REVIVE YOURSELF SHOP
The Importance Of Sleep (Updated)
"The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to.” …F. Scott Fitzgerald
The saying, “Early to bed, early to rise optimises our potential to be healthy, wealthy and wise” seems to have been increasingly ignored in the last half-century and especially in the last couple of decades.
And, in a world where everything needs to be done yesterday, sleep has become somewhat of an annoyance to employers and entrepreneurs alike.
Plus, we’ve all been there, burning the midnight oil watching reruns of TV shows we don’t even like for no reason what so ever, except wasting precious time we could be sleeping and therefore getting adequate recovery.
However, if you want optimal health and longevity, getting seven to eight hours of sleep is not a luxury, it is a requirement.
As I wrote last in my previous article, sleep is a miracle when it comes to health and healing.
Nothing can compare to it.
And today, I am going to discuss exactly what can happen when we don’t get enough sleep, as well as providing 13 tips that should mean you never struggle to sleep again.
But first of all, let me answer the question …
What is sleep?
Well, sleep is an important part of our body's daily routine. It is a chance for our body to undergo an important physiological and psychological repair processes.
However, if we are to be scientific, then sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems.”
Unfortunately, our modern lifestyles and often nutritionally poor diets mean that many people's bodies have become ill-equipped to provide them with the deep and regenerative sleep that they really need.
This leaves them unable to maintain a regular rhythm of the hormones that control their energy levels, mood and ability to stay lean and healthy.
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Well … not getting enough sleep can impact the body in many different ways.
It can lower your sex drive, weaken your immune system, cause thinking issues, and lead to skin problems and weight gain.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you may also increase your risk of certain cancers, diabetes, and even car accidents.
Let us go through these one by one …
1. You Gain Weight
Lack of sleep can cause you to pack on pounds.
One study examined the relationship between sleep and weight in 21,469 adults over the age of 20. The people who slept less than 5 hours each night over the course of the three-year study were more likely to gain weight and eventually become obese. Those who slept between 7 and 8 hours fared better on the scale.
This is because when we don’t get enough sleep our hormone levels are altered and our metabolism declines. Research has shown that after just one week of insufficient sleep, the body can no longer metabolise carbs efficiently. Blood sugar takes 40% longer to decrease after a high carb meal and insulin sensitivity decreases by 30%.
In addition, night-time cortisol values increase which impairs blood sugar regulation and may prevent a good night’s sleep. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is the hormone that prompts the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone, which is the primary hormone responsible for metabolic rate. TSH levels decline when we don’t get adequate sleep so we make less thyroid hormone and our metabolism slows down.
The combination of increased cortisol, decreased TSH and less sensitivity to insulin, makes us more prone to be in a catabolic state instead of anabolic i.e. instead of building lean body mass, we store fuel as fat, especially around the middle.
On top of the other hormonal changes, we do not make enough growth hormone when we don’t get adequate sleep which leads to weight gain.
2. Your Heart Health Suffers
Both short sleep duration (less than 5 hours per night) and long sleep durations (9 or more hours per night) have been shown to have a negative impact on heart health, according to an analysis published in the European Heart Journal.
In particular, your chances of developing coronary heart disease or having a stroke are greatly increased with less sleep.
3. Your risk of Cancer increases

Shortened sleep is associated with higher rates of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer, according to the AASM’s sleep statement.
Overnight shift workers may take the brunt of this burden. The good news is that both men and women who slept 7 or more hours per night had the best mortality rates in the group.
4. Your skin could suffer
If all of these health risks don’t convince you to get more sleep, do it for your looks.
In one study, a group of people between the ages of 30 and 50 was evaluated based on their sleep habits and the condition of their skin. The results revealed that those with too little sleep had more fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin colour, and marked looseness of the skin.
The poor sleepers were also more dissatisfied with their appearance than their well-rested counterparts.
5. Your risk of diabetes increases
Along with a bigger waistline, people who don’t get enough sleep (or who get too much) increase their risk of developing adult-onset diabetes.
Researchers examined 10 separate studies focused on sleep and diabetes. Their findings uncovered that 7 to 8 hours of rest is the optimal range to avoid insulin issues that could lead to diabetes.
6. Your libido diminishes
Not getting enough sleep could reduce your sex drive.
In one study, young men who lost sleep over a one-week period showed a decrease in testosterone levels. Sleeping 5 or fewer hours reduced sex hormone levels by as much as 10 to 15 percent.
The men also reported that their overall mood and vigour declined with each consecutive night of interrupted rest.
7. You can’t think straight
Even missing one night of sleep can lead to some major cognition (thinking) issues.
In a study published by Experimental Brain Research, a group of 18 men was given a task to complete. The first task was completed following a full night’s sleep. The next task was completed after skipping a night of sleep.
Brain functions including memory, decision-making, reasoning, and problem-solving worsened, along with reaction time and alertness.
