The importance of being well slept-Sleep part 5

Do you know how many things happen when you sleep?

We tend to think of sleep as a passive thing during which we rest and recuperate. Well, we do, but we are also really busy during the night. It’s only relatively recently that the medical profession has begun to recognise how busy we are at night too.

Take a look at this list of things your body does whilst you are sleeping:

• tissue rebuilds

• toxins are eliminated

• your brain consolidates the day's events turning them into new knowledge

When we don't sleep well or enough, it messes up our circadian rhythms. Cortisol (one of the hormones which help us know when we’re awake or asleep) when it is out of whack, impacts on how we feel, often creating the ‘tired and wired’ state where we are ready to drop into a dead sleep in the middle of the day and wide awake when we need to be asleep. Altered cortisol rhythms affect all of these things:

• weight - you can eat fewer calories and weigh more if you sleep less than 5 hours per night than if you sleep 7

• food choices - appetite control and satiety hormones are suppressed when we haven't slept leading to 'fatigue eating'

• personal choices

• mood

• hormones (sex hormones as well as all the others)

• immunity

• mental clarity

• memory

• cognitive function

• sex drive

• pain levels

If you have been awake for 17 hours continuously, you will have the same cognitive impairment as when drinking alcohol! WOW - just think of all those medical professionals on double shifts making decisions about our health...

If you are having trouble with sleeping, get in touch as I have a few super tricks, herbs and tapping routines up my sleeve to help you improve your sleep.