You probably already know that getting enough sleep is important and there are a myriad of reasons why this is incredibly true. But as with all humans sometimes we forget the important stuff that takes care of our long term health in place of the short term pressures of life.
One of the elements of a healthy life is sleep. It is critical to brain and body function, but not only that. It helps us make better decisions and choose food without having to rely on a short term sugar or caffeine boost. Essentially, sleep helps you lose weight and be happy!
Sleep Basics
When you don’t get enough sleep that’s when things start to fall apart, your brain doesn’t get the deep sleep with the proper cycles (there are 4) to process the information you are receiving all day. You may find it difficult to concentrate and just feel generally grouchy with the accumulative effects of not having enough sleep leading to more problems the longer you go without.
Like I mentioned there are 4 stages of the sleep cycle, three of these are important for your physiological functions which help your body run effectively throughout the day. The fourth stage is REM sleep or Rapid Eye Movement which you may have heard of.
This REM sleep is the sleep that helps you deal with life, emotions, and learning.
Sleep is essential for your brain
If you want to torture yourself then sleep deprivation is the way to go. Your body needs sleep for a whole host of reasons because it affects your mental health and well being as well as your ability to function on a day to day basis is sleep.
Sleep helps your brain process the information you receive throughout the day. While you are sleeping complex things are occurring where your brain rearranges your experiences, catalogs them, and tries to subconsciously make sense of the world.
Ever had a crazy dream that you woke up to, and wondered what that was all about? Chances are some elements of the dream are actually people or places you know or have been thinking about recently. Though while you are awake you may choose not to actively think about these things, behind the scenes there is a lot more going on and while you sleep your brain is trying to sort all of that complexity out.
What happens to your mind when you don’t get enough sleep
If you forego sleep and you have or have a family history of mental illness then you may be asking for trouble. Because without the REM sleep stage your brain doesn’t get to process all those emotions you feel and one of the problems people with mental illness have is this same difficulty in processing and dealing with emotions (particularly negative ones).
Scientists are still trying to figure out the details of exactly how this all works but the results are the same regardless of the reason. Without enough sleep a person doesn’t have all the tools required to face the day from a mental and emotional stand point. Basically, if you skip sleeping enough you are doing your mind a huge disservice and preparing yourself for poor mental health.
The easy solution, sleep enough!
What happens to your body when you don’t get enough sleep
When you don’t sleep enough your body as a whole doesn’t get the restoration it needs, your cells can’t repair, and your immune system can’t be boosted. These are the physiological changes that your body needs in order to function and without enough sleep you are essentially trying to run your body without any of the fuel it needs to be sustained and high functioning.
So, when you aren’t sleeping enough your body becomes weaker, and sometimes this is when you are more easily susceptible to catching the flu or having an accident. All of which, aren’t so great for your overall health.
Lack of sleep and increased food consumption
If you are a bit short in the sleep department you may find yourself reaching for the energy drinks, caffeine, and chocolates. It is only natural to want to find a quick solution to feeling tired and lethargic and artificially boosting your energy levels can work, but there is a cost.
Although the occasional sugar hit isn’t determental constently relying on sugar and caffeine to solve your sleep deficet is ultimately a bandaid solution. Yes, you get that rush of energy and can push yourself through your busy day but eventually, you will require another hit, because the effects wear off and once again you can find yourself flat and often you just can’t afford to feel that way. There is too much to do already anyway.
The reaction that many of us use (and I used to be very guilty of this) is to eat more sugar, keep going, and then before the last hit wears off have another dose of energy. The result, well you can guess, eating more energy/calories than your body needs just ends up as body fat. And excess body fat isn’t great for your overall health and it doesn’t help your image of yourself.
The solution to living a healthy life is sleep
Whether you are talking about your mental health and the way your brain automatically deals with all the information, problems and challenges in your life or you’re talking about the relationship this shortage of sleep causes you to have with the food you consume, sleep is ultimately the solution to living a healthy life.
But with enough sleep, you will have the foundation to achieve the things you want to do throughout the day without having to be so dependent on sugar and caffeine. By realizing that your energy problem isn’t solved by eating more will actually help you to be healthier, lose weight (if that’s something you want to do), and have more energy.
If you want to start tracking how much you sleep and realizing the amount and the effects your sleep habits have on your health join our Get Healthy Change Challenge and download your free tracker today!
If you want to find more about how to squeeze more sleep into your busy life check out this blog post and make the decision to get healthier by spending more time in bed! 🙂