Photo by Jacob Townsend on Unsplash
Sleep is one of the most important functions of our bodies. If you have a soft spot for scary stories, you may have come across the one titled Russian Sleep Experiment, which details an alleged experiment that involved induced sleep deprivation of five subjects. While this is undoubtedly nothing but a “creepypasta”, you may be surprised how quickly lack of sleep may make you paranoid, and in extreme cases, can irrevocably damage parts of your brain. Even without the gory details of the story, it sounds pretty scary, right?
Still, paranoia and brain damage do not appear out of the blue; you need to be heavily deprived of sleep for those things to happen. And yet, the everyday consequences of the lack of sleep can be pretty serious as well. Disturbing the natural sleeping patterns can have a detrimental effect on our health, psyche, and cognitive functions. These problems obviously influence the quality of our lives, our productivity, and our health.
All things considered, it’s easy to see how important sleep is for our general wellness. This text will outline the most important benefits of sleep, as well as some ways to overcome any difficulties you may have when it comes to falling asleep.
Get ready to find out the ancient wellness secret.
Sleep improves mental health
When you sleep, your subconscious mind takes over. It goes over the events of the previous day and sorts them out. It deals with any anxieties and issues you had. This is why you wake up rested and satisfied. If you don’t get enough sleep, you are at higher risk of depression and panic attacks, and you're more susceptible to anxiety and stress. You can also lose your ability to differentiate emotions in yourself and others, which can hurt your social life immensely.
It makes your metabolism more efficient
Sleep improves the functioning of your metabolism. Sleep deficiency puts you at risk of obesity as people who sleep shorter are 55% to 89% more likely to gain weight. Similarly, if you're sleep-deprived you'll generally have a better appetite. Furthermore, sleep is connected with the good functioning of our immune system. All in all, sleep is one of the most important secrets of feeling and looking good, so don't neglect your beauty sleep – because it’s your well kept ancient beauty secret.
It reduces the risk of health disease and diabetes
Many unrelated studies showed that people who sleep less than 7 hours a night face a much higher risk of heart disease than those who sleep at least 7 hours. In addition, because sleep influences blood sugar levels, the lack of it can provoke symptoms of pre-diabetes in as short a time as 6 days. Therefore, if you value your health, you’ll take sleep seriously, and hit that snooze button one more time.
Sleep increases productivity
All cognitive functions of our brain are hindered if we don’t get enough sleep. On the other hand, 7-8 hours of sleep can improve our memory, focus, and performance. It helps us make better decisions, and it prevents burnout. All in all, sleep makes us much more efficient and productive. So, if you want to get that promotion, one of the ways to do so is to simply sleep more!
Add some lavender oil which will calm down your senses and prepare you for your sleep. That is how you are going to feel like you are sleeping in calming fields of lavender under the starry night.
Make sure you sleep in a sleep-friendly environment
Now you know why you need to sleep, let's look into the ways to improve the quality of your sleep. The most important thing is to make the environment in which you sleep sleep-friendly. That means making the room dark – especially if you live in an area that gets plenty of sunlight, like Australia. You have several options to choose from. Shutters and blinds are always a good option, and you shouldn't have any problems finding good house window tinting in Brisbane, among other options. Take your pick, and make sure your bedroom windows can block the sunlight. Don't put any kind of technology there – especially the kind with screens. They create light and distract your brain from sleeping. Phones, in particular, can raise your stress levels, so it's best to leave them in the living room before you go to bed.
Decor, light and temperature are very important for your bedroom, and if they are right, you will get your beauty sleep. So, tint your windows, paint your room in gray, declutter it, and have a great sleep.
Set up a bedtime routine
A bedtime routine is extremely useful because it helps your brain realize it's time for bed, which makes falling asleep much easier. Meditating for a short time before bed can do wonders for your sleep because it relaxes both body and (conscious) mind. Showering helps too, as it relieves you of the tension you've built up during the day. Set up a solid routine, and make sure you keep it up, and you'll be able to fall asleep more easily and sleep longer and more peacefully.
If you want to live a healthy life, sleep is just as important as diet and exercise. Make sure you get enough quality sleep and lower the exposure to risk for your health.
And just like William Blake said: “Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.”
Guest post by Sarah Jessica Smith
About the Author
Sarah Jessica Smith is a young blogger from Sydney. She is in love with life and all the things that can make her daily routine easier. She loves to write about home improvement, lifestyle, and all the small things that make life such a great adventure.
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