Struggling to Sleep? Here’s Why It Matters More Than You Think
Sleep is SOOOOO incredibly powerful.
Having JUST ONE bad night of sleep can have a profound detriment on your health and well-being. For example, research has shown that poor sleep can reduce your immune function the following day, making you more susceptible to infection. In addition it can significantly impair strength, endurance, cognitive function, reaction time, and overall performance. Being sleep deprived resembles the mental capacity of alcohol intoxication at the legal limit of 0.08. And that's just to name a few!
Now imagine what LONG TERM poor quality of sleep can do to your health? People who sleep less than 7 hours per night are at a significantly greater risk of developing various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, Alzheimer's, etc. They are also more likely to suffer mood and mental health disorders.
If you are suffering from poor sleep, I encourage you to do everything you can to improve it. There are some simple techniques that you can implement which have been shown to significantly improve overall sleep quality such as:
go to bed and wake up around the same time each day (sleep consistency)
limit bright light before bed
don't eat a large meal prior to bed
Take a hot shower/bath/sauna 90 minutes beforehand
Exercise!
Sleep in a cooler environment if possible
Give yourself 7-8 hours MINIMUM of sleep opportunity (the amount of time that you are physically laying in bed)
Tune in to the Kickback Science 2-Part Series titled: GO TO BED!! The Unbelievable Health Benefits of Sleep, Part 1 & Part 2
