HEALTHY LIFESTYLE · JULY 2018
THE
IMPORTANCE
OF SLEEP
IN OVERALL
HEALTH
The first step to understanding how
sleep affects your overall health
requires that you take action and
change your sleep habits. One night of
disruptive sleep influences our ability
to make decisions, how we process
our thoughts, our reaction time, our
mood, and so much more. We’ll likely
spend our day feeling exhausted and
discouraged. It leaves us unable to
perceive what is going on internally
and with our overall health.
Our body’s circadian rhythm responds
to light and darkness. That’s why we’re
encouraged to sleep when it’s dark
and remain active (awake) during the
daylight.
What is the circadian rhythm?
It is the body’s 24-hour biological clock
that regulates our sleep/wake cycle
and almost every human physiological
process including our metabolism,
immune function, cell regulation,
hormone production, etc.
Sleep is a complex naturally occurring
process that affects the way we
function and everything in our bodies,
every system and type of tissue. It
is crucial to proper mental, physical
health, improves quality of life, and
good quality sleep is as essential to
survival as food and water.
While we sleep, vital process in the
body are protected and restored.
Recent studies suggest it also helps
remove toxins in the brain.
Forgoing sleep is associated with
several chronic health conditions such
as diabetes, heart problems, high blood
pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity,
depression, cancer, and increased risk
of death.
According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), the amount of sleep
needed depend on your age:
• School Age: 6 - 12 years – 9-12 hours per 24
• Newborn: 0 – 3 months – 4 – 17 hours
hours
• Infant: 4 -12 months – 12 – 16 hours per 24
• Teen: 13 - 18 years – 8-10 hours per 24 hours
hours (including naps)
• Adult: 18 - 60 years – 7 or more hours per
• Toddler: 1 -2 years – 11-14 hours per 24 hours
night
(including naps)
• Adult: 61 - 64 years – 7-9 hours per night
• Preschool: 3 - 5 years – 10-13 hours per 24
• Adult: 65 years and older – 7-8 hours per night
hours (including naps)
Data from the CDC show that one-third of adults in America don’t get enough sleep due to lifestyle
choices and occupational demands.
If you have trouble sleeping,
here are important tips to
optimize your sleep:
01
Increase natural light
exposure as much as
possible. Go for a walk, have
breakfast and lunch outdoors.
Walk a dog. Organize your
schedule in a way that it includes
time in nature. Try for at least 30
minutes a day to start. Natural
light exposure during the day
helps adjust circadian rhythms,
improves quality and sleep
duration.
02
Reduce your exposure
to artificial light at night.
Limit the use of electronics at
least 3 hours prior bedtime.
Remove anything that emits light
from your bedroom like alarm
clocks, computers, TV, etc.
03
Create an environment
that invites you to a
good night sleep. Dim lights.
Use blackout shades. Buy an
organic mattress, pillows,
and chose good quality and
nontoxic furniture. Adjust the
temperature to an optimal
level. Make it as comfortable as
possible.
04
Go to bed and wake up
at the same time every
day. Avoid long naps.
05
Limit caffeine
consumption to the
mornings, and seriously think
about eliminating it for a month
to see if it’s the cause of your
insomnia.
06
Routinely exercise.
If possible, exercise
outdoors to increase your light
exposure. Also, avoid sitting too
much during the day. Stay active.
07
Eat a healthy diet like
Paleo and adjust your
macronutrients need according
to your caloric daily index.
08
Reduce or avoid alcohol
consumption. According
to studies alcohol affects sleep
and physiological processes that
occur during sleep.
09
Practice stress relievers
like mindfulness
meditation, yoga, etc. Take a
bath before bedtime using one
cup of Epson Salt.
30 HEALTHY MAGAZINE
10
Try supplementing with
a low melatonin dose. A
low melatonin dose may increase
your own production of it. Don’t
go over 1 mg.
11
By a white noise machine.
It’s been shown to be
effective for sleep.
12
If you