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- Better Mood Balance:
- Energy Levels
- Attention Span
- A stronger immune system
- Slows down the aging process
Sleep is something that is a daily thing in our lives, whether we like it or not. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like resting. Our bodies ask us for adequate sleep hours, and the effects are incredibly positive.
We are always looking for new ways to improve our lives, whether it’s habits or the environment we live in. This is vital to our beings. However, something that is so commonly overlooked when trying to implement something into our daily life is the importance of a good night’s sleep.
There are many things that could be better in our lives if we just slept for the appropriate number of hours and as comfortably as possible.Research has shown that almost half the population doesn’t sleep enough. 40% of people sleep less than 7 to 9 hours a night (the recommended number of hours for adults to sleep), and crazy enough, for the population of adolescents and children, they need even more hours.
So, for the 5% of people who get up to 9 hours of sleep per night, they benefit in terms of their health, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Let’s get more in-depth on how sleep can improve our everyday lives.
Better Mood Balance:
It is well known that when we don’t get a good night's sleep, we end up saying "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed." When we don’t sleep enough, it can affect our mood drastically. For example, research has shown that people who sleep less than 5 hours per night for several nights in a row become sadder, angrier, more stressed and mentally exhausted. Which we can now talk about leading to depression. Our brain is an essential organ and serves us as an engine in a way. When we deprive our bodies of the necessary rest, things can go horribly wrong.
Just as sleep loss can affect our mood, it can also affect the way we sleep. If we are stressed, anxious, or have too many things going on in our minds, it can interfere with our ability to get a proper night's rest. This can eventually turn into a never-ending cycle, which can lead to severe insomnia.
Energy Levels
When we don’t have a good night's sleep, it feels like we are holding onto a thread. The reason behind this is that sleep plays a huge role in our energy levels throughout the day. To put it simply, our energy balance is used in exchange for the net outcome of energy intake (food consumption) and energy expenditure (activity or movement). With insufficient sleep, it can cause an imbalanced increase in energy intake instead of expenditure, which can lead to a positive energy balance and weight gain. During the day, we experience a roller coaster of energy levels throughout the day, and what causes that is an accumulation of things such as diet and physical activity. Take the time to determine which certain habits you can change to incentivize better sleep, which in turn promotes better energy levels.
Attention Span
Working on a project or any event while lacking sleep can seem near to impossible. Our minds can be all over the place at times when trying to complete a task. Is it ADHD that we have?
I wouldn’t dive straight into that category, but there are many times when we cannot concentrate on our daily tasks solely because of lack of sleep. In a study, researchers confirmed that sleep deprivation can weaken what is known as "selective attention," or the ability to concentrate on specific information when other things are occurring at the same time. A good example would be trying to talk to a friend at dinner and being unable to focus your full attention on the conversation due to the multiple conversations going on around you in the restaurant.
When humans sleep, this is a valuable time for our bodies to rebuild and to rest. As little as we think about it, sleep can directly affect your immunity. The minute we catch a cold or any illness, our bodies' automatic desire and remedy is to rest.
During sleep, our immune system releases special proteins called cytokines, some of which can help promote sleep. When we are sick, certain cytokines need to be increased when you have an infection or any sort of inflammation, as well as stress. Sleep deprivation is a sure-fire way to decrease the production of these proteins.
People who don’t receive enough hours of sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, so now that we are faced with COVID-19, enough sleep could be just one way of avoiding your immunity going down.
Slows down the aging process
Ahhhh,the beauty of aging... As we grow older, we become more aware of our frown lines, eye creases, and smiling lines. This has led to the concept of no aging in humans. Today's society is bombarded by anti-aging creams, products, you name it, from a variety of companies. There is no way to not age. However, you can slow down the process by sleeping, exercising, and eating a balanced diet.
A study done by UCLA researchers showed that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make adults’ cells age faster. It may not seem like a problem, but it can lead to the development of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer, and more.
A very simple way to actually help keep the wrinkles away, and one that is also related to sleep, is the type of bedding you use. We tend to toss and turn throughout the night, and it's important that the place you are putting your head down on is a soft yet delicate material to not cause any abrasions on your skin. Silk pillowcases can provide a smooth surface for your skin—a contrast to the cotton pillowcases that can tug at your face, scrunching the collagen and causing sleep lines to appear on your face. In addition to reducing wrinkles, sleeping on silk also fights frizz and bedhead.
We are proud to carry fine Italian-silk bedding. Please click this link to view our products.
Getting a healthy night’s sleep isn’t just something that will slow down the aging process; it will significantly change your life for the better. So ultimately, let’s strive to get up to 9 hours of sleep, nothing less than 7 hours!