8. You are more likely to forget things

Not only can missed sleep make you more forgetful, but there’s also a growing body of research indicating that sleep has an impact on learning and memory.
Researchers suggest that sleep is critical to the process of consolidating the things we learn in the brain. In other words, we need proper rest to lock in new information and commit it to memory.
9. You’re accident-prone
You’re three times more likely to be involved in a car accident if you get 6 or fewer hours of sleep each night, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
The most vulnerable people are shift workers, commercial drivers, business travelers, and anyone else working long or odd hours. Think twice before getting behind the wheel if you’re not sleeping enough.
Starting to see why sleep is so important?
I hope so because as you can see from there stats above, getting enough sleep isn’t just for vanity … It could save your life.
Next time you think about continuing that late-night TV marathon, take some time to consider the risk to your health.
Then, turn out the lights, switch off the electricity and enjoy your 7 to 8 hours of beauty — and health — rest.
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If you struggle to sleep at night, you are not alone.
Approximately 1 in 3 U British and American adults aren’t getting enough sleep, according to the Mental Health Foundation & American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
That’s over 30% of the UK and America that are struggling to sleep. When you add that to the lack of exercise, poor food eaten, exposure to EMF, etc, it’s no wonder we have an ever-rising chronic health issue.
So, what can you do to make sure that you don’t fall into that category anymore, and that you start to get the sleep your body needs.
Well, you are in luck, because below are my Top 13 tips for getting a good night’s sleep and waking refreshed
1. Maintain a regular schedule – go to bed and wake up at the same time 7 days/week. This will allow your body to better regulate the release of hormones that regulate your sleep/wake patterns. This may also help make you smarter.
2. Sleep at least 7 hours per night. This gives your body enough time to go through all the stages of both physical and psychological repair it needs.
3. Be asleep by 11 pm. This will help you maintain a regular circadian rhythm, by keeping you in line with the sun rising and setting.
4. Avoid caffeine in any form in the afternoon and evening. Caffeine has a half-life of around 6 hours. So that coffee you have at 3pm will still be keeping you awake at 9pm, and still affecting the quality of your sleep at 3am.
5. Exercise regularly – this has a profound impact on sleep habits by regulating stress hormones and endorphins. Limit late night exercise though, as it can stimulate cortisol (stress hormone) levels which will prevent you from getting to sleep.
6. Turn your room into a bat cave. Literally. Keeping the sleeping room dark will preserve melatonin (sleep hormone) production which will help you get to a deeper sleep quicker. So no TV, no bright alarm clocks, and no one is allowed to turn on a light to go to the bathroom or get a drink – this means you or any other family member.
7. Create a relaxing sleep area that is dark, quiet, and free of clutter.
8. Avoid sleeping in strong electromagnetic fields. For example, no TV, keep electronic alarm clocks at least 3 feet from your head, avoid electric blankets, keep away from WiFi equipment and mobile phones – and if possible turn them ALL off.
9. Take a hot bath 1 hour before bed to help lower your core temperature so that your body prepares for sleep. Also, make sure that you are not too hot in bed, if anything aim to keep cooler than usual.
10. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption especially right before bed. Alcohol and many other drugs prevent us from achieving quality sleep which means we will not be rested by morning. Be careful also of any desserts that may contain either alcohol or caffeine.
11. Buy some blue light blocking glasses and wear them when the sun goes down. Blue light at night - especially artificial blue light - has been shown to negatively impact the body in many ways because of its ability to impair mitochondria and hormone function. This impairment has been linked to many diseases including cancer. (For the best blue light blocking glasses on the market head to BluBlox.com - if you put in the code REVIVE you’ll get 10% off.)
12. Switch your iPhone screen to red after dark. Another way to lessen the impact of artificial blue light at night is to make sure your phone screen isn’t shining bright blue light into your eyes and on to your skin. If you head to Youtube you will be able to find a video of how to turn your screen red at night, therefore mitigating the impact of using your phone after dark.
13. Clear your mind. One thing that is often not talked about when it comes to getting a good night's sleep is a racing mind. When thoughts are constantly racing away in your mind it can be very difficult to relax enough to drift off. One of the things you can do to remove the problem is to journal out whatever is going through your mind. The reason this works is that your brain now knows the information that it was trying to make sure you didn’t forget, is now in a safe place that you can return to when the time is right. This allows your mind to switch off. (This has personally been one of the most powerful methods of sound sleep for me and my clients.)
If you got this far, then by now you know just how important getting a good night's sleep is for your health and longevity.
And, by following these simple steps I am confident you will improve the quality of your sleep which will have a positive effect on every other area of your life.
Health & Happiness
Ryan Martin
P.S. If you want to find out more about blu light blocking glasses then you can head to my interview with the founder of BluBlox Andy Mant here:
https://reviveyourself.co/106-revive-yourself-andy-mant-from-blublox-on-the-dangers-of-blue-light/
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