Why Is Sleep So Important?

Hi, and welcome back to our latest blog, where today, we will be talking about sleep, what happens to your body while you’re asleep, why it is so important and what steps you can take to improve the quality of your sleeping patterns.

If you would prefer to listen to this blog, it is available in our BlogCast on the Pocket Power App.

We often hear people tell us that your health will suffer if you don’t get a good nights sleep, but we don’t often hear the reasons why this is the case. We all know that sleep deprivation feels horrible and brings with it moodiness, brain fog, muscle aches and even hunger and weight gain. But how does the lack of sleep bring on such symptoms?

So, let’s first look at the recovery process that takes place while we sleep, to better understand the importance of sleep and its role in physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing. The quality of your sleep will be affected by such things as not enough hours asleep because you are either going to sleep too late, waking up before you are ready, or waking up during the night giving you a broken sleep.

Either of these sleep disturbances can be caused by worry, stress, anxiety, depression, diet or a lack of physical exertion. In many cases, where any one of these aspects are present, will normally bring on the presence of others, meaning you will generally have more than one contributor that is preventing you from getting a healthy amount of sleep.

Your body is very busy while you’re sleeping, undertaking many vital functions that are necessary for a healthy body and a healthy mind. As you cycle through the various levels of sleep, your body is repairing, rebalancing, restoring and regulating, meaning to miss any part of this process can be far more damaging than most realise it to be, with its effects causing harm mentally, physiologically and physically.

For example, did you know that sleep is important for your physical health because of the cellular repair and regulation of your immune function? Sleep is essential for the body’s repair processes, including muscle growth, tissue repair and protein synthesis. It also strengthens the immune system, helping to fight infections and reduce inflammation.

Your metabolism and weight management is also greatly affected with quality sleep regulating hormones that control hunger and appetite, such as leptin and ghrelin. Poor sleep can lead to weight gain and increased risk of metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity.

Your Mental health depends on adequate sleep, as it helps regulate emotions and improves mood stability. Sleep deprivation is linked to increased irritability, stress and a higher risk of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Sleep also enhances cognitive processes, including memory consolidation, learning, problem-solving and decision-making. Poor sleep impairs these functions, leading to a reduction in concentration, attention and productivity.

Your overall wellbeing is also affected by the amount of sleep you get, as your energy levels and daytime functioning also depends on you getting sufficient sleep to boost your energy levels and overall vitality, which will improve your daily performance and reduce fatigue. Sleep literally enhances your physical performance and your recovery.

Your hormonal balance will be determined by sleep as it regulates the release of various hormones, including those involved in stress responses and reproductive health. Disrupted sleep can lead to hormonal imbalances, which affect your overall health and wellbeing.

There are various stages of sleep and each stage has a specific function. These stages cycle throughout the night, with each cycle, if left uninterrupted, lasting about 90 minutes. To understand the cycles and their functions is to understand the importance of achieving a full night of sleep for overall health and wellbeing.

Stage one, this is a light sleep. This is a non-rapid eye movement and is the transition phase. This is the lightest stage of sleep, acting as a transition between wakefulness and deeper sleep stages and typically lasts a few minutes. During this stage, muscle activity slows down and your body begins to relax. Brain wave activity starts to slow, moving from wakeful patterns, these are the ‘alpha waves’ to more synchronised patterns, these are the ‘theta waves’.

Stage 2, also a light Sleep and with non-rapid eye movement. This is when your body will experience increased relaxation. This stage is characterised by further slowing of your heart rate and breathing and a drop in body temperature. This stage prepares your body for deep sleep, with sleep spindles and k-complexes. These are unique brain wave patterns that help protect you from waking, and also play a role in memory consolidation.

Stage 3, this is where you enter a deep sleep. Although now in a deep sleep, this stage remains non-rapid eye movement. This is where your physical restoration starts to happen, and is the start of your deepest and most restorative stages of sleep, often referred to as slow-wave sleep, or delta sleep due to the presence of slow delta waves. This stage of sleep is crucial for your physical repair and growth. It is also crucial for your immune function and recovery. Deep sleep supports immune function, tissue growth and repair, and the release of growth hormone, making it essential for physical recovery and health.

Stage 4, is a further step into deep sleep and remains non-rapid eye movement. Your body will experience a continuation of physical restoration throughout this deepest level of sleep. This stage is where delta wave activity is at its peak. This stage also contributes to memory consolidation, particularly declarative memory, involving facts and information.

