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Sleep and You

June 10, 2020

Sleep: The Effects on your Body

In a non-stop world, we are all impacted by a lack of sleep. Not getting enough can negatively impact your body in multiple ways. Having difficulties retaining new information or memories? Chances are, without those deeps zzz's each night your brain isn't getting enough time to efficiently store those memories. Your brain also processes emotions while you are sleeping, helping you to react better to stress in reality. Without enough time for your brain to identify how to effectively react to each emotion, you may find that you will experience short tempers or negative emotional reactions. If that lack of sleep turns chronic, it can also lead to mood disorders (i.e. depression or anxiety).

Getting sufficient sleep also helps keep your heart healthy and happy. While you are asleep, your blood pressure goes down, allowing your blood vessels to get a break. Adequate sleep also helps with keeping blood pressure steady. On the opposite end, not enough sleep puts more pressure on your heart, which can create heart issues over time. During the deep waves of sleep, glucose levels drop allowing your body to stabilize. If you are not getting to the fullest deep sleep, you are putting your body in jeopardy of Type II diabetes because your body will have a difficult time responding to your cells' needs and blood sugar levels.

Fighting more illnesses or just getting sick more frequently? That could be a culprit of not enough sleep as well. When you are sleep deprived your immune system is slower in identifying harmful bacteria and viruses in your body, and takes more time to actually attack and destroy them, proving your immune system needs to be restored every night. Sleep also helps with weight control. Sleep deprivation messes with the hormones in the brain (leptin and ghrelin) which control appetite. When these hormones are out of balance the temptation for unhealthy food increases and you are less likely to want to move. This combo does not help with maintaining a healthy weight.

Also, make sure that you are not getting too much sleep, having more than 9 hours can actually be a negative thing. Optimal sleep cycles are 6-8 hours per night.

Tips to combat the sleep battle:

Turn off electronics at least an hour before so that your brain has time to shut down.
Take a supplement like 5-HTP, GABA or Melatonin.
Write down any racing thoughts and putting in a box to "deal" with the next day. When thoughts pop back up, watch them drift away on a cloud, water lily or sail them down stream.
Use a Magnesium Spray or bath soak (find ours here) to relax and take away the stress of the day.
Aroma Therapy. Diffuse relaxing/ calming EO's at night ( Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Stress Away, Cedarwood or Bergamot can help).
Take up meditation, mindfulness or Yoga/Pilates to restore your body.
Practice 4-Square breathing: breathe in, hold for four counts, breathe out, hold for four counts, and repeat.