Health Advice: Ready, Set….SNOOZE!

Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes much further beyond the mood-boosting and banishment of the ever-pesky under eye circles.

Adequate sleep plays a crucial role in the concert of other health factors that help create a healthy lifestyle. Quality sleep benefits your heart, weight, psychological affects, and much much more.

Though sleeping well was once only an afterthought— like parking your car in a garage and picking it up in the morning— there has been a wealth of research that has discovered that there are a multitude of health benefits associated with having a good night’s sleep.

Sleep...What Is It Good For?

Sleeping well has benefits that affect every part of a human’s life. From improving memory through consolidation, to reducing inflammation throughout your body, the importance of quality sleep cannot be understated. In addition to tangible benefits, like inflammation reduction, there are also non-physical qualities that are vastly improved too. Creativity, for example, is a trait that improves after a restful night of sleep.

Researchers at Harvard University found that people seem to strengthen emotional components of a memory during sleep, which fuels the creative process when we wake.

Wouldn’t you love to paint a little bit more like Bob Ross, making “happy little accidents” along the way? The best and brightest at Harvard say all it takes is a good night’s sleep, and you can!

Go On…

Furthermore, if you’re an athlete, there may be one very simple and effective way to improve your all-around performance, regardless of the sport you play: you guessed it, it’s sleep.

A Stanford University study found that college football players who tried to maintain quality sleep for at least 10 hours a night for seven to eight weeks improved their average sprint time and experienced less tiredness and fatigue during the day— leading to more stamina.

Then Stanford researchers did the study again, this time with swimmers.

Same improvements.

Then Stanford researchers did the study again, this time with tennis players.

Their findings reflected the improvements of the previous two studies.

Coincidence? Stanford University says, “Sleep on it.”

Sleep Like A Pro

Most adults need an average of 7 hours of sleep each night to maintain a healthy and hale lifestyle that yields positive outcomes on a day to day basis.  When the average number starts to dip below the lucky number 7, negativity and bad vibes start eroding the foundation of the certified awesome person that you are. How do we combat this constant siege on our creative, critical thinking, and discerning selves?

Here are a few allies we can team with as we fight the life-long good fight for good sleep.

Feng Shui

Fang what?! The chinese term that literally translates to “wind water” relates to the idea that a bedroom should be a peaceful and balanced environment that promotes a better night’s rest. This fancy way of saying “sleep promoting space” suggests that everything from your mattress, to your sleepwear ought to promote balance and comfort in the environment where you rest.

Routine

Like a peaceful environment, your brain recognizes and tries to support you when you have balance in your behavior. Consistent patterns before bed, going to bed at a regular bedtime (especially on weekdays) and waking up at the same time all promote better sleep.

Relax

A relaxing routine activity right before bedtime helps your brain recognize the separation between sleep time and activities that cause it to ramp up into stress mode. Basically, reduce your stress to sleep better.

Implement these simple steps to find yourself snoozing in no time at all.