tired to sleep by the time you hit the sack. It is vital to wind down and clear your head. Take a relaxing bath, read a book, do deep breathing exercises, or listen to soft music in order to free your mind from worrying.
Avoid overstimulating your head before bed time, so you can get quality sleep. It also helps to have a relaxing bed room to put you in the mood. Be sure to deck this sleeping haven with the an ultra comfy mattress, fluffy pillows, and premium bed sheets so that laying down will be truly pleasurable.
Stop Being Too Tired To Sleep
As you can see, sleep is vital component to keeping healthy. Those who fail to get the recommended number of hours are doing themselves a disservice and will more than likely be too tired to sleep. If you want to remain in tip-top shape, exercise, diet, and sleep must all work hand-in-hand. If you compromise your sleep, you are setting yourself up for a lot of long-term problems. Do yourself a favor and shut your eyes when your body is tired and needs to rest.