Are you sleeping 8 hours a night? Are you getting an hour or more of deep sleep and a lot of good REM (the dream state) sleep?
If not, you're performing lower than your optimal level and you’re probably not even aware of it.
So many of us are sleep deprived and operating at sub-par performance we don’t even realize how much better we could be! Our sleep deprived state becomes our new normal and we have no idea how it’s affecting our health.
Here are ten facts about what goes wrong when we don’t get enough sleep. Not enough sleep is defined as less than an 8 hour opportunity for sleep per night.
- Concentration and ability to focus declines precipitously ..up to and over 400% decline.
- When you’re sleep deprived you don’t know you're sleep deprived. (You’re like the person who’s had a few drinks and thinks they’re okay to drive.)
- “After being awake for 19 hours, people who were sleep deprived were as cognitively impaired as those who are legally drunk.”
- More than 250,000 people every day will fall asleep while driving, contributing to the 1.2 million accidents caused by sleepiness each year. There are more accidents caused by drowsy driving than by alcohol and drugs combined!
- Lack of sleep contributes to inappropriate emotional reactions and the inability to place events into a broader context. You're more likely to snap and lose your temper if you haven’t slept well, even for only one night.
- If you’re tired you’re also more forgetful. Not getting enough sleep doesn’t allow your brain to process memories as well so your short term memory is affected.
- Not getting enough sleep doesn’t allow time for your brain to clear debris at night. That debris is one of the leading causes of the plaques that lead to Alzheimer’s Disease.
- Unhealthy sleep=unhealthy heart.
- Sleep loss leads to diabetes and weight gain.
- Sleep loss leads to an impaired immune system.
With all this information, those of you who are sleep deprived will most likely deny that the facts above apply to you!
But, the facts are the facts and they’re based on years of research on sleep. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, and you think you’re doing okay, imagine how amazing you would be if you DID get enough sleep regularly!
If life isn’t letting you sleep, you may need some additional help. That is why we’re here. Acupuncture and massage have both been shown to be effective at helping people sleep better and longer. Don’t spend another sleepless night and grumpy day!
Call us today at 910.262.1122 and let us help you get the sleep of your dreams.
The facts above come from the book, “Why We Sleep”, by Matthew Walker PhD