Is Sleep Really That Important?

It is well documented that a good night’s sleep is essential to good health and wellbeing. But admittedly all to often the importance of sleep seems to drop below what we eat and how often we exercise. If you eat well and exercise regularly, but don’t get enough sleep every night, all your other efforts may be in vain.

How much Sleep do we actually need?

After good nights sleep you feel refreshed and ready to take the day on. To get that feeling every time you can aim for a targeted sleep number tailored to your age. It is suggested that a minimum of seven hours of sleep and individual needs to improve health and wellbeing.

What happens when you don’t get enough sleep?

• There is good reason to place more importance of your sleep. Shorting yourself on shut-eye has a negative impact on your health in various ways:
• Lack of alertness – Even missing as little as 1.5 hours can have an impact on how you feel
• Excessive day time sleepiness - it can make you very sleep and tired during the day.
• Impaired memory – lack of sleep makes it more difficult to retain process and communicate information
• Relationship stress
• Quality of life

While the short-term symptoms of a lack of sleep can decrease quality of life, long term consequences can pose a serious threat to it. It has been suggested that chronic lack of sleep can cause heart disease (angina, heart attacks and strokes), high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, loss of libido and poorer immune function all as possible outcomes.

What can you do to improve your sleep?

In our next blog we explain ways you can improve your sleep. But below is a list of factors that can affect your sleep hygiene.

• A bedroom that is too hot, not dark enough, or poorly ventilated
• An old bed with a lumpy mattress
• Poor quality bedding – go for plain cotton sheets that transmit heat, and hypoallergenic bedding if you suffer from any allergies such as eczema, hay fever or asthma
• Inadequate pillows, lack of neck support
• Dry air that is not adequately humidified 

Too many interruptions from electrical devices - such as mobile phones, computers and TVs in the bedroom (blue light emitted from these devices prevent the release of the sleep hormone melatonin.)

Stay tuned in our next blog to see ways you can improve your sleep.