{"id":32682,"date":"2019-03-29T12:18:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T10:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/blog\/?p=32682"},"modified":"2024-07-18T12:34:23","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T10:34:23","slug":"why-sleep-is-the-foundation-of-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/blog\/why-sleep-is-the-foundation-of-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sleep is the Foundation of Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

We spend between \u00bc \u2013 1 \u2044 3 of our lives sleeping. Allocating that much time to one activity\u00a0must mean it\u2019s pretty important. Sleep is the time when the brain engages in a number of\u00a0activities necessary to life, all of which are linked to quality of life.<\/p>\n

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE NEED?
\nIt is recommended that we get between 7 \u2013 9 hours of sleep. Once you get below 7 hours of\u00a0sleep objective impairments in brain and body functioning can be measured. Most people\u00a0don\u2019t realise how chronically sleep deprived they are. People get used to having a constantly\u00a0low baseline wellness level and accept it as normal, but there is actually a better version of\u00a0you waiting out there \u2013 it just takes a little education to get there.<\/p>\n

CREATING MEMORIES
\nAdequate sleep is vital for brain plasticity, which is the brains ability to adapt to input. Your\u00a0brain needs sufficient sleep to process what it has learnt during the day and convert this\u00a0information into memories to refer back to later. When you have inadequate sleep, any new\u00a0info you take in somewhat \u2018bounces\u2019 from your memory bank and gets forgotten, rather than\u00a0being converted into memory to save. Ironically \u2013 you are suffering from sleep deprivation to get more work done but the lack of sleep decreases your brains’ ability to complete the\u00a0work.<\/p>\n

WEIGHT-LOSS & SLEEP
\nIf you are\u00a0actively taking steps to lose weight<\/a>\u00a0but are getting insufficient sleep, up to 70% of\u00a0the weight you lose will come from your lean muscle mass and not fat. This is because a\u00a0lack of sleep decreases the body\u2019s sensitivity to insulin and as a result it becomes stingy\u00a0with giving up fat. Additionally, insufficient sleep causes two critical appetite hormones go in\u00a0opposite and uncomplimentary directions. Your Leptin levels (the hormone that sends signals to your brain informing it that you are full) drops down and your Ghrelin levels (sends the\u00a0signals indicating that you are hungry) go up.<\/p>\n

When it comes to exercise, inadequate sleep means that you aren\u2019t able to exert yourself as\u00a0effectively and can increase in your risk of injury. The aim is balance! A good diet and\u00a0regular physical activity aid your ability to sleep, and good sleep aids your ability to lose fat\u00a0and perform physically better.<\/p>\n

THE\u00a0IMMUNE SYSTEM<\/a>\u00a0& SLEEP
\nShort sleep is a significant predictor of all-cause mortality. 1 This is displayed in a real-life\u00a0global experiment across 1.6 billion people each year. An increase of 24% in the number of\u00a0heart attacks is observed in Spring in countries subject who implement daylight savings,\u00a0resulting in sleep time.<\/p>\n

During deep sleep the body \u2018restocks\u2019 the immune system to fight infection. \u00a0Research has shown that reducing individuals sleep time by as little as an hour results in a\u00a070% decrease in production of natural killer cells, which are critical to the innate immune\u00a0system\u2019s ability to fight infection. 3 People who get inadequate sleep are 4 times more likely\u00a0to catch a cold. You may have noticed that when you are sick all you want to do it sleep. That\u2019s because your infection has indicated to the immune system that you are under attack\u00a0and need to restock your immune cells.<\/p>\n

WHAT ABOUT CAFFEINE?
\nThe half-life of caffeine, or the amount of time it takes for half of it to be out of your system,\u00a0is 6 to 8 hours. Caffeine has a quarter-life of 12 hours, meaning that if you have a cup of\u00a0coffee at noon there is still a quarter of it circulating around your brain at midnight. Some of\u00a0you reading this might be thinking \u201ccaffeine doesn\u2019t affect me negatively, I can have a cup of\u00a0coffee just before bed and still fall asleep easily and stay asleep\u201d. Unfortunately, it is\u00a0impacting your sleep, you just aren\u2019t aware of it.<\/p>\n

Scientists have tracked the brainwaves of people who make these claims and despite being\u00a0able to fall asleep easily, and stay asleep, these participants experienced a 20% decrease in\u00a0the quality of their deep sleep. As we get older the quality of our deep sleep naturally\u00a0decreases, so every 15 years the quality of our deep sleep has reduced by 20% naturally.\u00a0Essentially your evening cup of coffee is aging your sleep quality by 15 years. My\u00a0recommendation is to embrace the coffee culture. It\u2019s delicious and a great social activity,\u00a0just make sure to do it before noon. Alternatively, incorporate some\u00a0delicious coffee\u00a0alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n

GETTING A GOOD NIGHTS\u2019 SLEEP:
\nCreating a\u00a0sleep-inducing environment<\/a>\u00a0in the evening is the first step in aiding a good night\u2019s\u00a0sleep. On top of this\u00a0Faithful-to-Nature<\/a>\u00a0have some great, natural sleep-promoting products.<\/p>\n