At the beginning of a new year, there always seems to be a lot of focus on diet and exercise, because this ties in with a lot of resolutions being made. And, while healthy eating and exercise are important pieces of an overall healthy lifestyle, there are many other components that deserve our attention. One of those components is sleep.
Like me, I am sure most of us don’t think too much about sleep – we sleep when we can. However, there is a lot of evidence out there that sleep is just as important to our health as anything else we might think of. Unfortunately, we live in a world where sleep seems like an inconvenience – something that keeps us from getting more things done. However, we need to start taking sleep more seriously.
A lack of sleep can lead to impaired judgment and thinking. That has unfortunately led to vehicular deaths, among other things. On a less fatal scale, a lack of sleep can also lead to poor performance at work and school. Another outcome of less sleep is that it disrupts your body’s ability to repair itself, and your brain is unable to store memories as well. The list goes on, but as you can see, a lack of sleep can contribute to many negative consequences.
So, how do we combat this problem? Luckily people are beginning to see the risks of less sleep and the benefits of enough sleep. Instead of looking in awe at the person who seems to work 22 hours a day for days on end, people are being encouraged to sleep around 8 hours a day. I think this is good news for everyone, because the more we talk about sleep and our health, the more people will hopefully understand that it is a behavior that is just as important as diet and exercise.
How about you? What are your thoughts on sleep? Are your thoughts on sleep different when you think about how it affects your health? I encourage everyone to consider sleep and its role in your overall health.