Sleep is critical to good health but do you know why? Many of us are terrible sleepers, one-third of our lives are spent sleeping, and yet roughly 35% of US adults characterize their sleep as either “fair” or “poor”.(1) Quality sleep is important because while we are sleeping a number of things are happening on the cellular level to help repair and restore our bodies.
Examples:
If we do not get enough sleep our immune system suffers, and when our immune system suffers it puts us at risk for systemic inflammation (inflammation within and throughout the body). This increase in inflammation makes us vulnerable to infection, disease and cancer. Sleep is so important that some scientists are now calling sleep disruption and continuous lack of sleep as a “probable” carcinogen!(7) Lack of quality sleep is no joking matter. Here is a list of some other things that could happen according to research:
As far as how much sleep we should get? The National Sleep Foundation provides the following guidelines:(13)
So, given all of this info., here are some bullet point suggestions to help you get started on your good quality sleep hygiene program:
Not getting proper rest is one thing, but learning, conditioning, and training your body to maintain an excellent sleep hygiene program is another. It takes time and yes, some discipline, but quality sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise when it come to excellent overall health and wellness. Just as we cannot eat 'clean' and then sit on the couch all day, we also cannot eat well, exercise and expect to thrive on little sleep. Good quality sleep is just another spoke in the wheel, another slice of the pie so to speak (vegan, gluten free of course). When it comes to overall health, wellness and longevity, sleep absolutely makes a difference. Hope this was helpful! Until next time…xx BTW - if you did find this information helpful, please like, comment or share. Thank you in advanced!
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