You already do it every day. It's your favourite hello and hardest goodbye. And yet, a whopping two-thirds of adults fail to get enough of it. Yes, it's sleep.
Consider this
We already know that sleep deprivation has a real knock-on effect on our overall health and wellbeing. Usually without us realising it. With tiredness, stress, anxiety, poor skin, and binge eating all associated with deficient sleep.
In fact, the World Health Organisation has declared our attitude towards sleep a global epidemic.
The good news is, sleep is one of nature’s greatest healers. By simply getting more sleep you could experience improved physical and mental health, healthier relationships, more energy, and better decisions going into the year ahead. Here’s how.
You’ll exercise more
It can be hard to get motivated for the gym at the best of times, never mind when you're exhausted. But as well as mental motivation, the physical payoffs of exercise are reduced when you don't sleep enough.
Sleep helps to improve your stamina and lessens the amount of fatigue you feel when active. With research supporting the claim that sleeping more than 8 hours improves speed, strength and endurance in cyclists.
More energy, improved focus, and better concentration all contribute to a more active lifestyle and better performance when it matters.
You’ll eat healthier
Although sleep doesn’t directly help you to lose weight, it does help to keep your weight under control.
This is because sleep and your metabolism are intrinsically linked and driven by the same parts of the brain. Less sleep means less energy, which leads to more cravings for calorie-dense foods during the day.
Sleep more, and you're more likely to make healthier food choices and turn your new year's resolution into a way of living that transcends the latest fad diet.
You’ll keep better relationships
Sleep and the quality of our social and romantic relationships are linked. If your relationships are suffering, there’s a strong chance it’s affecting the quality of your sleep and vice versa.
There’s lots of evidence to support the claim that sleep is good for your relationships. It helps you to approach people and avoid loneliness, empathise with others and understand how they're feeling. As well as being less angry and more emotionally stable.
The more sleep you get, the happier you are. This can have a huge impact on your life and the people around you. When sleep-deprived, it's easy to feel agitated and lose patience with colleagues or loved ones.
You’ll make better decisions
Research tells us that sleep deprivation and riskier decision-making go hand-in-hand. Maybe not surprising, but what is surprising is that you may not know you're doing it.
That’s because one of the difficulties you experience when neglecting sleep is recognising that you need it. So the likelihood of making risky decisions increases. Similar to a drunk driver who believes they are fit to drive even if they are way over the legal limit.
In jobs where there is little margin for error, deciding to sleep more can quite literally be the difference between life and death.
You’ll be the best version of yourself
From improving your overall mood and regulating your emotions, sleep affects virtually every aspect of your mental and physical health.
You'll handle stressful situations better, be more productive, and perform better in all manner of personal and professional settings.
Matthew Walker, Neuroscientist and author of the international bestselling book ‘Why We Sleep’ puts it like this:
"To really understand why we sleep, we have to flip the question and instead ask, is there any process in our brain or any tissue or organ within our body that doesn’t benefit from sleep? The answer seems to be no."
So really, sleep is not just a contributing factor to good health and wellbeing - it's the foundation.
Which is why we believe there's nothing more important in 2020 than a good night’s sleep.
Sleep starts here
If you’re struggling to get the sleep you need it may be time for a new bed or mattress. We’ll even deliver it to your bedroom and take away the packaging for free.
If you have any questions at all, get in touch or use the live chat below.