Best Health And Wellness Info

Many people these days fail to get adequate sleep due to being busy and trying to squeeze too much into their schedules.  Oftentimes people don’t realize the importance of sleep in health other than of course, not feeling sleepy.  But adequate sleep is important in several aspects of health, incuding mental function, weight control, muscle building, resistance to the effects of aging, and joint and soft tissue repair. 

Some of these important aspects of sleep you may be aware of.  Most people realize that without adequate sleep, their mental functioning and memory is impaired.  This is not just a short-term issue either.  While the research is just beginning, there is some speculation that chronic sleep deprivation may be involved in various neurodegenerative disorders and severe loss of brain function in later life. 

Few people are aware that sleep is an important factor in weight loss and muscle building.  Without adequate sleep, the body does not produce significant amounts of growth hormone, which is an important fat-burning hormone.  In addition, sleep deprivation leads to alterations in hormones that control hunger, typically resulting in increased hunger and subsequent increased eating and weight gain.

Growth hormone is also important in the stimulation of muscle growth from exercise, so inadequate sleep can dramatically interfere with getting maximum results from an exercise program.  For those who perform heavy exercise, the decreased growth hormone from lack of sleep results in delays in muscle recovery and may actually lead to a situation in which the heavy exercise breaks down muscle faster than the body can re-build it.  This results in a net loss of muscle mass and conditioning and may lead to overuse injuries. 

As with muscles,other soft tissues may begin to break down faster due to diminished growth hormone caused by sleep deprivation.  This includes connective tissues in joints and even the skin.  Over time, sleep deprivation leads to premature aging of the tissues and increases the appearance of aging in the skin and may predispose the joints to arthritis. 

In my experience with treating pain syndromes, most patients who are chronically sleep deprived are far more pain sensitive and more prone to developing trigger points and tightness in their muscles.  One gentleman I have been treating over the years shows dramatic differences in the state of his muscles when he is getting only  3 to 4 hours of sleep per night versus getting 6 or 7.  With greater amounts of sleep, his muscles are much looser and he has far less tenderness.  These differences appear to be primarily sleep-related as his stress levels and other lifestyle factors stay relatively constant. 

By now you probably are beginning to appreciate how important it is to get adequate sleep.  So, what is “adequate”? It varies to some extent, but for most individuals about 7 hours of (mostly) undisturbed sleep per night is necessary for normal production of growth hormone.  Some people need a little more than that, and some can get by with a little less, but a minimum of 7 hours is usually a good target to shoot for. 

If you’ve been getting by on much less than that, you may be surprised at how much better you feel once you change your habits to get more sleep.  Not only will you feel more rested and mentally alert, but chances are you will find it much easier to get results from your weight loss or exercise regimen and you’ll probably also be pleasantly surprised at how much better you look and feel overall.

Stay tuned to my blog for more natural remedies to keep you healthy!

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