IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP
The importance of sleep cannot be overestimated in the
maintenance of a healthy body.
The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get
enough sleep:
1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new
information to memory through a process called memory
consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did
better on tests later.
2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause
weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store
carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our
appetite.
3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep
during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such
as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to
concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too
tired to do the things you like to do.
5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked
to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular
heartbeat.
6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the
activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also
help fight cancer.
Bearing these reasons in mind, it would be well worth ensuring your
body is getting adequate sleep.
IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP - HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
Now that the importance of sleep has been brought to your
attention, you may decide to implement strategies to avert sleep
deprivation.
Before you rearrange your schedule to ensure you are getting
enough sleep, you need to know - how much is enough? Eight hours
is the amount that gets bandied around a lot, but sleep requirement
is an individual 'thing' (technical term).
You'll be doing yourself (and your body) a disservice if you try to
function on someone else's schedule. So your
husband/wife/lover/kids need five hours sleep per night? Good luck
to them! If you need nine - get nine. If someone in your life is lucky
enough to have the genetic makeup which requires amount 'X'
doesn't mean you should acquiesce to them. They may need an
education on the importance of sleep!
Don't feel ashamed or lazy if you need more than your partner. It's
part of your genetic fingerprint. If they complain, send them to this
page or ask them if they'd like to complain about your beautiful face
(that presumably attracted them in the first place) because your
sleep requirement is just as much a part of your genetic package as
your face, bum, or any other part of your anatomy that they adore.
Okay, so how much do you need?
If you're one of those lucky, lucky people who only need three to
fours a night - go for it! Spend all that extra time you have available
writing your book, or working on your home business or catching up
on ironing or old movies.
If, however, you only get that amount because you're so stressed
you can't sleep - this is not good. Your body is struggling, whether
you are aware of this or not, and you need to learn to de-stress as a
matter of urgency. Join my Stresslessness Crusade! Or at least,
If you really don't know how much sleep you need, take note next
time you can sleep in on a weekend, of how many hours of good
quality sleep you enjoy. This is a good guide. Then make time in
your schedule for that amount every night.
When you're getting enough sleep, everything is easier.
You're more energized throughout the day, your thinking is clear,
you can enjoy every moment and - you may not believe this - you
don't eat as much junk! It's true! When we're tired we look for
sugary fixes to pep us up, which in turn makes us feel worse - tired
and fat! Were you previously aware of the importance of sleep with
regard to your body shape?
You'll also be a nicer person if you're not tired, which of course has a
positive impact on all your relationships and just makes a Happy Life
so much easier to attain.
Routine is vital to good quality sleep. You may find it almost
impossible to go to bed at the same time every single night (after all
- there's fun to be had!) but if you can set your bedtime and stick to
it as often as possible, you'll find your body is ready to sleep at the
appointed hour - bad luck if you're on a hot date!
At the risk of sounding like a Grandma, a tip from my Mum........she
has always maintained that an hour of sleep before midnight is
worth two after. I have to say I tend to agree with her. I have found
it to be true that you awake feeling better if you can get some sleep
in before midnight. It may be an old wives' tale but if it makes you
feel better.......why not experiment with that theory?
CAN'T GET TO SLEEP?
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I'm going to once again wheel out
my two old warhorses, exercise and meditation, for your
consideration.
Exercise (but not just before bedtime) should make you physically
tired, so your body is ready to sleep, and meditation will help your
mind relax. I remember having the deepest sleep ever when I
started meditating - just beautiful. Because it also has long-term de-
stressing benefits, you'll find a space between you and whatever
previously stressed you. See Happy Clients
A warm shower also works wonders for 'dropping off' ability, as do
clean sheets. There's no snugglier feeling than climbing into a fresh
bed after a warm shower........mmmmm......I could drop off just
thinking about it!
Try to find an hour or so to relax before bed. If you work right up
until bed, your mind will still be whirling with 'work-stuff' when your
head hits the pillow. If you tend towards workaholism, at least have
a book beside your bed (preferably not work related) to stop your
head spinning. I found 'Moby Dick' to be the most boring book I've
ever read (all those boring facts about whales!). You could get
yourself a copy for those 'hard-to-get-to-sleep' nights!
Even though I'm a huge fan of red wine, I have found I usually wake
up in the middle of the night after it's consumption! If you habitually
partake in the odd glass or two and find yourself staring at the
ceiling at 3am it may pay to try white instead. Not the same - I
know - but you need your sleep!
THE IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP ON 'YOU'
Have you ever thought about the importance of sleep in regard to
your personality?
I've seen nice people turn into monsters when sleep-deprived. You
are already aware, I'm sure, of the impact on our bodies of sleep-
deprivation (it hasn't been used as a method of torture for
nothing!). Tip your hat to the importance of sleep by ensuring you
get your share. You deserve it. Your body deserves it. The people
around you deserve it. Your Happy Life is impossible without it.
I want to leave you with one last tip for getting to sleep......the
thing I do every night after I put my book down and turn off the
light. I go to sleep feeling grateful for all the joy in my life. I think of
'little' things like a beautiful tree or bird I may have seen on my
morning walk/run and the 'big' things like my children coming home
safely (or you reading this page and deciding to subscribe to Happy
Life The JJ Way, so I can remind you monthly of the importance of
sleep, exercise, and other important aspects of your Happy Life.)
Every night, that's how I go to sleep - in a place of gratitude and
contentment - no wonder I wake up happy and excited!
You could try the same thing tonight and see if it makes a difference
to your life. Even if you don't, please make it your resolution from
this moment on, to be conscious of the importance of sleep - it's
vital to your Happy Life.
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