Why you need a good nights sleep

I don’t know about you but I really, and I mean really, need my sleep. If I don’t get enough I get grumpy.

How many hours of sleep do you get on average each night? For me it ranges between about 6-7 hours I guess. The recommended average is 8 hours but everyone is different.

For me there is never enough hours in the day. A busy day every day then evenings are taken up by helping the kids with homework, household chores and dinner along with a bit of work. As the kids have got older their bed times have got later encroaching on that tiny bit of the day that DH and I have to ourselves. If I want to watch something on catch up, learn  or make something or write for my blog, then it means I am stretching into my precious sleep time. But that’s enough about me.

So how important is sleep for our health and wellbeing? Let’s just say, it’s a wee bit more important than I realised. Get out those comfy PJ’s!

# Less than 7 hours of sleep each night can reduce or undo the benefits of dieting. 😱 How have I never come across this before? Hormone fluctuations (hello!), that make me eat all those things I really know that I shouldn’t, can be balanced by a good night’s sleep.

# Lack of sleep is often linked to depression and mental illness. A good night’s sleep allows the brain to rebalance hormones and chemicals. The results will be a happier and more relaxed you.

# A stressed out you will produce more of those nasty stress hormones, ‘cortisol’ and ‘adrenaline’. Guess what … a better nights sleep will mean that you are able to handle challenges easier with less of these nasty things floating around inside you.

# CONCENTRATION. As any mum out there will know, concentration can be a struggle at times with about a million and one things running through your head. A good night’s sleep will make you more alert (no you don’t need caffeine to be more alert!), give you more energy and, ta-dah, allow you to concentrate better.

# ‘Beauty sleep’ – it’s all true! It’s not just an old wives tale. That nasty hormone cortisol, that I just mentioned, comes into play when we’re over tired, we need it to help stay awake. But this nasty stuff can break down the things that make our skin look good and healthy resulting in wait for it … fine lines and wrinkles. Noooooooooo!

# A healthy diet is more achievable when you have plenty of sleep. When your brain is tired guess what it wants to eat? No wonder I have cravings for the things that I shouldn’t be having.

# People are 30% more likely to become obese if they sleep less than 6 hours a day compared to people who sleep between 7 and 9 hours. 

# Not enough sleep and you are less able to break down fatty tissues. Not only do YOU wake up feeling groggy, so do your fat cells.

Yikes … an early night for me tonight then.