If you’ve ever missed out on a good night of sleep, you know it can make you pretty miserable and downright cranky.
But what about those who suffer from prolonged sleep challenges? While you may be used to getting poor sleep, you may not realize the significant impact it has on your daily mood and your overall health.
Connection Between Sleep and Brain Function
When you are running on minimal or poor sleep, you might notice it’s harder to concentrate, your response time is slower, and you may even forget things. That’s because there is a strong connection between your sleep and your cognitive function.
Sleep can impact how the neurons in your brain communicate with each other. If you aren’t getting enough high-quality sleep, there can be disruption in communication.
There can also be a disruption in other important functions such as forming memories, learning new skills, and decision-making.
How Bad Sleep Can Impact More Than Just Mood
While one bad night of sleep can make you crabby, many bad nights can spark a wide range of negative emotions that can affect your work, personal, and social life. This can affect your relationships and ability to navigate social situations appropriately [1].
Sleep deprivation can impact your ability to focus and stay alert. This can interfere with your safety and the safety of others when doing things like operating heavy machinery or driving a vehicle whether it’s for work or to drop the kids off at school.
Lack of proper sleep puts extra stress on the body, both mentally and physically. This can lead to increased stress that’s harder to cope with and may further lead to challenges in health such as increased susceptibility to weight issues and mental health issues such as the development of anxiety or depression disorders [2].
How to Improve Sleep
If you struggle with sleep, there are a few things to consider that can make a significant difference in your sleep quality and quantity.
For consistent, quality sleep, it’s essential to have a nightly routine that includes a period of winding down and a consistent bedtime. Your body likes routine and getting used to going to sleep at the same time every night helps to prepare your body for when to expect rest.
Keep in mind that your wind-down routine will also play a significant role in your success with this. Be sure that this includes something relaxing but not overly stimulating.
Avoid the use of blue light screens from TVs, computers, or smartphones at least 1 hour before your expected bedtime as studies have found this can harm our ability to sleep [3].
Avoid consuming large meals, high-fat or sugary foods, alcohol, or caffeinated beverages close to bedtime. It’s also helpful to decrease your intake of fluids a few hours before you plan to go to bed to avoid frequent wakings as a result of restroom visits.
Choose a wind-down routine that includes something relaxing such as reading a book, taking a bath, listening to music or a podcast, journaling, going for a light walk, etc.
High-quality sleep caters to your circadian rhythm. This is your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle that is strongly associated with daylight.
If possible, try to set a bedtime when it’s dark (or keep your room dark with the use of blackout curtains) and wake time for when the sun comes up (leaving curtains open if possible for exposure to daylight or using a daylight lamp.
Get in movement throughout the day if you can. Formal exercise can have a positive impact on sleep quality and quantity. Just be sure to avoid high-intensity exercise right before bed or this may have the opposite effect [4].
You can also try a supplement with adaptogens to promote calmness and restful sleep, like the green superfood powder from Naked Nutrition.
Benefits of Good Sleep
There are many benefits to getting good nightly rest that include, but are not limited to:
- Helping you maintain a healthy weight.
- Improving your immune system to better fight off illness.
- Keeping your mood balanced.
- Improving your mental performance and focus.
- Reducing your risk for chronic health conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
- Increasing your reaction time, making you safer when behind the wheel [5].
Despite all the benefits we know high-quality sleep can provide, it’s still very easy to skip out on sleep when we get busy, overwhelmed, or have a lot going on. Sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes it’s out of our control.
Remember to keep consistent with your routine and always prioritize time for adequate rest so you can show up daily as the best version of yourself.
