Do you wake up feeling tired most mornings? Does your energy lag throughout the day? If so, then you’re not alone! The National Sleep Foundation recently reported that nearly half of Americans don’t feel rested, and you can probably guess why; social pressures, busy work schedules, light pollution, stress, caregiving responsibilities, and a number of other factors all compete with our ability to get adequate rest.
Nonetheless, getting enough sleep does more than just help you wake up feeling refreshed. Regularly getting around eight hours of high-quality, uninterrupted sleep per night can actually help you fight disease, maintain your weight, and improve your mood, among many other benefits. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation also reports that 67% of people who have poor quality sleep also report having sub-par health — whereas people who have better sleep also feel better overall.
So if you want to improve your health and wellness, it pays to focus on improving your sleep!
Protect yourself from infection.
Nobody likes to deal with colds, flus, and other infections. Fortunately, getting a good night’s sleep can help improve your immune system. In fact, researchers at the University of California recently found that getting enough sleep can reduce your chances of developing a common cold. To find this out, the researchers exposed 164 participants to a common cold virus. It turns out that not everyone who was exposed to the cold virus actually ended up developing a cold. As you may have guessed, the participants who were the most sleep-deprived were also the most likely to become sick. On the other hand, those who were well-rested were most able to fight off the infection before it turned into a full-blown cold.
If you already have an infection, then getting extra sleep is also one of the best ways to heal faster. Some of the chemicals that your body releases when you’re sick make you feel physically tired, which is your immune system’s way of making sure that you get enough rest. So if you’re sick and you notice that you feel more tired than usual, follow your instincts and get some sleep!
Help reverse the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
You know that a eating good diet and participating in regular exercise help fight obesity and diabetes, but did you know that getting adequate rest can be just as important? Sleep helps your body regulate certain hormones, including ghrelin and leptin, that control feelings of hunger and fullness. This means that when you’re rested, you’re less likely to feel hungry throughout the day.
Lack of sleep is also associated with higher blood glucose levels. In other words, being sleep deprived can lead to blood sugar spikes – perhaps because being tired makes you more likely to crave food. Having blood sugar spikes puts stress on your body, since your body then has to work overtime to bring blood sugar levels back down into a normal range.
Fight heart-related problems with more than just your diet.
If you were surprised to learn that sleep can help prevent obesity, you might also be surprised to find out that regularly getting a good night’s rest can prevent many heart-related problems. When you’re not getting regular sleep, your body begins to produce stress hormones that ultimately increase your levels of inflammation.
Unfortunately, when inflammation levels get out of control over the long-term, they can cause damage to your body. Did you know that high blood pressure, strokes, and heart disease are all related to chronic inflammation? This is partly because inflammation makes it easier for cholesterol to adhere to artery walls, making it easier for unhealthy plaques to build up. Even if you’re already eating well and exercising, getting restful sleep might be the missing heart-healthy link in your lifestyle.
Get more sleep for better mental health.
Does staying up later actually help you accomplish more in a day? If you’re regularly sleep-deprived, then probably not! In particular, if you’re a student or someone who otherwise needs to be able to retain important information, then it’s important for you to know that sleep has a huge impact on memory. First, being well-rested means that you’ll be alert enough to pay attention to important information throughout your day. It doesn’t matter how hard you work or study if you’re not able to pay attention to the things you need to retain! Second, we consolidate, or strengthen, our memories when we sleep. This means that cutting down on sleep will make it harder to retrieve important information when you need it.
Avoid serious accidents throughout the day.
Sleeping does more than just help you prevent disease. Being well-rested can also help keep you safe from serious accidents and injuries. In fact, depending on how tired you are, being sleep deprived can be just as dangerous as being intoxicated. To see more specifics about how sleep deprivation compares to intoxication, check out this chart. Driving, operating machinery, or doing other potentially risky activities while tired can put your health and safety at risk (as well as the health and safety of others). So if you just pulled an all-nighter, you have good reason to put down your car keys and go take a nap.
What can you do if you’re not getting enough sleep?
So what can you do if you know that you’re not getting enough of the sleep that your body needs? Fortunately, by taking the right steps and committing to making sleep a top priority, it’s usually possible to improve your sleep patterns.
- Outline a sleep schedule, and try to keep it the same for every day of the week. This consistency will help your body do a better job of maintaining its internal clock.
- Turn off your screens 30 minutes before bed, and pay attention to light pollution in your room. Light interferes with your body’s ability to produce melatonin, which is a hormone that promotes sleep.
- Unwind before bed by taking a bath, reading, meditating, or gently stretching. Avoid heavy exercise before sleep, as exercise will cause you to become more awake.
- If you have a snack before bed, focus on eating light foods such as complex carbohydrates. Try to stay away from protein-rich foods, since these will boost your energy levels.
- Focus on de-stressing throughout the day. Try taking a walk or practicing deep breathing in order to prevent stress from building up as the day progresses. If you find yourself stressing before bed, you might want to keep a “stress journal” where you write down worrisome thoughts in order to keep them from taking up your mental energy.
- Finally, make sure that you’re sleeping on a mattress that’s healthy and comfortable for your body. If your mattress is causing you to toss and turn throughout the night, then you’re sure to be losing hours of valuable sleep every week. Don’t let a worn-out mattress undermine your health and wellness!
Is it time to replace your mattress and invest in a better night’s sleep? Urban Mattress offers a line of comfortable mattresses that are made from natural and organic materials. Not only will you be getting a great night’s sleep, but you’ll also feel confident knowing that you’ve chosen a natural mattress that’s safe for your body.
Be sure to check out our website to see our mattress selection, or Contact Us to learn more about how Urban Mattress can help you get a better night’s sleep!