Secret To Physical, Mental Health & Professional Performance

Secret To Physical,

Mental Health &

Professional Performance

Do you know what is one secret ingredient to improving your health, wellness, and productivity? Relax, we are not trying to sell you some personal development courses 🙂 This secret is very simple and you already practice it every night. Although, you may need to practice it a bit harder, and longer.

7 Reasons Why Good Sleep Is Important

1. Good sleep improves cognition, concentration, productivity, and performance. On the other hand, one study found that short sleep can negatively impact brain function to a similar degree as alcohol intoxication.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15824327/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10984335/

2. Longer sleep improves athletic and physical performance including speed, accuracy, reaction times, and strength.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21731144/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17969465/

3. Sleep quality and duration is a recognised health risk factor. A review of 15 studies found that people who don’t get enough sleep are at far greater risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7–8 hours per night. It also increased the risk of diabetes.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21300732/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15851636/

4. Poor sleep makes you eat more and weigh more. It is connected both to hormones that affect your appetite, and lack of energy for exercise.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2007.118 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535701/

5. Poor sleep is linked to depression.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16259539/

6. Sleep improves your immune function. Those who sleep less than 7 hours are almost 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who sleep 8 hours or more.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19139325/

7. Sleep loss affects your social interaction skills. It reduces the ability to recognize expressions including anger and happiness.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25117004/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20337191/

How To Improve Your Sleep Routine

While these tips do seem too obvious, it’s important to practice them consistently if you want to see the results of good sleep on your health and productivity.

Remove all devices at least one hour before sleep.
Avoid overexcitement.
Meditate or listen to calm music.
If you read before sleep, choose a real paper book instead of a screen.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Sleep in complete darkness to stimulate melatonin secretion.
Avoid eating heavy food before sleep and try eating 3-4 hours before bed.
Optimise the sleep conditions including noise, mattress, pillow, and room temperature.

How Long You Should Sleep

While some people go around boasting they function well with 5 hours of sleep, researches prove that many adverse effects of sleep deprivation happen if your sleep less than 7 hours. It is true that some people need more sleep than others, but everyone needs at least 8 hours.

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