How do you usually sleep? Do you enjoy a deep and restful sleep? Or are you, perhaps, one of those who wake up many times at night? Without a doubt, insomnia is the worst curse we can suffer at night. An aspect that, if it becomes chronic, can lead to quite serious health problems.
Today in our blog we want to invite you to learn about 10 interesting aspects about sleep that will surely interest you and, remember, the lack of continuous sleep is something that we must treat in the most appropriate way.
Never limit yourself to using only the classic sleeping pills or benzodiazepines since, sometimes, a change in our lifestyle or eating habits can give us excellent results.
1. Lack of sleep causes us to gain weight
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In a recent study published by the journal Endocrine Society, they indicated something that we should take into account. If we suffer from chronic insomnia or do not get a restful sleep at night, our metabolism becomes much slower and we also alter the functioning of the lymphatic system.
Our body stops properly filtering toxins, the liver cannot be properly purified either, and this causes us to gradually gain weight. However, the habit of always going to sleep at the same time and resting adequately between 6 and 8 hours is a gift for our general health. And it allows us to lose weight!
2. How many hours should we sleep?
It usually depends on the individual. There are those who need 9 hours of sleep to feel clear in the mornings; on the other hand, other people need only 6. However, it is important that you take into account these data:
- You should never sleep less than 6 hours.
- The ideal way to rest is to enjoy 5 uninterrupted hours of sleep.
- If you’re an adult, it’s not recommended to sleep more than 11 hours at a time (unless you need to make up for a lot of lost sleep). If you sleep more than 11, you may feel the opposite effect, i.e. waking up tired.
3. Sleeping little causes us to lose bone mass
A study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research review, informs us of a very important aspect that you should take into account:
Sleeping little and suffering from apnea is related, in turn, to osteoporosis. The reason? Apnea causes our body to receive less oxygen, to suffer inflammation and, consequently, to change our metabolism. All of this affects our bone mass.
4. Too little sleep can lead to dementia
In this case, we must also add apnea to insomnia for this worrying risk to appear. The continuous lack of oxygen night after night directly affects our brain health, producing small micro-infarctions that lead, sooner or later, to dementia. It is something very dangerous.
Remember that it is of utmost importance that you go to your doctor in case you suffer from apnea.
5. How about some exercise?
Something as simple as going for a 15-minute walk after dinner helps us not only to fall asleep, but also to sleep many more hours in a row. So, don’t hesitate to get some exercise every day. It’s worth it!
6. The benefits of a little nap
Who said that napping is only for lazy people? Not at all! Sleeping at noon for 15 or 20 minutes helps us recover the lost sleep of the night and, in turn, relaxes us a lot and makes us arrive calmer at the end of the day.
7. The Benefits of Yoga or Meditation
According to experts, the people who tend to suffer from a higher rate of insomnia are those over 50 years of age. Practicing some relaxation exercise every day is very positive for all ages but, in this case, the benefits are much higher.
If you dare, for example, to practice yoga, you will discover how you get a much deeper sleep, also improving many areas of your life.
8. Insomnia overexcites our brain
The brain needs our body to rest at night, since it is at that time when it can perform functions that are its own such as organizing information, sending orders to the lymphatic system to purify the body, storing memories, dreaming…
However, if we stay awake, it becomes overexcited, headache appears, morning tiredness, lack of concentration…
9. Insomnia causes us to lose “a little” memory
As we have indicated before, the brain needs a good night’s rest to organize information, to classify and record data and memories. If this does not happen, if we spend the night awake, it cannot carry out any of these functions. Little by little, we will notice how much more difficult it is for us to retain data, how we forget some appointments, conversations, dates… Sleep is very important!
10. At night we suffer a real “brainwashing”
Surprised? It’s just an expression for a really curious function:
At night, our brain cells shrink so that cerebrospinal fluid passes more freely. The function of this liquid is to carry away all the waste substances that these cells have created during the day. As you can see, it is very important because, if we do not sleep properly, this function cannot be carried out and we suffer an accumulation of toxins.
Source: Better with Health
