Usually when we speak the components for physical health, diet and exercise get all the shine. If you eat right and exercise regularly then you lose weight. However, there is one other component that actually trumps the both of them. That, my friends is sleep. Yes, that beautiful serene experience that we seem to get so little of is arguably the most important component to a healthy body, other than say drinking water.
These days, the world is sleeping less and paying the price because of it. The average American isn't getting anywhere near the recommended 8 hours a day
(I don't think 8 is a universal number that should apply to everyone but that's a different post for a different day.) We live in a world where sleep is eschewed for hard work and even harder play. A world where living on little sleep is glorified and pulling an all-nighter is a badge of honor. And we wonder why our health is declining!!
So let me break down several ways why sleep is so vital...
1. Sleep keeps you alert, your moods stable and overall more safe. Have you ever missed out on sleep and found yourself feeling disoriented the next day? Even the most trivial things can be made cumbersome. Not only that but you find yourself nodding off, your attention span goes extremely short, and you become irritable. Most people don't even notice the subtle ways in which sleep deprivation affects them because they "feel fine". But as your "sleep debt" accrues it only gets worse for your physical and emotional well being. Sleep debt is the amount of hours less sleep than what your body requires that you've actually slept. Getting six hours sleep when your body requires eight leaves a sleep debt of 2 hours but we'll get to that at the end.
2. Sleep allows for your body processes to work more efficiently. When you're asleep, it may seem like your body processes shut down along with everything else but those are the times when your body is hard at work to do the things it wasn't able to fully get to while you were awake. Recovery from workouts, healing of wounds, food digestion, detoxing and internal cleansing, most of that happens when you're asleep because your body isn't as stressed having to deal with you eating more food, exercising, working, running around, stimulated from watching television and so much more. You ever go to bed sore and then wake up fine? Sleep did that!! Get you some.
3. Curbs appetite/cravings and lowers cortisol levels. Sleeps curbs your appetite two ways. One, when your body is lacking sleep, your hormones tell you eat. Your body needs to be charged and wants to be fed. Two, the more hours you stay awake, the more time you have to eat, especially late night when those midnight cravings hit. Also, when your body is lacking sleep, it's lacking energy. Your body craves carbs because it knows carbs will give it energy in the shortest amount of time. We tend to resort to caffeine instead but there's a reason why coffee and donuts go together.
It's all about energy! The hormone cortisol is released when your body is undergoing stress. It affects your body's metabolism and it's ability to process foods which can be responsible for weight gain. Sleep deprivation make cortisol levels sky rocket because your body is working overtime. Sleeping or simply relaxing can lower cortisol.
4. Keeps your heart and immune system healthy. Lack of sleep can lead to hypertension, irregular heartbeat, and other various heart conditions and also compromises your ability to fight disease. This includes the healing of wounds, recovery from colds on up to fighting cancer. You ever notice how a good night's sleep can do wonders in helping you feel better? That's no accident! Your body works miracles as you sleep.
5. Sleeping keeps you alive. So many work mishaps occur due to lack of sleep but in most cases it's never cited as the cause. A misstep on a high ledge, falling asleep at the wheel of your car, a surgeon accidentally making the wrong incision, and so much more are often caused by lack of sleep
we're so condition that working hard even when lacking sleep is the better answer. Get it done even if you have to miss sleep. "I'll sleep when I'm dead," they say, but ironically missing sleep may bring about your death sooner than expected.
Going back to what I said earlier, accruing sleep debt is a major cause of sleep deprivation and as much as we'd like to think that it works, if you miss 6 hours of sleep this week, sleeping an extra 6 hours tonight won't make up for it. That's simply not how it works. Even if you have to make sacrifices in other area, make sure you're getting enough rest at night. I know that's easier said than done. Hell, I still struggle with it on a daily basis and there will always be nights where you don't get enough sleep but do the best you can as often as you can.
Your life depends on it.
Marc A. is the editor and founder of the health and wellness blog, Dr. Marctagon™, and he also runs a tech company and blog, Marctagon™ IT where he offers his consulting services and discusses the latest news, productivity tools and technology for homes and small businesses.
