Poor quality sleep can lead to many negative health outcomes, including reduced mental, emotional and physical function. Our bodies restore and repair when we rest, so it's critical, especially for those suffering with a chronic disease to get enough.
What happens when we don't get enough?
Research clearly shows the negative impact that lack of sleep has on our body and mind. A 2015 study showed participants who slept less than six hour a night had compromised immune systems and were 4 times more likely to get catch a cold. (1)
In another study, people sleeping less than six hours a night had a 20% increased risk of heart attack (2).
Poor sleep triggers chronic low-grade inflammation, which can increase the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, neurodegeneration and autoimmune diseases (3).
If that's bad enough, lack of sleep is also associated with stroke, obesity, poor glucose metabolism and depression. And it effects mood, emotional health, memory, attention and focus. (4)
What's causing poor sleep?
There are many reasons we may have troubing falling and staying asleep, they include:
Optimal immune health
Sleep helps us recover faster from infectious diseases, restores, recharges and balances our mind and body. It helps us to maintain a strong immune system that keeps us healthy.
When we suffer from illness and chronic disease our body requires more rest to heal, so we should listen to our bodies when it feels tired.
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can also create fatigue, so it's important to correct these, so the body has enough building blocks to recover. Vitamin B12 is critical for energy production and is often low with those suffering chronic disease.
Tiredness is a sign to slow down
Tiredness is often the first sign of cold, flu or other health issues. It's out bodies way of getting us to slow down and rest, so it can use it's energy to repair and heal.
However, in todays busy society we don't have time to stop or be sick and we push ourselves, often relying on medication and stimulants to keep us going.
Whist this may work for some, it can prolong illness and is not the ideal solution. A better idea is to listen to our bodies and slow down.
When we are sick or fatigued it's important to stop and support our immune system with rest, nutrient dense foods and vitamin D. Reducing stress levels, getting support and reducing toxins can also be helpful.
How to get better quality slumber
Looking for the cause of disrupted and poor sleep is the first step to correcting the problem.
Our busy modern lifestyles can make it hard to prioritise rest. It's common for people to burn the candles at both ends, spend too long on electronic devices or not stop and rest when they get sick or tired.
Having a good night's sleep is one of the best things we can do for our health and wellbeing, so it's worth investing the time to get it right.
If you'd like to know more about how to restore your health naturally, then take a look at my anti-inflammatory healing program, which is filled with common sense, useful stategies to take back control of your health.
1.https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2015/08/131411/short-sleepers-are-four-times-more-likely-catch-cold
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31488267/sleep duration and mycocardial infarction
3.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30920354/the sleep-Immune crosstalk in health and disease
4. Sleep foundation website. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/