Sleep is called the third pillar of health, the first two being a good diet and physical exercise. A good night’s sleep allows your mind and body to recharge, rejuvenate, and keep diseases away. Getting enough sleep helps us maintain optimal health and well-being, and we at Nature & Thought feel that it is no less than a crime to deny ourselves of adequate amount of physical rest.
Most of us often underestimate the dangerous complications that sleeplessness brings. Apart from apparent problems like lack of alertness and bad quality of life to severe issues like elevated mortality risks and Type 2 Diabetes, sacrificing sleep to get more done is just not worth it.
In this blog post, we discuss five key reasons to get more sleep. We also address the scary consequences of ignoring an essential requirement of a happy life - a good night's sleep.
#1 Reason To Get More Sleep: Staying In Shape
Sleeplessness not only stresses our bodies but our minds as well. Think about it – you're feeling sleepy at work. You grab several cups of coffee and maybe a Donut or any other snack for that quick shot of sugary energy. When you get home from work, you're too tired to exercise and cook, so you order junk food online. Your fitness regime goes down the drain - all at the cost of a good night's sleep.
This is because sleep can influence your caloric intake. Sleep patterns directly affect Ghrelin and Leptin, which are hormones that are responsible for hunger.
Research papers suggest that sleeplessness can trigger behaviours that lead to weight gain. As per a research paper published in the journal JAMA International Medicine, more significant day-to-day variability of sleep duration is linked to higher Body Mass Index (BMI), which indicates high body fat.
#2 Reason To Get More Sleep: Age Less, Glow More
Deep sleep is called "beauty sleep" for the right reasons. When we sleep, our skin creates new collagen, which prevents sagging, prevents wrinkles, and makes us look younger.
Dr. Shefali Thanawala - an Ayurvedic clinician who has been in the industry for over 30 years, says that sleeping plays a vital role in repairing and recovery of the body. Sleeping for 5 hours instead of 7 can accelerate ageing, make you overweight, and contribute to depression.
#3 Reason To Get More Sleep: Get Yourself A Golden Heart
High blood pressure is one factor that contributes to heart disease. Sleeping less can lead to high blood pressure, which makes you prone to heart and cardiovascular diseases. For a healthy heart, maintain a clean diet and exercise daily - even if it means just walking for some time.
A lifelong habit of sleeping for 7 to 8 hours, if not more can take us a long way.
#4 Reason To Get More Sleep: Stay Away From Type 2 Diabetes
People who sleep less are susceptible to Type 2 Diabetes and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is when your body cannot process insulin properly.
An analysis of 36 studies revealed that people who regularly sleep for less than 5 to 6 hours are at a 48% higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.
Ensuring a good night's sleep is found to contribute to reducing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes if accompanied by a balanced diet and regular physical exercise.
#5 Reason To Get More Sleep: Staying Happy!
With more responsibilities, disturbances, and influences around us than ever before, depression seems to have become extremely common. According to World Health Organization, it affects about 3.8% of the population, including 5% of adults and 5.7% of older adults (i.e., above age 60).
In the last two years, the pandemic brought about unforeseen circumstances, because of which we saw an increase in conversations around mental health and depression, which we think is excellent. Up until the recent past, talking about mental health was somewhat taboo, and many people shied away from seeking therapy, which is thankfully changing.
With that being said, surprisingly, there was little or no conversation about how lack of sleep can aggravate depression, which shows how we overlook the importance of good sleep. Poor quality sleep (or sleeplessness) is strongly linked to depression. If you have ever felt sleepless and depressed, you know what we’re talking about. If you are currently going through a similar situation, it is important to speak to your Doctor (but first, get some sleep)!
Conclusion
Sleep and overall quality of life are deeply linked. In this blog, we gave you five solid reasons to sleep more. We at Nature & Thought believe that robbing our bodies of the rest they deserve is a huge mistake. This is why, for people who have sleep disorders, or other problems related to sleep, we have developed Nature & Thought’s very own Zen Panda – 1-A-Day Ashwagandha Capsules.
Zen Panda is an all-natural Ashwagandha pill that helps with stress reduction, improving sleep quality, and improving memory and focus, positively affecting your overall quality of life. It works on a sustained-release formula, i.e., Ashwagandha is periodically released in your bloodstream, instead of immediately releasing it all as soon as you consume the capsule. This one-of-a-kind formula allows your body longer access to Ashwagandha, from one dose to the next, eliminating any gap in benefits.
Bibliography:
Study references:
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- Ryan S. Sleep and diabetes. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2018 Nov;24(6):555-560. doi: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000524. PMID: 30138125.
- Markwald, R. R., Melanson, E. L., Smith, M. R., Higgins, J., Perreault, L., Eckel, R. H., & Wright, K. P., Jr (2013). Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(14), 5695–5700. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1216951110
- Beccuti, G., & Pannain, S. (2011). Sleep and obesity. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 14(4), 402–412. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283479109
- Chattu, V. K., Chattu, S. K., Burman, D., Spence, D. W., & Pandi-Perumal, S. R. (2019). The Interlinked Rising Epidemic of Insufficient Sleep and Diabetes Mellitus. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 7(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7010037
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