These days people are praised for lack of sleep, as if it’s proof of an important, busy life. While it may be a sign of busyness, it may be a key hinderance, rather than an aid to success. There are several reasons people get less sleep these days, but the impact of lack of sleep is profound. It can not only affect your mood, but also memory, learning, immune system, reaction time, driving, friendships, job performance, exercise recovery, fertility, and weight loss to name a few.
For example, a 2017 Study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that in that year, drowsy driving led to at least 91,000 crashes, resulting in 50,000 injuries and 800 deaths.
What’s even more compelling is the studies that show how sleep, or lack therefrom, can either boost or erode the immune system and even affect how the body responds to immunizations, like the COVID vaccine or yearly flu shots.
Studies also show that a lack of sleep leads to more reckless behavior, including poor eating choices and excessive alcohol consumption. What’s more, the metabolism of bodies that lack healthy sleep run differently than those with sufficient sleep. In other words, you’re more likely to gain weight while sleep deprived than you otherwise would be.
Are you trying to learn the piano, or a new job skill? Studies show that the amount, timing, and regularity of sleep has an enormous impact on memory and learning. It seems that our bodies use sleep to categorize new experiences and the lessons we learn therefrom.
These examples haven’t even scratched the surface of the amazing benefits of healthy sleep. If you are looking for more information along these lines, I highly recommend “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker, PhD. This is an excerpt from the publisher’s summary:
“Walker answers important questions about sleep: How do caffeine and alcohol affect sleep? What really happens during REM sleep? Why do our sleep patterns change across a lifetime? How do common sleep aids affect us, and can they do long-term damage? Charting cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs and synthesizing decades of research and clinical practice, Walker explains how we can harness sleep to improve learning, mood, and energy levels; regulate hormones; prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes; slow the effects of aging; increase longevity; enhance the education and lifespan of our children, and boost the efficiency, success, and productivity of our businesses. Clear-eyed, fascinating, and immensely accessible, Why We Sleep is the crucial account on sleep that will forever change listeners’ minds on the subject.”
If you’re looking for ways to improve your health, I highly recommend this book.
For your life, health, and peace of mind,
Phil
