I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead…
Might be sooner than you think! When we think about the two essentials to life (and I am not talking about Netflix and a hot bath) we tend to think of water and food being the most important, but it should be water and sleep!
Yes, Sleep is More Important than Food
Think of it this way, if for some reason you decide to go on a fast and you effectively starve yourself for a week – at the end of those seven days, how do you think you would you be feeling? I’d guess you would be hungry, perhaps a little weak, and almost certainly somewhat thinner. But basically you’d be fine.
Now, let’s say you try and go on a week-long sleep fast. Things would not work out so great. After only a few days (about 1 in my case), you’d be almost completely unable to function. That’s why sleep deprivation is listed as a form of torture by Amnesty International.
“In the head of the interrogated prisoner a haze begins to form. His spirit is wearied to death, his legs are unsteady, and he has one sole desire: to sleep … Anyone who has experienced this desire knows that not even hunger and thirst are comparable with it.” Quote from Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in his memoir White Nights.
So why is it that sleep is one of the first things we’re willing to sacrifice as the demands in our lives keep rising? We continue to live by a remarkably durable myth – I do it myself – sleeping one hour less will give me one more hour of productivity. Very wrong!!! After several nights of losing sleep—even a loss of just 1–2 hours per night—your ability to function suffers as if you haven’t slept at all for a day or two. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being in every aspect of our lives.
I am not sure if I am in a bad mood, or everyone is just being annoying!
The way you feel while you’re awake depends in part on what happens while you are sleeping. Extensive research has revealed that even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a significant toll on our health, our mood, our cognitive capacity and our productivity.
Many of the effects we suffer are invisible and can have a deep impact on our emotional well-being. Sleep deficiency actually alters activity in some parts of the brain. If you’re sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behaviour, and coping with change. Sleep deficiency also has been linked to depression, suicide, and negative risk-taking behaviour.
Children and teens who are sleep deficient may have problems getting along with others. They may feel angry and impulsive, have mood swings, feel sad or depressed, or lack motivation. They also may have problems paying attention, and they may get lower grades and feel stressed.
Why do I have string on my finger?
A lack of sleep impairs our ability to gather up and digest things that we have learned during the course of the day. While you’re sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It’s forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information.
Studies have shown that a good night’s sleep improves memory and learning. Whether it be maths, how to play the piano, how to perfect your golf swing, or how to drive a car, sleep helps enhance your learning and problem-solving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative.
Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live!
Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting your mood or banishing under-eye circles. It plays a vital role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels and ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
Sleep deficiency also increases the risk of obesity because it helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don’t get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you’re well-rested.
Your immune system relies on sleep to stay healthy. This system defends your body against foreign or harmful substances. Ongoing sleep deficiency can change the way in which your immune system responds. For example, if you’re sleep deficient, you may have trouble fighting common infections.