Why Sleep Matters...

A crappy sleep can impact everything…

The research clearly shows that if you have a good sleep - you’re more likely to eat well the next day.  It’s easier to focus. You have more energy, pain feels less intense, you can cope with stressors more effectively, and you’re more likely to want to have sex!

One study saw that people who slept an hour more each night were actually 14% more likely to engage in sex with a partner the next day.

There are huge health implications long-term too! 

A couple of observational studies have shown that people who consistently get less than 6 hours of sleep a night are actually at an increased risk of dementia - as the brain seems to flush away amyloid plaque build-up during sleep, plaque which if built up - can play a role in the dementia process.

Sleep deprivation has been associated with increased risk for anxiety and depression. There are also associations with inflammation, immune dysfunction, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases. As anyone who’s been sleep deprived knows, it makes you feel like crap! That was by FAR the most challenging part for me as a new parent.

We’re so careful with our young kids and babies about sleep routines and consistent sleep schedules, but we often put that on the backburner for ourselves. However, the research really shows that these sleep habits, or sleep ‘hygiene’ as it’s referred to - are very impactful for adults too.  

In order to understand why these are valuable, it’s important to know that melatonin is the hormone your body makes to make you feel sleepy and helps you to get into a deep sleep - we want this to rise in the evening to support our bodies to fall to sleep and stay asleep.

In the early morning, melatonin actually decreases and cortisol, the stress hormone, rises. This is what wakes us up and gets us out of bed, and this is why looking at cortisol management throughout the day is so important for sleep quality.

If you keep getting a bad night's sleep and are unsure why or what to do - book an appointment today!