How Your Wellbeing Depends On Your Sleep

We all feel better after a good night’s sleep. But how harmful is not getting enough rest and is sleep deficiency a common issue?

Here, we’ll discuss the effects of sleep deficiency on emotional and physical health, as well as the simple changes you can make to improve your overall well being alongside the quality and duration of your sleep.

Does sleep quality affect health?

According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, up to 70 million Americans struggle with some form of sleep problem¹. These issues can cause a variety of ailments, including:

• Reduced
• Poor hand-eye
• Low
• Impaired

Sleep helps our brains process information and it needs sufficient downtime to handle those day-to-day challenges we all have to cope with now and then. Essentially, if you don’t get adequate sleep, this might reduce your ability to manage and tackle difficulties both professionally and personally. Regular disturbances to sleeping patterns can cause the development of anxiety and general unhappiness. Research has even shown that up to 90% of people suffering from depression also have insomnia², which suggests that sleep is integral to emotional wellbeing.

How about our physical health? Sleep deficiency is even reported to heighten the risk of developing problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart complications, and kidney disease³. What’s more, chronic sleep deprivation affects our appearance, leading to premature wrinkling and dark circles under our eyes. This can reduce our levels of self-confidence and motivation, which may impact our relationships, family lives and careers.

Lack of sleep can affect people mentally and physically, but there are also other ramifications of poor sleep quality. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that drowsy driving caused 795 deaths in 2017⁴. Considering that almost all areas of our health are negatively affected by poor sleep quality, it seems like a good idea to try to improve our sleeping patterns wherever we can.

How can you improve sleep?

So, how much sleep is enough for a healthy lifestyle? The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults (18 years and over) should sleep for between seven and eight hours a day, while teenagers aged between 13 and 18 years should aim for between eight and ten hours5.

But what can we do to improve the duration and quality of our sleep?

Gadget-free zone

Using devices like tablets and phones late at night can impede on how quickly we fall asleep, particularly if we use them while lying in bed. The blue light given off by screens disrupts the creation of melatonin, which controls our sleep-wake routine and helps us drift off, according to the National Sleep Association6. Similarly, scrolling through social media apps and sending off emails confuses the brain into thinking it needs to stay awake and ‘be alert’. Again, this makes it far more difficult for us to fall asleep.

To help tackle this issue, promise yourself to turn off all devices an hour before you plan on going to bed and try to keep your phone, tablets and computers out of the bedroom.

Get a good mattress

Not having a decent bed will affect how well you sleep as well as your potential recovery, which is why it’s important to give due consideration to what type of mattress you sleep on.

Consider what type of sleeper you are. The most popular sleeping position is on the side and if this is how you like to rest too, why not look online for the best mattress for side sleepers? Using a more supportive and comfortable bed might be just what you need to get the amount of downtime you need!

Diet

You probably already know that caffeine is a stimulant that keeps your brain alert. But did you know that the effects of it can last up to eight hours? To fall asleep quicker avoid: coffee, caffeinated sodas, chocolate, tea, and cigarettes. It’s also best to not eat heavy meals within two hours of bedtime, which can also disrupt how well we sleep.

Distractions and routine

You can also improve your sleeping habits and general wellbeing by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day. Maintaining a sleep schedule helps keep your body clock’s wake-sleep rhythm in check, which in turn boosts how well we rest. Also, ensure your bedroom is cool, dark and quiet and get into a routine of taking a hot bath or carrying out another relaxation technique shortly before bed to help signal to your body that it’s time for sleep.

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