Are you sleep-deprived?
Too many of us are not getting enough sleep – or the sleep we are getting is not of good enough quality.
When you fail to get enough sleep to be physically and mentally at your best, you become sleep deprived. Sleep deficiency is a flow-on effect of sleep deprivation and is a more chronic condition which occurs when sleep deprivation happens alongside poor quality sleep, an out-of-sync body clock, or you suffer from a sleep disorder like insomnia, night terrors, snoring, or sleep apnoea.
What Compromises Sleep?
Numerous things can compromise deep, quality sleep. Modern life in itself is fast-paced, and between the stresses of your job, career, family, and day-to-day errands, there can be little time to relax properly, let alone get enough sleep. Some of us actively sacrifice sleep to fit everything else we need and want to get done in.
Various mental and physical factors can also impact your ability to sleep well.
These include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Overtiredness
- Tobacco smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Lack of exercise
- Obesity
- Snoring
- Sleep apnoea
Some medications and other drugs can interfere with the ability to sleep properly. Shift workers and people who regularly change time zones are also vulnerable to sleep deficiency.
The Impact of Sleep Deprivation
Just like breathing, drinking water, and eating, sleep is a basic human need. Your short- and long-term health and wellbeing rely on you regularly getting enough good quality sleep. Ongoing sleep deficiency can result in:
- Compromised mental health
- Vulnerability to accident and injury
- Poor concentration
- Lost productivity
- Inability to reason/make god decisions
- Substandard daily performance
- Moodiness
- Daytime sleepiness
- Microsleep
- Ongoing sleep issues
- Weight gain
- Development of chronic conditions including cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, obesity, stroke, depression, insulin resistance and Type II diabetes
A sleep deficit can lead to diminished productivity, learning ability, concentration, and memory. Reaction time slows and you may even experience microsleep. Microsleep is a condition where extremely brief moments of sleep occur during normal wakefulness – while in a lecture or lesson, a meeting, while reading or watching TV or while driving. They can be very dangerous.
Just as compromised sleep has potentially severe negative health implications, achieving better sleep has direct health benefits. These benefits are wide and varied.
5 Ways Better Sleep Improves Health
- Healthier Brain Function
A healthy mind is the first step to a healthy body. The brain is responsible for every function in the body – from maintaining body temperature to immunity to hormone release to growth to digestion to the experience of pain and response to environmental stimuli – the brain governs all of these. Sleep is when the brain carries out many of these functions at a ramped-up level. - Greater Emotional Wellbeing
Sleep enables the brain to process your day and prepare for the next. Your learning ability is boosted, as is your creativity, problem-solving skill, decision-making, and mood. People who get adequate quality sleep are less likely to experience depression, anxiety, anger, impulse and other behavioural issues, mood swings, or to embark on risky behaviours. - Enhanced Physical Health
Your body’s growth, development, repair, and healing processes take place at a greater rate while you sleep – especially for your heart and blood vessels. Sleep is also important to the maintenance and balanced release of the hormones which regulate hunger (ghrelin and leptin) and the risk of obesity rises with every hour of lost sleep. Sleep is crucial for blood sugar regulation and how well insulin works in the body; normal puberty and fertility functions; muscle mass development and maintenance; and immune function. - Improved Daytime Functioning
Sleeping enough and at the right time, in sync with your natural body clock, helps you function at your best during the day. You will be more productive, learn and retain information better, react more quickly, and be able to concentrate more effectively. You’ll be less inclined to require daytime naps and will feel better and more alert overall. - Boosted Energy Levels
Getting the right amount of sleep, at the right time to sync with your body clock, translates to more energy! When you have more energy, you get more done – more exercise, more work, more recreation – resulting in a greater sense of wellbeing and a better quality of life.
Sleep Better with SnoreMD
Good quality sleep in recommended amounts is critical for your general health and wellbeing, quality of life, and the safety of yourself and others.
Snoring is the enemy of a good night’s sleep, and this has wider impacts on your general health and wellbeing. SnoreMD can help! It is the Australian brand of a medically designed, patented anti-snoring device. SnoreMD works by gently repositioning the lower jaw while you sleep, opening the airways to reduce or eliminate snoring and enable a deeper, more restful sleep.
Explore our website to discover more about sleep health and SnoreMD, or to place your order today! Alternatively, give us a call on 07 5370 9323.