And finally, stage 5. This is rapid-eye movement sleep (REM). REM sleep is characterised by rapid eye movements, increased brain activity and vivid dreaming. Brain waves during REM sleep are similar to those during wakefulness, indicating high brain activity. It is at this stage your body will start its cognitive and emotional processing. REM sleep is crucial for cognitive functions such as memory consolidation, learning and problem-solving. It also plays a significant role in emotional regulation and processing, helping to balance mood and stress levels

Now that we have talked about the stages of sleep and the functions of each stage, you can hopefully see how important it is to identify any sleep disruptors that are preventing you from benefiting from the full cycle of sleep.

So with that in mind, let’s now look at what factors can disrupt sleep so that you can determine what adjustments you can make and what habits can be formed to help you to improve your sleep quality and overall wellbeing.

The first one, and one I think a lot of people can contribute lack of sleep to, is stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety increases the production of cortisol, which is a hormone that can keep your body in a state of alertness. If your body is stuck in this state of alertness, it will make it rather difficult to relax and unwind enough to fall and stay asleep. This is because the heightened state of arousal interferes with the ability to relax and transition into sleep and often leads to insomnia.

One factor that is often overlooked, is diet and your eating habits. If you are eating a diet of processed foods, consuming large meals or drinking caffeine or alcohol close to bedtime your sleep patterns are very likely going to be disrupted. This is because processed foods and heavy meals are hard to digest and can cause discomfort, while caffeine is a stimulant that can delay sleep onset. Alcohol, though initially sedating, can disrupt sleep later in the night as it’s metabolised and therefore any number of these factors can be preventing you from falling asleep and from staying asleep.

And then there is the one thing that no-one wants to admit to. The time you spend looking at a screen before going to bed could be the one thing that is preventing you from achieving a restorative nights sleep. It feels normal enough and you may have convinced yourself that this is how you relax, but using electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers before bed can interfere with your sleep. This is because the blue light emitted by screens inhibits the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycles, making it harder to fall asleep.

Having an irregular sleep schedule could also disrupt the quality of your sleep. Going to bed and waking up at different times each day can disrupt your circadian rhythm. This is your body’s internal clock. The lack of a consistent schedule confuses your circadian rhythm, leading to difficulties in falling asleep and maintaining sleep consistency.

It is also a good idea to consider your environmental factors, such as noisy environments, uncomfortable temperatures and excessive light, as these can all interfere with your sleep. Your sleep environment plays a critical role in your ability to fall and stay asleep. Noise and light can be disruptive, while uncomfortable temperatures can cause restlessness.

If you are experiencing any physical discomfort, your sleep is almost certainly going to be disrupted. Conditions such as chronic pain or illness, restless legs syndrome and even things like uncomfortable bedding can prevent restful sleep. Physical discomfort causes frequent awakenings and difficulty falling asleep, which reduces your overall sleep quality.

Certain medications and medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, snoring or acid reflux, can interfere with your sleep and to further perpetuate this, some medications have side effects that include insomnia or disrupted sleep patterns.

And if this list isn’t already long enough, it is also important to consider your lifestyle factors. A lack of physical activity or excessive napping during the day can and almost certainly will disrupt your night-time sleep. Regular physical activity promotes better sleep, while a sedentary lifestyle can lead to restlessness and napping, especially late in the day, can reduce sleep pressure, making it harder to fall asleep at night.

Okay, so it’s all very well knowing this stuff, but what can you do to improve any of these factors? Let’s move on to explore what strategies you can implement to improve your sleep quality.

Start by establishing a consistent bedtime routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Set a regular bedtime that allows for seven to nine hours of sleep and stick to it. Create a pre-sleep routine that includes relaxing activities like reading, taking a warm bath, or listening to calming music.

Create a restful sleep environment. Your bedroom should be a place of calm. It is your own break-out area, somewhere for you to just stop and be. Make your bedroom conducive to sleep by optimising comfort and reducing disturbances. You can use blackout curtains to keep the room dark, maintain a cool temperature, around sixty to sixty seven degrees Fahrenheit, or fifteen to seventeen degrees Celsius and invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows. You can minimise noise with earplugs or a white noise machine if necessary. Create a space that you enjoy being in.

Regulate your exposure to light to support your natural sleep-wake cycle. You can do this by getting plenty of natural light during the day, especially in the morning. In the evening, dim your lights and avoid bright screens. Consider using blue light filters on devices or consider wearing blue light-blocking glasses.

