“To get in shape and to lose weight, get some sleep”. Are you tired of hearing this sentence?
Yes, we all know about the term “beauty sleep”. But apart from increasing beauty, good sleep gives multiple benefits including healthier brain, increased productivity, improved immunity, improved mood & concentration, better digestion etc. It also reduces risk for diabetes, heart disease and depression.
After looking at benefits of sleep, one would not compromise in sleeping hours. But irony is there are few people who have different viewpoint when it comes to sleep. Let’s talk about different views of people about getting a good sleep.
The first kind thoroughly believes in “you snooze, you lose”. They are the one who believes in hard work and to make optimum use of their time by focusing on making career first especially in their initial years of career. The idea behind is to make most out of physical strength and energy by putting more work which is right in a way. But here it is equally important to understand, sleep affects brain directly. A study by Nedergaard lab, University of Rochester Medical Center, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a good night’s rest may literally clear the mind. Researchers showed that during sleep hours, brain is able to flush out toxins which are built up during daytime. This suggests, prominent role of sleep with respect to health and diseases. So, in a way sleep is crucial for maintaining brain health.
Now, when we know sleeping hours affect brain directly; isn’t it wiser to focus on improving brain health to make your career and stop cutting time from sleeping hours?
Another class of people have their viewpoint on working for 16- 18 hours on weekdays, cutting their sleeping hours and making up for sleep debt over weekend by sleeping for more hours. Sleep debt means sleeping for less number of hours than actual requirement of your body. And here we are talking about making up for sleep debt. Now the question pops up, is it even possible to count number of hours of sleep debt accurately and make up for it? It’s indeed difficult. According to one study in 2016, one hour of lost sleep will take 4 days to recover fully from one hour of lost sleep.
Isn’t is best to not to increase sleep debt?
There is one interesting class who believes in “rewarding after hard work”. For them, night or weekends are for parties, to have fun with friends/ socializing, or to get “me time watching tv”. This is called “sleep procrastination” especially for people who work hard throughout the day and cannot take time for themselves. Sleeping hours doesn’t matter to them. All they want is to unwind, relax and get ready for next day. Housewives, women whose babies are less than 6 months old also fall in this category. This is purely done by choice so no one can do anything here.
But when body starts showing symptoms eg, lack of energy, fatigue, disturbed menstrual cycle, deteriorated skin and hair quality, bad mood, depression, less productivity, lack of concentration, frequent migraine attacks etc. one should pause and think about correcting their sleeping pattern.
Apart from these, there are people who have sleep issues. They genuinely wish to sleep but simply unable to switch off their super active brain. Interestingly all ideas/thoughts start pouring when they lie down on bed. Few tips for them to combat with this issue.
- Be careful of your caffeine intake. Stop consuming tea/coffee after 4pm.
- Stick to your sleeping routine. Take shower with warm water. Change into lose and comfortable cotton cloths. Room should be dark and set temperature as per your comfort zone. Avoid using mobile and watching tv at least one hour before your bed time. Reading also helps few in falling asleep.
- Experiment with breathing exercises. There are various types of breathing exercises eg. alternate nostril breathing, box breathing, diaphragmatic breathing etc. Slow and deep breathing helps calming down mind and relaxing body. Set your breathing exercise routine to set your sleeping pattern.
- Consume magnesium rich food which includes nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, pulses, yogurt and fish.
- After consulting your doctor, try magnesium supplements before starting sleeping pill.
Are you falling in any of these class of people? What is your story?
Share your thoughts with me…