The Importance of Sleep

Our Office Manager did some research on how the amount of sleep can effect us in a tremendous way. Check out these interesting sleep stats she uncovered!

Sleep is not an option. It is essential.sleep

More than 35% of people are sleep deprived. And the statistic for obesity is nearly identical; there is a connection between the two, not a coincidence

Sleep is important because it:

1.)    Keeps Our Heart Healthy – lack of sleep has been associated with increased blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which are among the greater risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

2.)    Reduces Stress – when our body is lacking sleep, it enters a state of stress.  Body functions are on high alert.  This increases blood pressure and causes the production of stress hormones.  Stress hormones then, in turn, make it harder for us to fall asleep, while higher blood pressure, as mentioned above, increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.  By getting a good night’s sleep we can break the circle of stress and counteract its effects on our body.

3.)    Reduces Chronic Inflammation – the increase in stress hormones, caused by the sleeping disorders, has been associated with chronic inflammation disorders, such as periodontitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and even cancer, heart related conditions, or diabetes. Chronic inflammation is also thought to be one of the causes of aging.

4.)    Makes Us More Active – a good night’s sleep will make us feel more active and alert on the following day. Energy levels after a good night’s sleep are higher, your mental awareness is more acute and you are more likely to smile more.  A restful sleep session not only feels great, but it increases our chances for another good night’s sleep next time we go to bed.

5.)    Boots Memory – while the body is resting, our brain is busy processing our day, and making connections between events, feelings, experiences and memories.  Sleeping time is the most important time for our brain to shape memories and make the connections, which can make it easier for us to retrieve those memories in the future.

6.)    Can Help Us Lose Weight – researchers have found that people who sleep for less than seven hours per night are more likely to be overweight or obese.  Lack of sleep affects the levels of ghrelin and leptin, the hormones responsible for regulating our appetite. Leptin is a hormone that is produced in your fat cells.  The less leptin you produce, the more your stomach feels empty.  The more ghrelin you produce, the more you stimulate hunger while also reducing the amount of calories you burn and increasing the amount of fat your store.  In other words, you need to control leptin and ghrelin to successfully lose weight, but sleep deprivation makes that nearly impossible.

Lack of sleep also makes you crave food.  When you don’t sleep enough, your cortisol levels rise. This is the stress hormone that is frequently associated with fat gain.   Cortisol activates reward centers in your brain that make you want food.

Within just 4 days of sleep deprivation, your body’s ability to properly use insulin becomes completely disrupted.  When your insulin isn’t functioning well, fat cells remove fatty acids and lipids from your blood stream and prevent storage.  When you become more insulin resistant, fats circulate in your blood and pump out more insulin.  Eventually this excess insulin ends up storing fat in all the wrong places, such as tissues like our liver. And, this is exactly how you become fat and suffer from diseases like diabetes.

The disastrous impact spreads beyond diet and into your workouts.  No matter what your fitness goals are having some muscle on your body is important.  Muscle is the enemy of fat – it helps you burn fat and stay young.  But, lack of sleep is the enemy of muscle. Sleep debt decreases protein synthesis, your body’s ability to make muscle, causes muscle loss and can lead to a higher incidence of injuries.

snoring-man7.)    Makes Us Smarter – sleep has restorative power and enhances memory and improves attention. People who are sleep deficient are less productive at work and school.  They take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time, and make more mistakes. After several nights of losing sleep – even just an hour or 2 – your ability to function suffers as if you haven’t slept at all for a day or 2.

8.)    Reduces Risk of Depression – among the various biochemical substances affected by sleep, serotonin is perhaps the most famous one.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects our mood.  High serotonin levels create the feeling of happiness, and low serotonin levels can make us vulnerable to depression and other disorders. Making sure we get enough sleep will help regulate serotonin levels, thus feeling happier and more productive.

9.)     Helps Our Body Replenish – sleep is the time for our body to repair and damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays and other harmful exposures.  During sleep, cells produce more protein which is used in repairing damaged cells.  Muscle injuries and other trauma also heal faster during sleep.

 

In conclusion, your body needs sleep!  Sleep can affect how well you think, react, work, learn and get along with others.  While there is no hard number that applies to all people, a good rule of thumb is to receive between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night and to make sure that one poor night of sleep isn’t followed up with a few more.  It might not seem like much, but it could make all the difference and mean more than any other health decision you make.