Okay, I’m going to say it, limit screen time before bed. Removing screen time before bed isn’t just about the brightness of the screen. The images and content that you are consuming will likely be keeping you alert and preventing you from winding down ready for sleep. The light from the screens won’t be helping with this either and therefore it is a good idea for you to reduce the use of electronic devices that emit blue light at least an hour before bedtime.

Set a specific time to turn off screens each night and replace screen time with relaxing activities such as reading a book, doing gentle stretches, or practising mindfulness meditation. As a little caveat to this however, If you do read a book, choose reading material that is less likely to promote too much thought activation and is not going to stir up emotions that will keep you from sleeping.

Avoid eating and drinking before bed and try to limit the amount of processed food you eat. Aim to finish eating large meals and limit fluid intake at least 3 hours before your bedtime. You can do this by planning your day so that you have finished your last meal of the day 3 hours before you plan on going to bed. Reduce fluid intake in the evening to minimise night-time trips to the bathroom.

Try some relaxation techniques that will promote feelings of calm and help to reduce stress before going to bed. You can incorporate relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation or meditation into your nightly routine. Gentle stretching or yoga can also help relax the body and mind, making it easier to fall asleep. Even if you have never done yoga before or don’t consider yourself to be flexible enough, there are some wonderful stretches that you can do, on your bed, that will help to relax and calm your sympathetic nervous system, helping you to feel more ready for sleep.

This next one is easy to say, not so easy to do. Avoid stressful thoughts before bed. Avoid thinking about work or anything that causes stress, anxiety or worry close to bedtime. Consciously unwind by choosing relaxing activities such as listening to calming music, reading a light book, practising mindfulness or meditation, or doing gentle stretches as we have just spoken about. Any of these activities will help to silence your thoughts which will help to calm you.

If you have anything in particular causing you stress or worry, set aside a specific time earlier in the evening to address your concerns. If you have a perpetual loop of thoughts, write them down so that you can release them from your head, enabling you to let them go for the evening. Remind yourself that you can’t solve problems during the night and that you’ll be better equipped to handle them after a good night’s sleep.

Sounds easy doesn’t it? But as we know, creating a change and forming new habits are far from easy. So, with that in mind, it would be a great idea to consider creating a sleep plan. As with anything new, it is really very helpful to have a plan in place to follow and creating your own personalised sleeping plan can help you to identify your sleep disruptors and take actionable steps to remove them.

We have created a step by step guide to creating your own sleep plan, which you will find within this audible BlogCast on the Pocket Power App.

If you haven’t already got the Pocket Power App, you can download it from the App Store or Google Play.

Don’t underestimate the power of sleep and remember that some simple adjustments can have a profound impact on your entire wellbeing. Just by improving the quality of your sleep you can expect enhanced cognitive function with more focus, Improved memory consolidation, faster reaction times, not to mention increased productivity and improved mental clarity.

You will experience improved moods and emotional wellbeing with emotional stability and resilience, reduced feelings of irritability, mood swings and stress and a reduction in feelings of anxiety and depression. You will develop a more positive outlook on life with improved emotional regulation.

Still not convinced? Maybe your enhanced physical performance will be enough to prompt you into a more restful nights sleep as you feel the difference in your physical recovery and muscle repair, while your heightened energy restoration improves your athletic performance with increased stamina.

And just in case that wasn’t enough, let’s not overlook your strengthened immune system that will be developed as your adequate sleep boosts your immune system, increasing resistance to infections and illnesses, reducing susceptibility to common ailments and promoting faster recovery from illness.

Moving further down our list of benefits, but certainly not losing importance with each category, we move on to better weight management. Yes, that’s right, sleeping well will literally help you to manage your weight and your waistline. You see, improved sleep quality regulates your hormones that control appetite and metabolism, which reduces cravings for unhealthy foods, promoting a balanced weight management. This also contributes to better overall metabolic health and reduces the risk of obesity-related conditions.

And finally, our last point, but certainly not least, it is worth knowing that quality sleep is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

Quite simply put, by improving your sleep quality, you can improve your long-term health physically, physiologically and mentally.

I hope this helps you to achieve a restful sleep routine. If you have anything to add to this, or if you have found anything here to be particularly helpful, we would love to hear your thoughts and celebrate your achievements over at the Pocket Power Community Group.

Sweet dreams.