Many individuals do not get enough sleep at night because they’re “too busy” doing other things. Getting enough sleep is critically essential to take care of good health, and to show you how to heal when you’ve got health issues. It is also a significant factor in stopping future health issues.
Facts About Sleep
Increasingly more scientific research is coming out showing the importance of sleep, and the way detrimental lack of sleep is to your health. Recent research has found that folks who routinely sleep lower than seven hours per night have 21-26% higher probability of dying of any cause, than individuals who routinely sleep greater than eight hours per night.
Each animal sleeps. There aren’t any animals that don’t sleep. Biologically, which means sleep is as essential as respiratory and eating.
There’s been some fascinating brain research recently that came upon more about how the brain works and what it does at night. I used to be astounded once I read it. After we’re lively through the day, working, exercising, and doing our every day activities, we’re heavily using our brain functions. This causes a construct up of poisons and chemical byproducts that naturally occur as a part of that process. After we sleep at night, the brain actually pumps through a nightly “wash cycle”, like a dishwasher, that washes out those toxins and built up byproducts from the day. Just stop and take into consideration that for a moment. What happens when you don’t wash your dishes thoroughly? A number of crud builds up. Now take into consideration that taking place in your brain. What do you think that happens when plenty of toxins and crud construct up within the brain? Is it going to have an effect on brain function and health? Absolutely. When you do not get enough sleep at night, the wash cycle doesn’t run properly.
Many years of sleep research show that eight hours of sleep per night is the magic number. Kids and teenagers need just a little bit more.
The Chinese Medicine Perspective
In Chinese Medicine, we would like to balance yin and yang within the body to revive and maintain health. Yang energy provides the warmth, fire, and functional activity within the body. Daytime is yang time. It’s warm, light and the time after we’re busy going about our every day activities. Lots of us find yourself acting “too yang”, that’s, go, go, going on a regular basis, without enough “down time” or time to rest and rejuvenate the body (and mind and spirit, for that matter).
Yin energy is the cooling, moistening, nourishing energy within the body. Night is yin time, when it’s cooler, dark, and quiet. During yin time, our body naturally must be quiet and rest, in an effort to replenish itself from the activities of the day. What happens once you stay awake too late, do an excessive amount of, and do not rest enough? You overwork, burn up the yin energy, and feel drained. The yin/night/ rest time is just as essential because the yang/lively time! Unfortunately, all of our great technology to make us more efficient, as a substitute of giving us more leisure time, has made us do rather more stuff in less time. We’re at all times attempting to slot in yet one more thing that we will get done before we go to bed.
When you think doing more stuff is more essential than sleeping, consider the research mentioned above. And, research has shown that those that do not get enough sleep (lower than 8 hours) gain more weight, and there is a rise in heart attacks in those that do not get enough sleep.
How To Get Control Of Your Sleep
As you’ll be able to see, eight hours of sleep per night really is significant. Tonight, consider whether you really want to do one or two more things before bed. Do you really want to stay awake and watch the top of the movie or finish reading the book tonight? Plan your time at night, similar to through the day. What time do you might want to go to bed in an effort to get eight hours of sleep? When you start watching the TV program or movie, will it end in enough time to allow you to get in bed at your goal bedtime? Set an alarm if you might want to, to let you know to stop whatever you are doing and prepare for bed. It is a matter of making good habits and training your body when it is time to stop and fall asleep. Never work in bed.
Also, consider whether you are just doing an excessive amount of. What can you narrow out, or say “no” to? It is simple to do an excessive amount of. It happens to everybody sooner or later. Take charge of your life and balance your work and rest time to take care of your good health. And after all, when you’re having any difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep at night, acupuncture and Chinese herbs work thoroughly for insomnia.