When was the last time you got enough sleep? Only honestly! If you lift yourself out of bed week after week with the feeling that you haven’t slept at all, and your eyes open only after the fifth cup of coffee, then we have not the most pleasant news for you. Star coach Rachel Attard told us what happens to our body if we don’t get enough sleep all the time.
Risk 1. Weakening of immunity
The body catches sore after sore, you don’t have time to really recover from a cold, as herpes or some other unpleasant infection comes out.
In a dream, our immune system produces antibodies that are designed to protect our body. And if there is not enough sleep, then there is no immunity. Infections will stick more and more often, and recovery will take longer and longer.
Risk 2. The likelihood of developing chronic diseases
Constant sluggish inflammatory processes in the body sooner or later provoke the development of more severe diseases. According to some studies, constant lack of sleep increases the risk of developing diabetes or even cancer.
Risk 3. Weight gain
Hormones regulating hunger are produced at night. The better the sleep, the less the stress hormone cortisol in the body. When the balance of these hormones is disturbed, it is difficult for the body to understand whether it is full or hungry. Most often, the decision is, of course, in favor of the latter.
You probably noticed that after a sleepless night you constantly want to chew something. And if this happens regularly, the weight grows by leaps and bounds.
Risk 4. Skin problems
Due to lack of sleep, we are especially drawn to junk food: something sweet, fatty. Buns and sweets, cakes and fast food just ask for themselves in the mouth. This craving is almost impossible to control. And excess sugar and fat leads to skin problems: pimples, acne appear. In addition, the hair begins to get dirty faster. And sugar also provokes accelerated skin aging.
Risk 5. Depression and anxiety
When we get tired, we become irritable, sometimes even aggressive. There is no question of a good mood: it improves briefly after you eat a candy, for example. Constant lack of sleep is fraught with depression, constant anxiety, difficulties with concentration, inability to concentrate. Hence the problems at work and in the family.
Experts advise adults to sleep from seven to nine hours. And if you can’t relax before going to bed, here are a few ways to do it.
1. «Turn on» the coolness
Experts say that one of the factors that often leads to poor sleep is the relatively high temperature in the bedroom. You can toss and turn and count sheep as much as you want, but you will hardly fall asleep in the heat, and the quality of sleep will leave much to be desired. There are many ways to deal with this — from buying a mobile or conventional air conditioner to just opening the window if it’s cool outside. It’s better to take a warmer blanket than to fall asleep in the heat.
2. Do not snack before going to bed
Doctors say that you need to have dinner early in the evening, and not only to lose weight, but also so that heartburn does not prevent you from sleeping at night. «Falling asleep on a full stomach can affect your sleep. It is always better to try to eat as early as possible so that the contents of your stomach have time to move into the small intestine,» says the expert.
3. Put the phone away
And it’s not just that you may be woken up by a call or notification, or you will «stick» on social networks. According to sleep medicine research, the blue light of digital devices directly affects the body’s production of the sleep hormone, melatonin. It can disrupt the circadian rhythm of the body, which is our natural «biological clock».
4. Don’t sit in semi-darkness all day
«Lack of sunlight during the day can lead to problems such as seasonal affective disorder and hypersomnia. Morning and daylight are directly related to a good night’s sleep. Back in 2017, researchers found that people who were exposed to more light in the morning, from 8 a.m. to noon, fell asleep faster at night and had fewer sleep disturbances compared to those who spent the whole day in a poorly lit room or under artificial light,» the expert says.
5. Do not exercise before going to bed
If you think that after an intense workout you will fall asleep faster, then this is not so. It has been proven that physical exercises before going to bed increase body temperature and stimulate the nervous system, which can lead to sleep disorders.
«If you exercise, it is recommended to do it at least two hours before bedtime, so that you have enough time for your body to relax and return to normal levels,» the coach warns.
