Sleep…it is crucial for all higher forms of life! And while we know it is vital to our health, there is still a lot of research and speculation that goes into exactly why and how. What we DO know is that a lack of sleep can be incredibly detrimental to our health, and sometimes even deadly.
Three of the most common signs of sleep deprivation are:
- Brain function is decreased – Inability to concentrate, feeling forgetful, and feeling moody and unproductive are all signs that you haven’t gotten enough sleep. When the frontal lobe of our brain is sleep deprived, our brain pulls from other areas to try and make up for it, leading to brain fog and forgetfulness, and ultimately frustration.
- Reaction time and responsiveness is decreased – The longer you go without sleep, the longer it takes your body to react to a given stimulus. One of the thoughts behind this is because of the simultaneous and competing needs of the body all interfering with each other, the body then has to prioritize which need gets addressed first.
- Increased weight gain – Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling more “snacky” during the day with an increased appetite. When you’re tired and stressed out you tend to lean on less healthy snacks, and never really feel satiated. This is attributed to a decrease in production of the hormone leptin, which is responsible for helping you feel satiated.
If any of this sounds familiar to you, likely you are suffering from sleep deprivation. And you likely are not alone! The American Sleep Association estimates that anywhere between 50-70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder. Thankfully, there are a few easy, at home things you can do to hopefully help sleep come easier to you.
First, evaluate and address your sleep hygiene. This starts with creating a bedtime routine for yourself. We are creatures of habit and routine, and just as our kids do best with a bedtime routine, so do we as adults. We can also make sure that our sleep environment is optimal by making sure your bedroom is dark and quiet, and there are no electronics in there.
Second, avoid stimulants. Alcohol, caffeine, soda, energy drinks…these are all like liquid stress to the body. The best thing we can do is to avoid them entirely, because the vast majority of us need NO added stress in our lives! We are stressed out enough! But if you’re the type of person who needs their daily cup of coffee to get going, then try to stop drinking coffee by noon at the latest, so our body has the time it needs to get it out of the system so you can rest easier.
Finally, move your body! We need to expend energy to induce a little fatigue in our bodies in order to really get a good night’s sleep. As a society, we are incredibly sedentary, and if we are sedentary all day, our body may not feel the need to sleep. So making sure to intentionally move your body every day will go a long way toward making sure you can fall asleep and rest easily every night.
One final bonus tip – make sure to get some morning sun exposure! This helps our body to regulate it’s circadian rhythm! If we can get that cycling optimally, it makes it that much easier for our body to know when it is time to rest. So…doctor’s orders…get outside and spend some time in the sun!