Did you know that quality of sleep is more important for our mental and physical health than diet and exercise? If this is something you haven’t heard or thought of before, keep reading. 

Just because you go to bed early and spend 7-9 hours in bed doesn’t mean that you are physically and mentally rested. That being said, sleep quality becomes more challenging as we age. 

I can’t stress enough how important sleep is for our health and over all wellbeing. It’s crucial for learning, creating new memories, and also remembering new information. 

There’s no such thing as catching up on sleep

I hear so many people around me say, “oh I’ll catch up on sleep during the weekend”, or “I’ve been so tired, I slept all day”, the problem with these statements is that we cannot make up for sleep which we have lost. So the best we can do is create a sleep routine which works for us, and one which we can stick to for the entire week. The body cannot distinguish between a week-day night and a week-end night. Our brain, nervous system and bodies like consistency and predictability, hence staying up late on weekends is rather counterproductive and confuses our circadian rhythm. 

Statistics show that insufficient sleep is experienced by 30% of adults. Now, I do understand that not every single person can get adequate sleep (time & quality) due to the nature of their job, travel, having a new born etc. However, it’s quite fascinating that we are the only species that will deliberately deprive ourselves of sleep. Isn’t that crazy? 

circadian rythem, melatonin, screen time

We all poses something called a circadian rhythm which helps  regulate our sleep and wake cycle. In addition we have a hormone called melatonin which regulates the timing of our sleep. Melatonin is released into our bloodstream as the day gets dark (around 9pm) through the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is located in the brain. It then peaks between 2 and 4 in the morning, and gradually starts to decrease (Walker, 2017). This is also the reason why it can feel difficult to fall back asleep if you wake up around 5 am (unintentionally). Which also means that in order to keep our circadian rhythm in check, ideally we should get natural light and sun exposure first thing in the morning. 

You’ve probably heard or read countless times how we should try to avoid screen time before bed. Do you know why that is? Light and screen time inhibits the production of melatonin, because essentially we are signalling to the brain that it’s day time, and we shouldn’t go to sleep.

There is another property that impacts our sleep, a chemical called adenosine. Adenosine builds up in the brain throughout the day and creates a kind of “sleep pressure”, making us feel sleepy and increasing our desire for sleep (Walker, 2017).

With caffeine! I’d like to let you in on a secret. Coffee (or any kind of caffeine) actually doesn’t help you wake up. What it does is, it hooks itself to the adenosine receptors and blocks the sleepiness signals which are sent to the brain. So next time you reach out for your daily cup, drink it with intention, drink it for its taste and allow the body to adopt a healthy sleep routine instead. 

I’m not against drinking coffee, the point is that we abuse our bodies by depriving it of good quality sleep, and then shock the system by consuming caffeine first thing in the morning. This then leads to a handful of other reactions, making our adrenals work harder as cortisol levels surge, heart rate & blood pressure increase, and more stomach acid is secereted (yes coffee is very acidic). 

Sleep for brain health

I’ve recently heard many people around me complain about their issues with poor memory, forgetfulness, and brain fog. After inquiring deeper into their lifestyle it became apparent that they were not getting enough sleep, going to bed too late, and their circadian rhythm was completely out of sync. So why is sleep crucial for our brain health and cognitive function?

Sleep actually restores the brain’s capacity for learning, and makes space for new memories to be created. The more we sleep the more the brain can restore over night. “Sleep is like clicking the “save” button. It protects newly acquired information against forgetting.” Sleep also protects our brain memory, which enables us to remember how to do things. I know that it’s popular for students to stay up all night and study before an exam, however it’s completely counterproductive. It leads to a 40% deficit in creating new memories, or in this case studying material before an exam (Walker, 2017).

You might think, oh who cares, I’ll just suck it up, nap on the weekend, or sleep when I’m old. But actually that makes absolutely no sense, since depriving yourself of sleep in adulthood can decline your brain function and lead to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. 

sleep for heart health & weight management

So we have established that sleep is crucial for proper brain function. What about other areas of our health?

An alarming statistic shows that “adults 45+ who sleep <6 hours are 200% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to those sleeping 7-8 hours” (Walker, 2017).

Sleep also impacts our blood sugar levels and hunger cues, contributing to obesity and type 2 diabetes. More specifically our hunger and satiety hormones: gherkin and leptin. Next time you don’t get a proper night of sleep, try to observe and notice what kind of foods and drinks you are craving.

As we deprive ourselves of sleep we also store fat and deplete our muscle mass, hence people who want to loose weight, or those that want to gain muscle after a gym work out, need to make sleep their number one priority. 

How do you know if you are getting enough & quality sleep?

Well there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

-Do you wake up feeling rested? 

-Are you reaching out for coffee before 11 am? 

-Do you feel sleepy around 10 am?

-Are you getting 7-9 hours of continuous sleep per night, on average? 

The underlying message is that we need sleep for creativity, alertness, new memories, storing new information, and brain health. The quality of sleep impacts our mental health including stress, depression and anxiety.

It also impacts our appetite, blood sugar levels, thus making weight management challenging. This also includes muscle recovery and regeneration, not only for professional athletes but also your weekly trip to the gym and the ability to build muscle.

Lack of sleep also surpasses your immune system and the ability to fight off viruses and diseases. Last but certainly not least, sleep is crucial for hormonal health including anything from reproduction, menstrual cycle, and facial acne. 

I hope that by now, you are convinced of the necessity to get regular good quality sleep, and the possible repercussions this can have on your mental and physical health.

If you are interested to know more and learn further on the importance of sleep, you can find more insightful information in Matthew Walker’s book: Why We Sleep.