Living in these times, it is our energy level rather than our time management that really sets up the success we will have in installing our healthy habits.
With 45% of the population struggling with sleep, exploring how to improve your sleep habits may very well transform your life.
Being overweight is the leading high risk factor for the development of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 70% of OSA patients have obesity. On one hand, carrying the extra weight can lead to breathing problems during sleep. On the other hand, a person with a sleep-breathing disorder that isn’t treated, and who isn’t obese, may begin to gain weight as a result. So regardless of what came first the chicken or the egg, being overweight and sleep issues go hand and hand.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by snoring and airway obstruction that results in 10 seconds or longer periods of non-breathing during sleep, which can be caused by excess weight, primarily fatty tissue in the neck. Because sleep apnea interrupts the sleep cycle, it can actually spur further weight gain, which then exacerbates the sleep apnea, creating a vicious cycle of increasing weight and deteriorating sleep.
By adjusting your sleep rituals and strengthening your sleeping habits, you will provide yourself with more energy, better mood, and better focus. Sleep is your body’s way of restoring organ function, stabilizing chemical imbalance, refreshing areas of the brain that control mood and behavior, and improving performance.
Sleep has been used as the secret weapon for better or for worse. Sleep deprivation is a form of psychological torture, which is often considered worse than going without food or water. And when you get sufficient sleep allows us to harness incredible levels of energy that allows us to enjoy what matters most to us and profoundly effects your daily performance.
The level of depression in those that have sleep issues is 5 times greater than those that are healthy sleepers. Along increased depression, over 50% of American’s report a lack of focus, diminished creative capacities, reduced motivation to learn and were less able to manage competing demands. Along with emotional impact, lack of sleep can take a toll on your cognitive abilities including perception, judgement, reaction time, and decision making.
It turns out that sleepy driving plagues about 60% of adult drivers. An alarming 37% of adult drivers have actually fallen asleep at the wheel. 13% of those who actually fallen asleep at the wheel have done so at least once a month. 11 million drivers admit that their sleepiness has caused an accident or near accident. Drowsy driving could be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.
Losing 90 minutes of sleep reduces daytime alertness by almost a third. And guess what the impact of lack of sleep seems to be worse for women and men. Women who sleep only 5 hours or less a night are 45% more likely to have heart problems due to greater stress, depression, hostility, anger, as well as higher levels of insulin, C-reative protein, and interleukin 6. Women who sleep only 6 hours a night are 20% more likely to have heart problems. The general consensus is that women require 6-7 hours and men require 7-8 hours a night for optimal health, but it is essential that those hours include rotations through several healthy cycles of REM and non-REM stages.
People who do not sleep well are over 5 times more likely to develop a cold. Your immune system is also greatly impacted by lack of sleep. With technology overwhelming our body’s natural circadian rhythm, we need to create a safe, effective way to shut off our racing mind and induce a restorative sleep. With 80 million people in America not getting enough quality sleep, we want to help guide you to a path to healthier sleep.
What we can say with certainty is that scientist have observed, over longer periods of time, that a chronic lack of sleep can :
Lead to weight gain
Adversely impact learning and memory
Compromise your immune system
Elevate your blood pressure
Increase inflammation
Shorten lifespans
Create symptoms of ADHD
Contribute to mental and emotional health issues
So hopefully all this info helps you understand the importance of sleep. So be sure to check out the other posts on the path to healthier sleep, evening routine, morning routine, are you getting enough sleep (Sleep assessment), and creating an environment for sleep (Bedroom make over).
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