Health is Wealth: Do You sleep enough?

Sleep and Rest

Possibly the most important factor in well-being is getting enough sleep and rest. In order to be physically fit and to feel your best, sleep and rest must be considered just as important as eating fresh foods and exercising regularly. Do you know the difference between sleep and rest? Sleep is the biologically necessary loss of consciousness accompanied by deep breathing as well as a slowed heart rate and metabolism. Rest is simply taking ten or twenty minutes to stop working, stop stressing, and consciously slow down and relax. Rest is the opposite of activity, the balancing element to a hyperactive lifestyle.  Sleep and rest are equally important for good health.

Do You Get Enough Sleep?

There’s a very simple way to know if you’re getting enough sleep. Do you feel rested when you wake up in the morning? If you are getting enough good solid sleep, you will feel mentally sharp, aware, and full of focus and concentration when you wake up. Sleep gives you energy.  If you sleep for 8 hours but toss and turn the whole time, you will feel it the next day. You will be tired and fatigued, making every task more difficult. When you’re rested, your mind is clear and your judgment is better.

Preventing Illness

When you get 8 hours of restful sleep every night you won’t get sick as often. If you catch the flu, you will feel a drain in your energy. That’s due in part to your immune system activating and using up energy. If, upon the first sign of illness, you go to bed, your body kicks into conservation mode, directing the energy you would normally use for daily activities to your immune system. Nine times out of ten you will beat the illness this way. That’s what makes sleep one of the best remedies for infection. Even when you do get sick, sleep keeps it from being more severe.

Antidote to Stress

If you get enough restful sleep you are well equipped to let stress roll off your back. When you deprive yourself of sleep, your ability to manage stress is compromised. This is because your body has no choice but to keep you awake by releasing chemicals that artificially support your ability to stay pumped and functioning. If you handle stress pretty well, then you’re probably getting enough sleep. But if you find yourself stressed out often, catching more sleep is going to help.