How Less Sleep Equals More Sickness: Get Your 8 Hours!

“Sleep? I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

Well, actually, if you don’t get the proper amount of sleep, you may be dead sooner than you think!  The medical field is acknowledging just how important sleep is to our health.

Lack of sleep could be considered an epidemic in American society.  We almost pride ourselves in the fact that we can run ourselves ragged with little or no sleep. Our lack of sleep turned caffeine into a billion dollar industry. We just can’t function without that cup of coffee!

Health Effects of Lack of Sleep

Matthew Walker, in his excellent book Why We Sleep, points out some interested facts of how the lack of sleep effects our health:

• When we sleep, our body detoxes.
•  Lack of sleep will lead to an increased development of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
• If you sleep just four to five hours, there is a 70% reduction in natural killer cells. These are critical anticancer-fighting immune cells. Therefore, short sleep duration predicts your risk for developing numerous forms of cancer.
• Sleeping lowers your blood pressure. Getting only six hours of sleep or less, will increase your risk of having a fatal heart attack or stroke in your lifetime by 200%!
• After you’ve been awake for 19 or 20 hours, your mental capacity is as impaired as someone who was legally drunk behind the wheel of a car.
• When you wake, your brain starts producing brain pressure which prepares you for sleep by the end of the evening. Consuming caffeine at ANY part of the day sets back your brain pressure. Thus  making it difficult for you to go to sleep at a proper time.
• Sleep deprivation increases your levels of the hormone cortisol which increases your appetite, thus sabotaging your diet.

Here is actual footage of me when lack of sleep collides with a stressful day:

Kidding. I adore Stephen Colbert. And I suddenly want Oreos.

Freaking out yet? 

Until recently, I have been a walking zombie. I would get between 4-5 hours sleep at night, intermittently. The dog would wake me, or my baby or a kid had a nightmare, or my husband would snore. I’m a light sleeper so anything would wake me up!  And it showed!

“You look so tired!”

“You look so tired.” Something I heard a lot, because it was true. My husband was allergic to a new dog we brought into our home. It took us months to realize it, but as soon as we got rid of the dog his snoring decreased dramatically!  My son learned to sleep through the night. Now, I am actually able to get at least 6 hours of rest.

Rubbing Peace and Calming on my neck and shoulders before bed helps me relax and wind down. I also take ImmuPro, which contains a small amount of melatonin. Now if my husband could just find a job closer to home, we won’t have need for a ridiculous 4:30am alarm!

Good Night’s Sleep Guaranteed:

However. my favorite oil for sleep is Cedarwood. It is inexpensive and works! I rub it on the bottoms of my feet every night for a great night’s sleep.

Ways to get more & better sleep:

Set up a bedtime routine for your entire household. You ever lay down but your brain is still racing? Your body is tired but your brain is wide awake. In the evening, turn down the lights and put on your pjs. Turn on soft music and let your brain know it’s time to settle down.  Have the kids put on pjs and read a book with their lamp on. It will keep things calm and help get their brains ready for bed as well. Essential oils may help.

Stay away from screens! One guaranteed way to keep your brain (and You!) awake is by looking at a screen before bed. Checking your phone or watching a movie is one of the worst things you can do before bed. Grab a book instead. Stretch, meditate or praying are all better alternatives to wind down. Attempt to avoid screens at least one hour before bedtime.  However, the longer before bed you can avoid a screen, the better!

Kick caffeine out of your diet.  Caffeine is actually a drug. It is the most abused drug on the planet! Consuming it at any point during the day will effect your brain pressure, making it harder for you to sleep later.

Recognize caffeine in all of its forms: coffee, chocolate, sports drinks, even green teas and over the counter medicines. If you must consume caffeine, the earlier the better. Have that dark chocolate between breakfast and lunch. 

Needing a caffeine pick-me-up is a sign that you are not getting enough sleep. Get proper rest and that caffeine high will no longer be needed. When you do need some energy, look for foods or holistic ways to get it. Ningxia Red and the essential oil Valor from Young Living are my favorite alternatives to caffeine! Also, don’t underestimate a cold glass of water!

Use teas and oils to help your body relax– Chamomile tea will help you relax. Add some magnesium to your tea while you’re at it! See why magnesium is important in my post Vitamin C Packed Green Smoothie. Use essentials oils that signal your brain to calm down and relax your muscles. Cedarwood, Stress Away and Peace and Calm are some of my favorite oils for rest. 

Overall Health Promotes Better Rest

Of course, physical activity, eating a healthy diet and managing stress play roles in how well you rest at night. Learn more about those areas in my other posts below. Much of the information in this post is from  neuroscientist Matthew Parker’s Why We Sleep. I highly recommended it. Check it out and let me know what new things your learned! Rest well, friends! 

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