Sleep and Your Health

Sleep is as important to the human body as food and water. In fact, a good night sleep is one of the most underrated aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but many of us don’t get enough of it. Time and again, research shows us the hidden price we pay for our modern 24/7 lifestyles. It seems there’s always too much to do, and too little time to do it in… So we give up sleep.  Not a good idea!

Sleep and Your Health

Believe it or not, giving up precious hours of sleep so you can cram more and more activities in your day will cost you big time.

Lack of sleep due to over-crowded day planners, e-mail, web surfing, and other distractions take a toll on your health whether you realize it or not. In fact, you may be going to the gym consistently and maintaining a healthy diet, but sleeping well is THE necessary ingredient that makes everything CLICK!  It is the biggest puzzle piece in the area of TOTAL HEALTH!

Jet Lag from traveling to a different time zone) have consequences for how we function in the daytime, causing sleepiness and fatigue.

Insufficient sleep, inadequate quality of sleep or disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle (such as those that occur with shift work (shift work sleep disorder) or jet lag from traveling to a different time zone) have consequences for how we function in the daytime, causing sleepiness and fatigue.

While factors like stress or big life changes can bring on a few sleepless nights, prolonged trouble sleeping could be a sign of another issue like depression or a sleep disorder.

We all have trouble sleeping from time to time, but when insomnia persists day after day, it can become a real problem. Beyond making us tired and moody, a lack of sleep can have serious effects on our health in ways that are only just beginning to be understood.

Get Your Zzz’s

The average person spends more than one third of their life asleep. During sleep, the body repairs itself so that we wake up renewed and refreshed. Given all the research that’s come out recently about the importance of sleep (and the hazards of sleep loss); maybe it’s high time we all made snoozing a bigger priority.

While factors like stress or big life changes can bring on a few sleepless nights, prolonged trouble sleeping could be a sign of another issue like depression or a sleep disorder.

Most of us do not fully appreciate the value of a full night’s sleep and the incredible disruption of our finely balanced hormones that results when we get less sleep than we were designed to. Of course, one night of short sleep won’t put you at serious risk, but one week can. The cumulative long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of other deleterious health consequences.

Generally, sleep deprivation may result in:

• Aching muscles
• Accelerate aging
• Confusion, memory lapses or loss
• Depression or more severe, seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• Being sleep-deprived driving can drastically increase the risks of injury from an automobile accident
• Headaches
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased stress hormone levels
• Increased risk of diabetes. People who sleep less than six hours a night appear to have a higher risk of developing abnormal blood sugar levels that can lead to type 2 diabetes
• Increased risk of fibromyalgia
• Irritability
• Loss of sleep is also related to an increase in heart attacks
• Obesity
• Proper rest is also vital to a well-functioning immune system
• Temper tantrums in children
• Yawning
• Symptoms similar to:
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Sleep deprivation may may also have severe effects on performance, alertness, memory, concentration and reaction times. A fatigued person is accident prone and more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions, increasing their risk of a work, sport or personal injury.

Sleep Better and Have More Energy With Exercise!

If you are waking up tired every morning and finding yourself yawning all day long, you may be experiencing problems that could be preventing you from having a restful sleep.

Do you ever feel sleepy and finding yourself yawning all day long or “zone out” during the day? Do you find it hard to wake up on Monday mornings? If so, you are familiar with the powerful need for sleep.

You may be experiencing problems that could be preventing you from having a restful night’s sleep.  For those who regularly experience low energy due to lack of sleep, exercise boosts the effect of natural sleep hormones such as melatonin.

What is Melatonin?

Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate sleep. It also appears to influence other hormones in the body. Melatonin supplements have become popular as natural sleep aids.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN sets our internal biological clock, also called our circadian rhythm, which regulates a variety of body functions including sleep.

The amount of melatonin we produce is determined by how dark or light our surroundings are. Our eyes have specialized light-sensitive receptors that relay this message to a cluster of nerves in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or SCN. The SCN sets our internal biological clock, also called our circadian rhythm, which regulates a variety of body functions including sleep.

Moderate exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 days per week will enhance your sleep significantly. Plus, you will feel better, you will have more energy and you will put the vitality back in your life.

Some finding suggest interval-training or more rigorous workouts will further improve sleep. It is best to work out in the morning for your sleep cycle. According to the latest research, exercise not only improves sleep, but it can also combat daytime fatigue and improve concentration.

Don’t spend another sleepless night tossing and turning! Contact a St Paul MN Chiropractor today. They can provide you with some surefire strategies for a truly good night’s sleep about diet, weight loss, exercise, nutritional supplements, and other lifestyle factors that can affect your sleep.