It might come as a surprise to some, but getting the right amount of sleep as well as a full night’s sleep is so important for not only our energy levels, but also our body health and cell regeneration!
Growing up I had the ability to sleep at any time of the day, anywhere in any strange and uncomfortable position. Nowadays, I’m not so lucky, but I think that this is totally natural. When we’re younger, we use a hell of a lot of energy running around, cartwheeling, playing and generally having no cares in the world. When we “grow up”, however, we definitely lose a lot of that carefree mentality and replace it with stresses, anxieties and adult life responsibilities. This, in turn, has a detrimental effect on the way that we sleep at night, which causes more stress and anxieties – it becomes a never ending circle of bad sleeping patterns and degenerating health.
But instead of going down that negative spiral, I’d like to share the benefits and pros of sleeping well, as well as a little e-book that I created that opens up some ideas and practices for you to bring into your everyday lives to, in time, improve your quality of sleep and leave you feeling like a kid again! (shout out to everyone who shared their secrets on Instagram, I couldn’t have done it without you all!)
So! What are the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep?
Well, it’s simple really. When our bodies enter a state of deep sleep, important cell regeneration takes place – our bodies work really hard throughout the day, so they need this time to focus on your inner workings and repairing any damage that may have occured throughout the day itself or your life in general.
When we’re asleep, chemicals that strengthen your immune system start to circulate more efficiently in your blood (perfect for times like we are experiencing currently with Covid-19), our heart rate slows and our body temperature drops. These changes in heart rate and temperature are vital for our muscles, organs and other cells to be revitalised and repaired.
During REM (rapid eye movement) in our sleep, our brain starts functioning in a similar way to when we are awake, our heart rate speeds up and our temperature increases. Scientists don’t have a lot of reasoning behind why we fluctuate between deep sleep and REM, however they do believe that REM aids our brain in sorting out our thoughts to lower stress levels – almost as though our brain is sifting through all of our thoughts and throwing some of them away to make way for new ones the next day. This is why we actually work more efficiently in the morning time!
Whilst we sleep our bodies even make more hormones that we need and lowers other ones that might be effecting our health. For example, levels of growth hormone go up (for cell regeneration and general growth) and levels of cortisol (a hormone derived from stress) go down! A lack of sleep means our hormones can become unbalanced, which can create all sorts of health issues later down the line.
10 benefits of a good night’s sleep:
Sleep improves your immune system & helps you to fight back
Deep and regular sleep helps to reduce stress & anxieties
Encouraging a constant state of relaxation lowers your blood pressure, which means less chance of a heart attack!
Sleeping enough can help to maintain weight levels, due to hormones being balanced properly that relate to cravings and eating habits
Sleep can be a natural painkiller, due to cell regeneration and resting whatever is aching
Sleep helps you to be more focused & attentive throughout the day
Memory can be improved by getting a good night’s sleep
Your body processes glucose when you’re sleeping, which could aid in prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Your heart health is increased from the rate slowing
And finally, the better you sleep, the better mood you’ll be in during the day, which is fantastic because it means we will build better relationships, feel more motivated and feel full of energy!
So it’s all well for me to tell you the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep, but I’m sure you’re asking “how can I actually improve my sleep health and routine?” Well I gotchu – I’ve put a lot of love and attention into an e-book which you can download for a small donation below…