Bills, childcare, hectic schedule, phone calls to make, text to return – life can be challenging, even on a good day! If you are like most people and trying to meet the demands of our overscheduled lifestyles, you might skip a few hours of sleep. No one is thinking that loss of an extra hour or two of sleep could be harmful. WRONG! Losing even a minimum amount of sleep reduces energy, alters mood, and diminishes our ability to handle stress.
Just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimum health and happiness, so is sleep. Sleep is very much like eating. When you are hungry, you eat. When you are tired, you sleep. By eating, you are relieving hunger. By sleeping, you are relieving fatigue, as well as restoring optimal brain function. Equally important is the quality of your sleep. Interrupted sleep does not facilitate restorative sleep. Understanding the importance of sleep and why you need proper rest to maintain your lifestyle is the first step in adopting, maintaining, and prioritizing a healthy sleep schedule necessary to protect your overall health and well-being.
The lack of quality, restorative sleep directly affects your life in a number of critical areas. How many of these statements do you say?
While these examples might seem extreme to some of us and only apparent if you lose a full night’s sleep, the same problems can occur over time if you only sleep only a few hours a night, leading to sleep deprivation. As the number of hours of sleep decrease, the more your symptoms will increase and impact your daily life. Over time a lack of sleep can actually be fatal! For you sports fans, remember Reggie White? He died as a result of undiagnosed, obstructive sleep apnea.
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