Are You Lacking Quality Sleep?

Being sleep deprived, negatively affects our health in a number of ways

. The more obvious physiological and behavioural effects that sleep deprivation has, include choosing high sugar, high energy and caffeine fuelled snacks throughout the day (especially in the afternoon) in an attempt to boost our depleted energy levels.

Skipping your scheduled training session and opting for take away because of being too tired to cook a healthy meal are all very familiar to the night owls amongst us. However, a number of studies have also suggested that a lack of sleep subtly affects our hormonal balance, which not only influences our mood, it also increases our appetite hormone (ghrelin) and suppresses the hormone which tells us when we are full (leptin). Our stress hormone levels, such as cortisol are also likely to be raised and this has been shown to lead to greater fat storage around the abdomen.

So even if were managing to get through the day thanks to energy-boosters, such as coffee, energy drinks, chocolates and lollies, unfortunately in the long term it can lead to more problems. It puts us at a higher risk of cardiovascular problems, increased risk of high blood pressure, and slows our metabolism making weight management more difficult. Lack of sleep can also compromise our immune system, and increasing our susceptiblity to both chronic and acute disease.

Most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night, so if youre constantly falling short of this amount, or often struggle to fall asleep, it may be worth trying a few of the following tips:

1.Having a glass of warm milk (this can actually help!). Carbohydrates can help you sleep by boosting the production of sleep inducing hormones.

2.Turn off all screens including the TV, ipads, laptops etc at least an hour before you go to bed. The flickering light of these devices lowers levels of melatonin, a key hormone in the awake-sleep cycle.

3.Ideally, taking the TV out of the bedroom altogether and ensuring there are no blinking lights, including your phone on the bedside table may help as these things can interrupt your sleep.

4.Reading a non-work related book before turning off the lights.

5.Taking a warm bath to relax.

6.Keeping the lights soft/dim.

7.A dark, cool, quiet room is optimal for sleep. So if you have a partner that snores encourage them to see their doctor as snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea.

Check out http://www.pivotalmotion.com.au/ for complete information!

by: Bobbie Jo Strong

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