The Benefits of Good Quality Sleep

Good quality sleep is vital to improve and maintain one's health and well-being. Getting adequate, quality sleep is as important as eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly. Society has generally adapted a more stressful and stimulated lifestyle in recent years. This means that the quality of sleep people are getting is deteriorating and having a serious impact on their day-to-day lives. Below are some reasons highlighting why quality of sleep is so important. 

• BOOSTS IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTION.

  Your immune system provides vital protection from toxins and infection. It is also most active when sleeping which means if you are getting quality sleep your body has the tools to repair, recover and adapt to stressors effectively. Optimise your sleep to optimise your immune system function.

• IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY AND CONCENTRATION.

  Research suggests that adequate sleep can have a positive impact on brain function such as cognition, concentration and productivity. If you are looking for simple ways to improve things like memory or problem solving skills then improving your sleep patterns may be the answer. In contrast a lack of sleep has been shown to be detrimental to brain function with several studies showing employees are more likely to make mistakes if they are not getting enough sleep.

• ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE.

  As we discussed above the immune system is working its hardest whilst you sleep. This means that while you sleep you HEAL. When you heal and recover effectively you can greatly improve performance by improving your physical intensity, coordination, speed and energy stores. As hard as athletes are working on their physical craft or diet, sleep may be the missing piece of the puzzle for peak performance.

• HEART HEALTH.

  Good quality sleep has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. A major risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure and getting quality sleep has been shown to help the body regulate blood pressure.

• BETTER SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ADAPTABILITY.

  Researchers believe that poor sleep affects your ability to recognize important social cues and process emotional information. For example, one study in the Journal of Sleep Research looked at people’s responses to emotional stimuli. The researchers concluded, similarly to many earlier studies, that a person’s emotional empathy is less when they do not get adequate sleep.

• REDUCED INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY. 

  Sleep loss is known to activate undesirable markers of inflammation and cell damage. Researchers are even recommending sleep evaluation to help predict outcomes in individuals with long-term inflammatory issues. 
  

TIPS FOR ACHIEVING QUALITY SLEEP

1. Get ADJUSTED regularly - improving and maintaining spinal function not only helps with back pain and neck pain, it allows you to sleep comfortably and improves the connection from your brain to your body.

2. Ensure you are getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night – this is the recommended number of hours to sleep, although there may be some variance.

3. Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A relaxing routine activity right before bedtime conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety. Try some stretching or meditation. 

4. Exercise daily. This doesn't mean you need to run a marathon, 20-30min of moderate exercise a day either in the morning or afternoon (not evening) is great for improving quality of sleep.

5. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and heavy meals in the evening. If you are still hungry after dinner a snack at least 45min before bed is okay. 

6. Avoid the use of electronic devices an hour before bed. Use this time to wind down by doing a calming activity such as reading. 

7. Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning. This will keep your circadian rhythms in check.

8. Assess the quality of your mattress and pillow. Are they helping you to sleep? If not, it may be time for a change.