Let’s talk about sleep. More importantly let’s talk about getting enough quality sleep each and every night. Why is this important? If you’ve ever gone a night without being able to sleep or have functioned on little sleep for any extended period of time in your life, you know first-hand how much sleeping or lack thereof impacts all aspects of your life.
Sleep’s Impact On Your Health
Getting a good night’s sleep is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle. Without adequate rest, your immune system will be compromised and you tend to get sick more easily.
Of course it doesn’t stop there. Lack of sleep has also been linked to increased weight-gain and all the negative effects of metabolic syndrome. Diabetics often notice their blood sugar levels and insulin levels getting out of whack when they don’t sleep enough. The same happens to your own body when you don’t practice healthy sleep habits. This explains the weight gain and related issues.
Combined with metabolic syndrome, lack of sleep has been shown to increase your risk of stroke and heart disease. That’s a scary thought, isn’t it? While a sleepless night here and there shouldn’t have you too worried, getting into good sleep habits should be something each and every one of us aims for.
Last but not least, you’re more prone to get injured when you’re running on too little sleep. To stay healthy, you need to make sleep a priority.
Sleep’s Impact On Your Emotional Wellbeing
Lack of sleep also wreaks havoc on our emotions. Sadness, joy, fear, anxiety… all strong emotions are amplified and blown out of proportion when you haven’t slept. Thus the expression “It will look different in the morning”.
While this is an important concept to keep in mind when you’re dealing with insomnia or other reasons for having to go without enough sleep, there’s also a strong connection to depression. Don’t increase your risk of becoming depressed by burning the candle from both ends for too long. You’ll feel better when you’re getting plenty of rest. I encourage you to make it a priority.
Sleep’s Impact On Your Mind
Finally, let’s talk about the brain and mind. Sleep helps you process thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Without sleep we often feel fuzzy. It’s harder to concentrate and focus because our brain just isn’t working as well as it should. Lack of sleep also reduces our ability to remember. If you want to improve your memory, focus, and clarity of thought, work on getting a solid night’s sleep on a regular basis.
There’s a reason you’re discouraged from driving when you’re very sleep deprived. The effect is similar to that of alcohol. Your decision making ability is impaired and your reaction time slows down.
Getting enough sleep keeps your brain working at its best. Isn’t’ it time you started making good sleep habits a high priority?
If you or someone you know is have a difficult time sleeping, I invite you to visit www.GetGoodSleep.com for my self study program about getting better sleep naturally.
