When we decide that we want to be healthier, we often focus on eating better food and incorporating exercise into our lifestyles, which is great, but one critical factor that we often overlook is the importance of sleep.
It is believed that we need around eight hours sleep per night to function optimally. Some individuals can function on just six hours, while others need closer to ten. It might be surprising to learn that around one in five people suffer from sleep deprivation, which can result in tiredness, poor health, and even weight gain.
Our body needs enough quality sleep so that it can repair and rejuvenate from both mental and physical exertion, but sleep is also needed to regulate and release hormones, such as melatonin, which is a powerful antioxidant needed for our immune system to fight infection and protect against disease.
When we don’t get enough sleep, we are at an increased risk of illness, such as catching a cold or flu, but we can also suffer from a lack of concentration, low mood, and reduced alertness, which overall can have an impact on our work performance, our home life, and our mental health.
If those aren’t enough reasons to ensure you are getting at least eight hours of good quality sleep per night, did you know that lack of sleep can have a significant impact on your weight?
It has been scientifically proven that people who sleep for shorter durations tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep, with a lack of sleep being one of the strongest risk factors for obesity.
A lack of sleep tends to mean we have less energy to use during the day, which reduces the amount of physical activity we can do, and it can also result in imbalanced hormones, with studies showing that sleep deprivation can increase your appetite and slow down your metabolism.
When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, there are three critically important factors that are equally as important as each other – good nutrition from a healthy and balanced diet, participating in an adequate quantity and intensity of exercise or physical activity, and ensuring that you are getting enough good quality sleep.